ILC International

19/09/2025

💡 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞? We often talk about EQ as a superpower at work - linked to better leadership, collaboration, and performance.

In today's reflections, Veronika Stoyanova shares thoughts on the flip side of the coin that provoke us to take full stock of the concept.

"I agree. The benefits (of EQ) are undeniable.
But when I saw this month’s series theme, a question stuck with me:
𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐐 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞?

Because with great awareness of yours and others’ emotions comes great power. And power, as we know, can be used… not always for the right reasons.

☝ ⚠️ High EQ can sometimes be used to subtly manipulate colleagues, influence decisions for self-serving purposes, or even silence dissent.

⚡ 👉 On the other hand, professionals with deep empathy may lean toward people-pleasing, struggling to set boundaries, and risking burnout.

So, here is the dilemma I have been reflecting on:
𝐀𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲?

Perhaps the real skill isn’t just having high EQ - but learning how to use it responsibly.

What do you think? 💭
Is the true power of EQ knowing how and when to hold it back?

18/09/2025

Yesterday we kicked off our new experimental workshop series “Dare to Suck,” and what a start it was! 🚀

Our very own Khodakovskaya Daria led her first-ever workshop: “From Idea to Solution”

The opportunity came unexpectedly, and like every experiment, it carried some fear and uncertainty. But that’s exactly the point of this series: to step into the unknown, test ideas, and discover growth in the process.

What happened in the room was powerful:
🌱 Fear transformed into flow.
💡 Doubt gave way to connection.
✨ And participants left with both inspiration and practical tools to approach challenges with curiosity instead of demotivation.

We’re deeply grateful to Читалище Мечталище for hosting us in such a magical space.

This is only the beginning. At ILC, we believe innovation in the social sciences means trying bold, sometimes raw, but always meaningful approaches. That’s why “Dare to Suck” will continue with more workshops designed to experiment, listen, and co-create.

Because here’s the twist: even when we “dare to suck”… we don’t really suck 😉

👉 Stay tuned for the next workshop in the series

12/09/2025

☀️”With the end of summer and the school year beginning, many of us are stepping into a season of higher intensity — early mornings, a full calendar, and the constant balancing of work and family.”

Katerina Georgieva turns our attention towards habits and how performance follows them! |

“The right ones (habits) can reset both your body and your mind.

At such moments, I’m reminded of how much habits shape the foundation of our wellbeing and performance.

Research consistently shows that high performers don’t necessarily work more hours — they follow intentional routines that sustain their energy, focus, and resilience

Over the years, I’ve been exploring many breathing techniques, and the Wim Hof Method caught my attention a while ago.

The breathing exercises have proven to be a great support for me on those early mornings when getting out of bed feels almost impossible.

This summer, I finally tried something I had been curious about for a long time: the Wim Hof Method workshop led by Anna Grozdanova . Thank you, Anna!

It was such a powerful and deeply peaceful experience.

Since then, the daily cold shower has become a ritual my body and mind actually crave. It’s more than just physical benefits (boosted circulation, reduced stress response) — it has become a mental reset.
That short pause in this cold stillness brings back presence, builds resilience, and creates the kind of inner focus and energy that high performers deliberately cultivate.

As we move into this active final stretch of the year, I’m inviting you to share:

👉 Which small, intentional habits will best support your wellbeing and sustainable performance?

Wishing all students, teachers and parents a fantastic new school year filled with growth, curiosity, and resilience! 🌟”

05/09/2025

“When it comes to leadership, I’ve learned it’s not just about schedules, decisions or deadlines. What really matters is the emotional connection you build with people.”

Daria Khodakivska shares her Friday reflections on , and introduces this month’s theme - emotional intelligence (aka the most critical soft skill you could possibly invest in).

“Over time I realized how much my own affect those around me. If I walk into a room carrying negativity, it spreads quickly. That pushed me to be intentional about the energy I bring. I am not always perfect at it, but I try to choose positivity whenever I can, because it shapes the atmosphere my team works in.

Along the way, I also discovered how much depends on being genuine. People can sense when is forced. What makes a difference is when you truly try to understand not only what someone is saying, but why they are saying it. When you look for the behind the idea, collaboration becomes more meaningful.

And underneath it all is the simple need to be seen as human. Not just a role or a cog in the system, but a person showing up fully.

When leaders bring that kind of , it opens the door for others to do the same. That is why I believe emotional intelligence is not just another soft skill. It is the that makes every other strength more effective.

Without it, even the sharpest technical ability eventually falls flat. With it, leadership has a chance to last.”

🔎 How do you see emotional intelligence showing up in daily practice at your work?

We’d love to hear your own experience!

Picture: Daria’s personal archive.
“connection is always the spark of action”

30/08/2025

In our leadership development efforts we’ve always emphasised on the fact that there is absolutely no one-size-fits-all and there are no “inherently wrong” leadership styles.

Emphatic, authoritarian, laise-faire, democratic, transactional, transformational, charismatic, visionary, bureaucratic…

To go a step further and say that in most of our leadership workshops we’ve critically put on the table the trend of emphatic leadership would be an understatement.

Successful leadership is above all contextual!

Culture, patterns, timing, goals, needs, expectations, trends and personalities are some of the components that merge together to dictate and determine what needs to be used.

Your thoughts on empathic leadership?

The pandemic sparked a new era of leadership and the “nice boss” emerged as the gold standard of leadership. Tides are now shifting in the workplace. https://trib.al/eCGcHxP

29/08/2025

There are 124 days left of 2025. That’s enough time to read a 3-5 new books, lose 4-7 kilos safely, build your side hustle, or even draft a novel. It’s also enough time to rewire your brain - not as a catchy social media idea but for real. In 4 months, you can literally become a different version of yourself and yet… many of us feel the opposite as September approaches.

Instead of growth, we enter this “autumn push mode.” The last grind before the other set of holidays. We get back to living off to-do lists, chasing that addictive little dopamine hit of crossing things off. Productive? Maybe. Meaningful? Rarely.

Valentina Dolmova, PhD, reflects on all this through our series It gets raw and unsweetened this week.

"This summer I promised myself a break. Two weeks off. I haven't had a holiday since at least 2018, when I moved to Bulgaria, and my team was more than supportive. But life happened. Deadlines swelled, a stray dog I rescued needed surgery, and a family health crisis was at the door. The holiday didn’t happen. For the first time, I felt overwhelmed and sad. It wasn’t the commitments that exhausted me. It was the expectation of rest!

The idea of beaches, tan lines, “switching off”… and the guilt when none of it happened. I found myself alone with two sick dogs in a quiet house. I read. I worked. I had one hard conversation that was life-defining. I didn’t move much. I didn’t talk much. Physically, I rested. Emotionally, I wrestled with questions around how I ended up there. If we create our reality - am I doing it wrong? Am I prioritizing wrong? Am I broken because I don’t seek pleasures more aggressively?

Here’s what happened. My brain is not fixed. The smallest decisions - saying no, showing up, rescuing a life, choosing calm over chaos - they rewired me as much as the big movements. Neuroplasticity isn’t only about learning a language or a new skill. It’s about reshaping who we are in the cracks of daily life. In silence, too.

A friend phrased it nicely. She said she felt like a crab in its shell. Safe, withdrawn for now. Knowing the tide would come and she would have to step out, just not at this moment. We are all like crabs at times, but it's always a choice that rewires expectations, experiences, and decision-making paths in the future. The tides don't decide for us. When to come out, how, and for what - is our way of consciously navigating life. Each decision has an implication. I'd like to think I chose well how to spend my holiday after all."

124 days left.
Who do you want your brain — and your life — to become before 2026?
What could be a hard choice that's going to be good in the long term?
Even if you go with the flow completely, what would that mean for your neuro-paths forward?

👉 Want more thought-provoking takes and fresh perspectives to inspire your next chapter? Sign up for our monthly newsletter — a space for ideas, stories, and practical sparks to help you grow

27/08/2025

‘We can’t save ourselves. We need another.’ This simple truth can feel unsettling to many. It contradicts the notion that we singlehandedly hold all the resources and answers we need, and that deep internal awareness coupled with the “correct ways of thinking”, can grow us in isolation. Those components matter greatly indeed , but they are not in opposition to the fact that each one of us needs help to overcome something.

❤️‍🩹Grief. Heartbreak. Loss. Fears. Unworthyness. Overwhelming responsibilities. Addiction. Anger. Pain. Sadness. Numbness. Humliation. Depression. Destructive beliefs. Delusion. Expectations from self or others. Memories…

Sometimes the help comes from a random, one time conversation. Through an unexpected gesture. From a deep belief in you and validation from another person…

Help can come in all shapes and forms, and while it’s available to us , we are also able to provide it to others.

Where rules, beauty, meaning, love and connection, as well as success are all possible.

To that point, we recommend you watch
🎥 The Beautiful Game.

❓Have you seen it already?

👉 Our specialists are here for a free consultation whenever you need support.
https://www.ilc.one/

22/08/2025

Every detour in life trains & wires us 🧠🚧Nothing is ever lost. Our story this week is from Veronika, who joined us in March this year & is a must read reminder for many.

“🌍 Life doesn’t always go as planned - and sometimes that’s the best thing that can happen for your career and beyond.

💡Something not many people know about me: I wasn’t meant to be in finance at all.
Looking at my CV or LinkedIn, it might seem like a pretty linear finance & accounting journey. But in reality? I was preparing to become a doctor.

In high school, I spent more than 2 years immersed in biology and chemistry, determined to enter med school. Only later I realized - this wasn’t truly my passion. That realization redirected me back to mathematics, and eventually into finance & accounting.

And here’s the twist: those “lost” years turned out to be one of my greatest advantages.
Why? Because at that time, to even sit the biology exam in Bulgaria, you had to memorize 3 textbooks by heart. (Yes, literally being able to “sing them in your sleep”! 🎶)

🧠That training wired my brain in a way I didn’t fully appreciate until years later. The skill of memory, of seeing connections, of holding complex structures in mind - proved invaluable in finance. From navigating tax challenges to managing and analyzing complex international corporate structures and designing their reporting set-up - the biology exam unexpectedly prepared me for all of it.

This, to me, is a living example of how our brains adapt - transferring skills from one context to a completely different one. What once seemed like a detour became a hidden strength.

🌱Life is unpredictable - yet that unpredictability is often where growth and skill development truly happen.”

👉 What’s one “unexpected detour” in your journey that ended up giving you a surprising skill?

Photo credit: Cantor, Mircea. “Unpredictable Future”. 2015. Private Collection. Paris, France. Viewed June 2025.

17/08/2025

🌍 — a Sunday Reflection for a change, rather than the usual Friday. Each week we try to pause and listen to the honest voices of our own specialists. It’s not always easy to share ourselves even when it looks polished at the end.

Our reflections aren’t about giving answers, but about opening space for truth, humility, and perspective.

This week, we hear from Katerina Georgieva
🙏👇
—————

“As professionals, parents, and “responsible adults,” we often carry the world on our shoulders. We act as though everything depends on us — leaving little room for weakness, mistakes, or even a pause.

But here’s the truth:
not everything is ours to carry.
Sometimes the bravest thing we can do is not to push harder, but to let go. To whisper, “I am enough.” To smile at the chaos instead of trying to control it.

Meaning doesn’t always come from holding on so tightly. Responsibility won’t disappear if our ego takes a break. And perhaps the most comforting reminder is this: the universe doesn’t revolve around us — and that’s okay.

So today, on this quiet Sunday morning, maybe give yourself permission to exhale. To not take life too seriously. To trust that the tide moves, with or without us.

You’ve earned a breath. And you’re not alone.”

💭 What would your message to Ego sound like today?

14/08/2025

Your team isn’t your biggest asset.

How about that?

We’ve spent over a decade working with high performers and high-performing teams. And here’s what we’ve learned—something that challenges the warm, fuzzy idea that “the team is always more important than the individual”:

If you ignore the individual, you will never create a truly exceptional team.

The popular mantra that “a team is more than the sum of its parts” sounds great. But in real life, if leaders treat people as interchangeable, they’ll get good teams—functional, competent, dependable.

But not elite. Not the kind that breaks records or wins championships.

Picture an elite women’s soccer team heading to the World Cup. Every player is world-class. But if one is struggling—through injury, personal challenges, or self-doubt—you can’t “fix” that by focusing only on the collective. You have to go to the individual level.

And research backs this up:
📊 Studies show that sitting near a high performer can lift a teammate’s productivity by up to 15%—the “spillover effect” is real.
📊 Large-scale analysis finds individual talent explains up to 28% of team success—more than team cohesion alone.

That’s why, when we work with teams, we go deep into individual strengths, struggles, and mindsets first—then we bring it back to the collective. Because exceptional teams are built in the space between the individual and the whole. Ignore either, and you cap your potential.

💬 What do you think—have we over-celebrated “the team” at the expense of the people inside it? Share your thoughts—we’d love to hear your perspective.