Executive Culture Coach at Blue Agile GmbH | Empowering leaders to foster a culture of excellence and innovation through coaching executives, enabling teams to surpass their potential and achieve remarkable results.

I’m Eva Gysling, a three-time Olympic swimmer and executive/team leader with 35+ years in complex organisations. I know real pressure - on the starting block and in the boardroom - and how much potential gets wasted when culture is left to chance, systems are poorly designed, and leadership behaviour goes unchallenged.

My work sits where Olympic mindset, executive leadership, culture and corporate mental health meet. Burnout isn’t an individual weakness, and “tough” leadership doesn’t justify daily micro-suffering - especially when it’s driven by bad behaviour. High performance without psychological safety is a contradiction. If people pay with health or dignity, it’s not performance, it’s system failure and a culture problem.

That’s why I created The Executive Edge - ASPIRE: a clear six-module framework for senior leaders who build healthy high-performance cultures on purpose. ASPIRE turns intent into standards, rituals and tools across:

• Pressure design
• Accountability
• Resilience
• Strategic agility
• Team confidence
• Culture anchoring

Purpose:
Design pressure, behaviour and collaboration so people can deliver ambitious results while staying healthy, respected and appreciated.

Who I work with (DACH)
• Senior leaders in tech, healthcare and other disruptive environments (and their leadership teams)
• People & Culture / HR leaders responsible for culture, mental health and leadership quality
• Interprofessional bridge leaders (Product, IT, Ops, Clinical/Service) living in the friction between silos
• Selected consultants, coaches and executive-education partners who want an Olympic-tested, tool-rich system to plug into their work

Together, we redesign how pressure, workload, behaviour, collaboration and culture are handled so leaders don’t have to choose between results and system health.

What I don’t do:
I don’t train people to “be more resilient” so they can tolerate the intolerable. No glossy wellbeing without accountability. No treating bad leadership as a private issue. Psychological safety is infrastructure, non-negotiable, measurable, and owned.

What working with me feels like:
Calm under pressure; direct, respectful and appreciative; Olympic-level standards with high respect for people. We install small, robust rituals/behaviors that hold when things get tough: clearer decisions, fairer load, healthier teams, and more honest collaboration. Proof, not slogans.

If this sounds like your world, let’s explore whether ASPIRE can help you build the healthy high-performance culture you actually want to own.

Eva Gysling, OLY

Most people remember one leader from their career.
Not the title → The feeling...

That feeling came from:
→ being trusted early.
→ before confidence felt solid.
→ before everything was figured out.

And also sometimes...

✅ A responsibility handed over sooner than expected.
✅ A decision made without someone stepping in.
✅ Support shown publicly when things got uncomfortable.

Those moments stay.

↳ They change how people think about themselves.
↳ They stop waiting for permission.
↳ They start taking responsibility.

This is where leadership actually shows up.

Power moves work forward in the moment.

Empowerment builds people who move work forward again and again.

That difference compounds over time.

- People think deeper.
- They own outcomes.
- They solve problems without being asked.

And eventually:

+ Teams become stronger.
+ Cultures become clearer.
+ Results stop depending on one person.

Leadership scales through the people around it.

The strongest leaders understand this.
Their focus shifts from control to capability.
From directing work to developing judgment.

The impact lasts longer than any role or title.

Leadership shows up in the people who grow under it.
That’s how leaders become great.

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3x Olympian | Executive Sparring Partner for Senior Leaders in D-A-CH | The Executive Edge - ASPIRE: High performance that protects people’s health and dignity

You don’t need more time.

You need fewer decisions.

Most people exhaust themselves
deciding what to do next.

That’s not productivity.
That’s friction.

Here’s my personal blueprint for focus and flow - simple, practical, repeatable:

1️⃣ The Anchor Task
Forget the endless to-do list.

Pick one non-negotiable task each day.
Finish it and the day counts.

Everything else is extra.

2️⃣ Energy Mapping
Stop managing hours.

Start managing energy.

High energy → deep, creative work.
Low energy → admin, emails, chores.

Match the task to your state, not the clock.

3️⃣ The 2-Minute Rule
If it takes under 120 seconds, do it now.

Tiny tasks create invisible stress.
This clears it before it stacks.

4️⃣ Digital Fortressing
Focus is a finite resource.

Treat it like one.

Phone in another room.
Messages checked at set times.

Constant availability is not a performance metric.

5️⃣ The “Clear the Deck” Ritual
End the day on purpose.

Last 10 minutes:
– Tidy your space
– Close the tabs
– Write tomorrow’s Anchor Task

Future-you starts calm, not behind.

Time management isn’t about control.

It’s about design.

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Career Strategist I Change advisor for Leaders | I help successful professionals build freedom, income & impact through portfolio careers | Speaker I Ex-Citi COO | Follow for modern leadership, career and change

Over the past 25 years, I have built a successful international banking career.
Most recently, I was the Regional COO for Citibank’s $2Bn business across 16 countries in Asia - leading large-scale transformations in digitisation and culture.

But in 2021, I walked away from my high-paying executive role.

Why?

Because I wanted more space.
More time with family.
More alignment between who I am and how I work.

But I didn’t want to start from scratch.
So I asked myself a question:
What if I could build a career around everything I already know - and love?

That’s how my portfolio career began.
And it changed everything.

Now, I help other professionals do the same.

What I’ve built since 2021:
→ A 6-figure portfolio business with 3 income streams
→ Founder of Change is Possible - a business community for professionals redesigning their next chapter
→ 100K+ LinkedIn followers (grew from 17K in under a year)
→ Coached 100+ professionals through successful career transitions
→ Host of a Top 20 global podcast on career change, Change is Possible
→ TEDx speaker, Forbes columnist, and Bloomberg TV guest

Want to build your own portfolio career?
🚀 THE PORTFOLIO CAREER ACCELERATOR (Launching January 2026) 
Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1thkmph_EwRxLGfuL9muCsRir1uKDdF2nXYeI7X_1oSA/edit

This is an 8-week program designed to help you:
→ Turn your expertise into income
→ Build a personal brand that opens doors
→ Create your first income stream - even before you leave your job

Only 20 spots. 12 already claimed.

Other ways we can work together:
✔️ Join my business community — Change is Possible https://changeispossible.co.uk/ - doors open for new members on Sept.10, 2025
✔️ Book me to speak — I deliver keynotes on leadership, change, career reinvention, and the future of work - send a DM.
✔️ Hire me as an advisor — I support companies navigating complex transformation - send a DM to meet and explore.
✔️ Book 1:1 coaching — For senior execs ready to design their next chapter - send a DM.
✔️ Book my LinkedIn Growth Bundle — A 2-session intensive where I teach you the exact system I used to grow to 100K+ followers. Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1bLp7wmK8xhIpfFu8beImvD5JZQHYsbraTBx5Orjx0zs/edit

P.S. Still wondering if change is really possible?
🎧 Tune in to my podcast Change is Possible — where 100+ professionals share how they redesigned their careers and lives. Watch here - https://www.youtube.com/@ChangeIsPossiblePodcast

Ani Filipova

Scrolling LinkedIn, you will think everyone is operating at 100% every day.

5 am routine ✅
10 client calls ✅
Launched 3 products ✅
Ran a marathon ✅

Meanwhile, I'm over here thinking:

• My video production is weeks behind
• I have zero content prepped for this week - I'm creating as I go
• That Substack I promised myself I'd launch in January is still in drafts
• My follow-up list has a follow-up list

And you know what?

My business is still growing.
My Portfolio Career Accelerator starts in 10 days - with brilliant people already inside.
My community is thriving.
My podcast just passed 30,000 subscribers.

Nobody posts the hard days.
But those are the days that matter the most.

They teach you:
• Perfect doesn't exist
• Decisions get made with incomplete information
• Momentum matters more than intensity

That's why I didn't build my Portfolio Accelerator as a blueprint for perfection.

I built it as a framework for sustainable progress.

Because the move from corporate to a portfolio career isn't about doing everything right.
It's about continuing when nothing feels right.

Sustainable success isn't showing up at your best.
It's showing up anyway.

Some days you are on fire.
Some days, you are just keeping the fire from going out.

Both count.
Both compound.

If you are ready to build a portfolio career that works with your real life - not some imaginary perfect version of it - applications for the Portfolio Career Accelerator close soon.

A few final spots remain. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gpEqqqFs

We start in 10 days.

Build something that survives your ordinary days.

Follow me, https://lnkd.in/g6R7Yb8t, for daily doses of career, leadership and change truths

-----
Image credit: Jen Blandos

If you followed every piece of “good career advice” you were given, you would be less employable today - not more.

I was repeatedly warned that changing roles this often would destroy my career.

It turned out it didn’t.

They called it professional suicide.
Now I teach executives how to do it deliberately.

19 job changes.
5 countries.
25 years of “destroying my career.”

When I left my first job after 15 months, my mum was appalled.
Stability was everything to her generation.

Two years later, I left again.
Then again.

At Citi alone:
10 role changes.
5 countries.
21 years.

Every move came with the same warnings:

“You are ruining your CV.”
“No one will trust someone this unstable.”
“You’ll regret this later.”

And there were moments I wondered if they were right.

I watched peers climb neat ladders while my path looked… messy.
Hard to explain.
Easy to judge.

At 50, I walked away from a COO role and started again.
That’s when the concern turned into outrage.
People never understood the audacity to want something different.

Here’s the mental model most people miss:

• One skill = one solution
• Two skills = multiple options
• Ten skills = leverage from angles others can’t see

Experience doesn’t add up.
It multiplies.

Today’s market doesn’t reward narrow specialists who need the world to stay predictable.

It rewards people who can:
→ Connect dots across functions
→ Solve problems from multiple lenses
→ Rebuild themselves without panic

A “messy” career isn’t a liability anymore.
It’s optionality.

In a world that reinvents itself constantly,
your ability to change IS your stability.

That’s why I now help experienced professionals turn unconventional paths into:
income, 
impact, 
and freedom - without starting from scratch.

The Portfolio Career Accelerator starts January 26.

20 people.
8 weeks.
A clear system for turning what you already know into a career that compounds - a portfolio career!

10 places remain.
Apply here: https://lnkd.in/g8bpRmYN

Most people don’t need a new career.
They need a better way to frame - and monetise - the one they’ve already lived.

♻️ Repost this for someone still apologising for evolving.
→ Follow me, Ani Filipova, for daily career and change truths.

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Skills don't predict performance. 

Character does.

I once hired the most qualified candidate on paper. 
Impressive CV. Perfect experience. 
They quit in 3 months.

The problem is that most interviews rely on rehearsed answers to predictable questions.

Here are 10 "non-predictable" questions that reveal who someone really is:

1. If money wasn't an issue, what would you choose to do for work?
→ Reveals intrinsic motivation vs. external rewards

2. When was the last time you felt proud at work—and why?
→ Shows what success truly means to them

3. What would you do if you knew you were going to miss a deadline?
→ Tests accountability and honesty under pressure

4. What do you think you owe an employer—and what do they owe you?
→ Exposes work ethic, expectations, and entitlement

5. What are your strongest strengths—and the weaknesses you're actively working on?
→ Reveals self-awareness and growth mindset

6. What's a belief you hold that most people disagree with?
→ Shows independent thinking and confidence in values

7. What do you do when you strongly disagree with your manager?
→ Reveals emotional intelligence and conflict maturity

8. If you could change one past decision, what would it be—and why?
→ Tests reflection, learning, and accountability

9. How do you handle working with someone you don't like?
→ Assesses professionalism when emotions are involved

10. Tell me about a decision you made that disappointed people.
→ Reveals leadership courage and ethical reasoning

Most bad hires don't fail because they lack skills.
They fail because their character was never tested.

📌 Save this for your next interview.
♻️ Repost this with someone building a team in 2026.
→ Follow me, Ani Filipova, for leadership, career and change insights.

Use these in your hiring process

I spent 20 years in banking, thinking I understood how the world worked.

Then I moved from Singapore to Hong Kong to become a COO, and as we began setting up our life again, I realised something uncomfortable:

I’d been living in a professional echo chamber.

My friends were bankers.
My network was bankers.
My entire view of “career” was shaped by one industry and one employer.

I didn’t even realise how limited my perspective was.

I was making decisions - about work and life -
based entirely on my own small bubble,
surrounded by people just like me.

And that’s when it hit me:

I was doing the exact same thing with my career.

I was looking at my future through a banking lens.
Surrounded by banking people.
Measuring success by banking standards.

I had no idea what else was out there.

Not because the opportunities didn’t exist.
But because I wasn’t in rooms where anyone talked about them.

The creator economy?
Never heard of it.

Portfolio careers?
Didn’t know that was a thing.

Multiple income streams?
Honestly, it sounded like a scam.

I genuinely believed my options were:
→ Stay in banking
→ Move to another bank
→ Or try consulting company

That was it.

The problem wasn’t fear.
It was visibility.

When everyone around you is on the same path..
That path feels like the only one.

So how do you break free?

1️⃣ Get outside your bubble 

Find one person doing work that fascinates you but seems "impossible." Talk to them. You'll be shocked how possible it actually is. 

2️⃣ Audit your inputs

Whom are you following? What are you reading? If it's all corporate content, you are trapped in an echo chamber. 

3️⃣ Take one small step into the unknown 

Attend an event outside your industry. Message someone in the creator economy. Learn about one business model you've never heard of.

The moment you step outside your professional bubble,
you realise the world is far bigger than what you’ve been shown.

That’s why I created the Portfolio Career Accelerator.

To show you the massive world of opportunities you can’t see yet,
and guide you if you decide to explore any of them.

We are starting Jan 26, 2026.
A few spots are still open. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gpEqqqFs

or

👉 DM me and let's talk

In 8 days, we go live with The Portfolio Career Accelerator.

I’ve been planning this accelerator for the last 6 months - and it’s finally here.

Not as a course you “consume.”
But as a transition you actually make.

My goal is simple:

• Show corporate professionals the opportunities they are missing
• Build a bridge from corporate expertise to multiple income streams
• Be the translator people need - someone who speaks both corporate and creator

Because most professionals aren’t stuck. They are just operating inside a very small bubble and the accelerator will show them what is outside it.

This is an 8-week program, built around the 5 principles of a portfolio career, plus how to use AI to implement faster - not someday, but now.

Here’s how it breaks down:

Module 1: Build Your Brand & Audience
LinkedIn optimisation, content strategy, high-performing posts, lead magnets, newsletter creation

Module 2: Create Your Products
Turn expertise into courses, workshops, and programs. Pricing, sales process, launch strategy

Module 3: Become a Speaker
Craft keynotes, master delivery, build a speaker kit, and land paid gigs

Module 4: Advisor / Board Member / Fractional Exec
Shift from doer to advisor. Structure engagements. Find and land real opportunities

Module 5: Become an Investor
Investment fundamentals, portfolio building, diversification, and working with brokers

Module 6: Leverage AI
Prompt engineering, custom GPTs, AI agents

And you are not learning from me alone.

We’ve brought in incredible guest trainers - experts in their fields - speaking, investing, advisory, board and AI.

We start on January 26th.

And we already have amazing professionals signed up and ready to start. 

This cohort is capped at 20 people.
Why?

Because this isn’t passive learning.
It’s a transformation - with guidance, accountability, and a room full of people who get it.

If you are tired of living inside a professional bubble…

If you know there’s more available to you than one job title…

If you want someone who’s actually done this to show you how…

👉 Secure your spot here: https://lnkd.in/gpEqqqFs

8 days until we start building your portfolio career.

Let’s go.

♻️ Repost this to help another corporate professional see what’s possible
💾 Save this if portfolio careers are on your 2026 radar

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