Wall of love
Just a few of my (very) happy clients
“Confidence, to me, means genuinely believing in yourself and having the courage to show it. It's not just about being strong, but also about embracing your vulnerability. With Yota's support, I've learned to accept my true self, stand up for my beliefs, and fearlessly express who I am to the world.”
Fatma Köstekli, Director of Product Design at Vinted
“I have been working with Yota as my professional coach for some time now, and I can honestly say that she has been a life-changing mentor for me. Voicing my concerns or expressing how I feel about things has never come easily to me. I lacked the confidence to negotiate salary increases or title changes, even when I knew I deserved them. Yota helped me realise my worth and build my confidence as a black female leader.”
Haja Cessay, Head of People Communications at Delivery Hero
“Working with Yota was a transformative experience that helped me understand my identity as a leader in tech. Initially, I was doubting my own capabilities and second-guessing my decisions. I often took feedback too literally, thinking I wasn't qualified. Yota was more than a coach; she was a sparring partner and a problem solver who guided me through these challenges. Now, I am more reflective about my strengths and weaknesses and confidently rely on my strengths to do my job. Most importantly, I've learned not to fear asking for help. “
Naz Pelen, Director of Product Design at HelloFresh
“I hired Yota to help me while I was transitioning from one job to the next after being made redundant unexpectedly.
Yota was truly instrumental in helping me a) boost my confidence and aim for more b) articulate my wants clearly and translate them into an impactful CV c) very importantly, in keeping me in check on the journey towards my goals.
Despite having many well-intended friends and relatives in my surrounding, Yota proved very valuable in providing the right mix of objective, caring and challenging perspectives. Her rather “conversational” approach to coaching seamlessly planted the seeds for success. Even when we did not talk that regularly, she was always very responsive (messages) and knowing she was behind me and that I could reach out when needed felt really good.
Yota is charming, smart, witty. Working with her has been a truly enriching experience. I can only recommend warmheartedly working with her if you are willing to unlock potentials.”
Marie Demont, VP of Marketing at Aware
“I’d never seen the value of career coaching until I met Yota.
From the very first session, she made me feel at ease. Her natural ability to build a relationship with a client is one of a kind, not forced or scripted. She listens attentively and asks intelligent, challenging questions. With every session, I felt more confident, aware of my strengths and always walked away with practical tips I could implement in my daily work. Yota helped me unpack my potential during a difficult time in my career and navigate my path to promotion to my dream role.
Thank you, Yota!”
Karolina Plaskaty Chief People Officer at Varda
“Yota is an empathetic and insightful coach that also has a deep understanding of the technology industry.
I have been working for over a year with her as part of my company's leadership program, and during that time she has helped me both improve on my leadership and management skills, as well as efficiently guided me during my career growth issues.
Yota focuses on your overarching growth and mindset changes, and thus, her coaching has a long lasting effect and helps you improve on your skills holistically. The most important aspect of Yota as a coach though, is that she genuinely cares about her clients, which in turn, makes you actually anticipate for your next session with her.
I would definitely recommend Yota to anyone that either has issues with their current career growth, or is looking to improve on their existing managerial skillset.”
George Markou, Director of Product Management at Schoox
“Yota has empowered me through so much change last year. I started working with her initially through a leadership program with my peers, and continued to work with her as I was going through a step-up opportunity, and when I realized that I needed a job change.
She has been excellent in helping me find the answers I knew I had within, supporting me through tough conversations, and helping me build my own personal brand.
Her dedication to coaching comes through in every conversation you have with her, she is driven, empathetic, and gets stuff done. I can't thank her enough for all the support she has provided, and will recommend her openly to every one that is going through moments of change.”
Naz Pelen, Director Of Product Design at HelloFresh
“I have been lucky enough for Yota to be my coach as part of an initiative by my new company to get Leadership skills coaching. Yota's way of coaching is different from anything I've seen (and I have seen numerous coaching styles in my career). She was empathetic, always shared useful examples and experiences, made me comfortable and really helped to build my confidence up.
One of the main things for me is that Yota is a very personable and energetic and she could relate (and vice versa) to me and my experiences. The thing that stood out for me is that she gave me practical ways I could implement to make changes in the direction I wanted. I could see the progress I was making with every session and that really did take me to the next level. She had group and 1:1 sessions with me and my colleagues and she adjusted her advice in order to fit the person and the situation/context. This is so much better than giving blanket advice and it really does stand out!
I would highly recommend Yota to anyone regardless of where they are at in their career journey but specifically I'd recommend to folks who are career changers or thinking of making such a change. Yota is your person!”
Adriana Katrandzhieva Associate Managing Director at Infinite Lambda
“My collaboration with Yota has been one of the highlights of 2021 and it will sure be one for 2022. A year ago, I got promoted into a highly-demanding and relevant role within my company, and Yota has been guiding me through the key aspects to be successful in this role ever since.
Many personal coaches might help you with more superficial aspects, but with Yota I experienced a change in mindset, which is absolutely instrumental in my personal development as a leader within my company and beyond. This change in mindset comes after focusing on the right areas of development that she easily identified throughout our first couple of sessions, helping me go to the next level and (already) think beyond my recent promotion.
I would highly recommend Yota to anybody who’s willing to do things differently, to stand out from the crowd, while become the best version of yourself. Yota has the skills to show you who you really are and to make you aware of your own potential. Then it’s all about guiding you to where you want/should be, which she does very well too.”
Pablo Sierra González, PhD, Medical Lead - IBERIA & UK at Blueprint Medicines
“Yota is an insight driven coach with a deep understanding of the technology industry landscape. She worked with me as a career coach during a transitionary period in my career moving into a new domain. She helped provide great context and helped create a plan centred around my strengths and skills. Her approach on helping me to better reflect and understand my leadership style and how that would benefit my team was particularly beneficial. Overall, would definitely recommend Yota to anyone looking to become a better leader or looking for a way to grow and develop professionally.”
Mukund Varma A.T, Senior Manager, Program Management at Amazon
“Empathetic, dynamic, and effective leadership coach - I cannot recommend Yota more highly for those seeking a hands-on coach that provides clear, actionable feedback to help take your career and leadership ability to the next level!
I worked with Yota on a bi-weekly basis over a period of three months. In each session, she took the time to get to know me personally to understand the full context of my leadership style and the challenges I was facing in the workplace. It was really impressive how quickly she picked up on the key aspects of what was holding me back and what I needed to do to overcome it. For example, she helped me understand the mindset I had in giving feedback to those that I worked with, how the lack of trust in how I was communicating was undermining the effectiveness of the teamwork culture I was fostering. Then, she helped me understand how important one on one sessions were to coach and guide my direct reports, and gave me a simple framework that I could apply.
After applying the insights that Yota gave me, I could see a step change in the effectiveness of how I was leading my teams. This was all achieved within such a short time with Yota. The results speak for themselves, and therefore I can only give my fullest recommendations to anyone looking for a leadership coach like Yota!”
Wei Guo, Engineer at Proxima Fusion / Ex-Lilium, P&W
“I had the great pleasure and luck to work with Yota after my company booked her Leadership coaching program for us managers. The course was complete and well organized, and she gave us useful tips and tools to help us be better managers for our teams, who also don't forget themselves in the service of others. I loved working with Yota so much that I continued to work with her as my coach, after the end of the program, as part of a promotion I gained in my company. I appreciated these sessions even more: Yota is very empathetic and in addition of helping me finding my own answer, recognizing my own strength and personal manager skills, she was always keen to share examples and experiences from her own career to help my reflexion.
I would definitely work again with Yota and can only recommend her professionalism, great experience as a leader and leadership coach, and thoughtful approach to her coachees!
Thank you Yota for the past months working together!”
Jessy Halison,Engineering Manager at Ecosia
“It has been extremely challenging two years due to pandemic and following variants. Entire business life has changed and one well known fact has strongly surfaced in that difficult times, which is the importance of grit and mental health. Personally I have made many things to get used to the changing business life and I can count talking to Yota and getting a professional coaching from her was one the best and efficient thing I have done in that time. One of the important learning for me was power of asking right questions and encouraging stakeholders to think and talk abut facts and actual examples rather than only thoughts or perceptions. Highly recommend Yota to any professional.”
Sertac Yilmaz, Director of RME EU, MENA, AU at Amazon
“I feel so lucky to have been coached by Yota over the last 6 months - and even luckier to continue this journey together for 6 months more!
We have been focused on developing my leadership skills, especially in creating an inclusive feedback culture, handling conflict and growing my strategic abilities.
Yota has a lot of energy, is absolutely engaged throughout each session, and is an expert at bringing insights and an alternative perspective.
Absolutely Yota is not a passive coach who would ask the same classic re-framing questions. She will challenge you to grow and hold you accountable to the plans that you make. If you invest the time and energy, you will be repaid with generosity, empathy and the great reflections that she brings.”
Paul McKenna, Head of Engineering @ Olio | ex-Spotify | ex-Nokia
“Yota was an incredible help to me when I was getting ready to leave my team to go on maternity leave. She helped tremendously with the handover, how to manage my anxiety and gave me great and practical advice on how to manage conflicts.
We had a great connection partly due to her empathy and caring approach. She is authentic and not judgmental: perfect combo to an excellent coach!”
Leyla El Assry Director Talent Acquisition EMEA at Contentful