News & Events

💡 How can you get everything done without losing yourself along the way?
That was the key question discussed during the session with Olesia Ulianova, Ph.D., MBA, CEO of Telesens and founder of IT Grow Center, held as part of the student community of Kharkiv IT Cluster.

The topic — “Time Management: How to Get Everything Done Without Burning Out” — brought together active students from Kharkiv’s technical universities who want not only to develop professional skills but also to learn how to manage their energy, focus, and productivity effectively.

What We Discussed

🔹 Why planning doesn’t work if you ignore your personal energy rhythms;
🔹 Why a “to-do list” doesn’t equal productivity;
🔹 How the Parkinson’s Law and Zeigarnik Effect influence motivation;
🔹 And most importantly — how not to burn out when deadlines never end.

Practical Tools Students Took Away

💭 ABC Model and Eisenhower Matrix — for prioritizing tasks effectively;
🧠 “Good Enough” Method — to stop perfectionism from draining energy;
📆 Microfocus System — short, 90-minute cycles for deep work;
🧩 Daily 3-Question Reflection:
What gave me energy? What drained it? What will I do differently tomorrow?

“Time management is not about controlling time — it’s about taking responsibility for your attention,”
— emphasized Olesia Ulianova.

Why It Matters for IT Students

Modern technical careers demand not only hard skills, but also self-management.
In a world where workloads grow faster than experience, those who can recover, adapt, and manage their focus will go further.

“Your first career resource isn’t your diploma — it’s your energy.
It determines how far you’ll go,” — concluded Ulianova.

On October 31, 2025, as part of the 3rd International Scientific and Practical Conference “Challenges and Prospects for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development of Territories,” the Karazin Business School hosted a special session titled “Human Potential in the Modern World: Digital Transformation, Emotional Resilience, and the Challenges of the Silver Economy.”

Among the invited speakers was Olesia Ulianova, Ph.D., MBA — founder of IT Grow Center and CEO of Telesens, a recognized expert in team development and soft skills.
Her presentation, “From Digital Change to Emotional Resilience: How to Manage People Effectively in a Post-Crisis World,” sparked active discussion among the forum participants.

The New Reality of Management: From VUCA to BANI

“We no longer live in a VUCA world — we live in a BANI world. And that means old management methods simply don’t work anymore,” — emphasized Olesia Ulianova.

She explained that digital transformation has become a source of constant emotional strain — the speed of technological change now exceeds the speed of human adaptation.

“Many managers today lead not people, but digital shadows — statuses, tasks, and metrics.
But teams aren’t Jira boards or KPIs. They’re living people — with emotions, fears, and ambitions.”

Three Levels of Resilience for the Modern Manager

Olesia Ulianova highlighted three interrelated levels of resilience:

💪 Personal — self-regulation, energy boundaries, and healthy rhythms;
🤝 Team — psychological safety, trust, and a culture of feedback;
🏢 Organizational — rituals of support, transparent communication, and balance-oriented policies.

“A team mirrors the emotional state of its leader.
When the leader burns out, the system begins to crack,” — she stressed.

How to Support Emotional Resilience in Teams

Olesia shared several practical tools for managers and teams:
🔹 Emotional check-ins — simple questions like “How are you today?”
🔹 Normalizing pauses and time-outs — as a form of burnout prevention.
🔹 Support anchors — short, grounding phrases that create safety.
🔹 Micro-rituals — morning syncs without tasks, gratitude rounds, Slack channels for “Small Wins.”

“Emotional resilience isn’t about ‘never burning out.’
It’s about the ability to recover,” — summarized the speaker.

From Control to Evolution

Olesia presented a new management model — Recognize – Grow – Adapt, centered on development, not control:

• Recognize: See strengths even in times of crisis.

• Grow: Create growth opportunities through projects.

• Adapt: Allow people to evolve, change roles, and redefine trajectories.

“The meaning of the new era isn’t control — it’s evolution,” — emphasized Ulianova.

The Portrait of a Future Manager

According to Olesia, an effective manager in a post-crisis world is someone who is:

🧭 Psychologically mature — understands themselves and their emotions;
💻 Digitally literate — aware of how technology affects people;
💡 An empathetic strategist — combines systems thinking with emotional intelligence;
🤲 A facilitator, not a controller — creates the right environment instead of pushing processes.

“Check your team’s condition not through KPIs, but through dialogue.
Review your rituals — see what gives energy and what drains it.
And most importantly, adapt your system to people, not people to the system,” — concluded Olesia Ulianova.

The People Management School has officially launched at Telesens — an educational program designed to develop modern managers and team leaders.
I had the honor of creating this school as a space for practical learning, deep reflection, and the growth of key soft skills — the foundation of effective management today.

A Learning Experience That Shapes the Leaders of Tomorrow

People Management School consists of 12 workshops built around real management cases, team psychology, and practices that work in dynamic IT environments.
The program’s goal is to help managers:

• better understand themselves and their teams,

• strengthen communication,

• manage change and stress, and

• sustain initiative and growth among their people.
  

Core Topics of the School

The curriculum covers the most essential aspects of people management, including:

💬 Constructive Feedback — how to give feedback that truly helps others grow.
🧭 Handling Criticism — receiving it calmly and using it for self-improvement.
⚙️ Teamwork Under Stress — maintaining stability and efficiency in turbulent times.
🔥 Initiative — how to prevent burnout and keep your team’s inner fire alive.
📚 Adult Learning Principles — how to build a culture of continuous learning.
💡 Creativity and Innovation — practical tools for developing creative thinking.
🧠 Critical Thinking — making sound, unbiased decisions.
🤝 Conflict Management — turning conflicts into growth opportunities.
🔄 Psychology of Change — adapting to new technologies and realities.
🌿 Mindfulness and Focus — preserving energy and inner balance.
✏️ Feynman Technique — explaining complex things simply and inspiringly.

The Philosophy Behind the School

This program isn’t just a series of workshops — it’s a leadership lab,
where we explore human behavior, analyze real situations, and find working solutions together with participants.

Each module combines theory, practice, and reflection, ensuring that knowledge doesn’t stay in notebooks but turns into daily actions.

We talk not only about how to lead others, but first and foremost — how to lead yourself: your emotions, attention, decisions, and reactions.

Who the People Management School Is For

This program is designed for:

• team and project managers;

• leaders who want to strengthen trust and engagement within their teams;

• specialists preparing for their first managerial role;

• HR professionals working on talent development.
  

Telesens: A Culture of Continuous Growth

For me, People Management School is yet another confirmation that Telesens is a company that develops not only products but also people.
It’s a place where learning is part of daily work, and growth is not optional — it’s the standard.

I’m deeply grateful to the first cohort of participants for their openness, deep discussions, and genuine desire to become better leaders every day.

📍 People Management School at Telesens is about leadership without pretension, development without lectures, and change that begins with yourself.

At the Grow Factory community event, Olesia Ulianova, founder of IT Grow Center, Ph.D., MBA, and expert in leadership and team dynamics, delivered a thought-provoking session titled “Dream Team: How to Build Strong People, Not Comfortable Ones.”

The topic sparked vivid discussion among participants, as it revealed the realities of modern management without illusions or clichés.

A Real Team Is About Growth, Not Comfort

During her talk, Olesia Ulianova addressed one of the core paradoxes of people management:

“We often want ‘comfortable’ people — those who agree, don’t argue, don’t question decisions.
But a true dream team isn’t made of comfortable people — it’s made of strong ones.
Those who debate, think critically, take responsibility, and care about outcomes.”

She emphasized that a mature manager doesn’t fear resistance, because it’s through debate, honesty, and mutual feedback that a team’s true strength emerges.

Five Components of a Dream Team

According to Olesia Ulianova, every high-performing team has five essential characteristics:

💬 Trust — without it, collaboration quickly falls apart.
⚙️ Responsibility — not delegation by avoidance, but conscious ownership of decisions.
🔁 Feedback — honest, regular, and focused on growth.
🤝 Shared Game Principle — when one person’s success equals the team’s success.
🎯 Meaning — understanding why we work together in the first place.

“A dream team isn’t about comfort. It’s about people who make you better — even when it’s uncomfortable,” — highlighted Olesia.

Modern Management: The Balance Between Strength and Humanity

Olesia also shared insights from her work with IT teams and managers at different levels.
She emphasized that the manager’s role today is not to control, but to create an environment where everyone can realize their potential.

“The leader of the future is not a hero who carries everything alone.
They are an architect who builds the kind of space where others can grow,” — she said.

Grow Factory: A Community Where Leaders Emerge

The Grow Factory event was part of a series of open sessions dedicated to leadership development, communication, and management skills.
Participants discussed real cases, shared challenges, and explored how to balance high standards with trust and empathy in teams.

A Final Takeaway from Olesia Ulianova:

“A dream team doesn’t happen by accident.
It’s the result of systematic growth, brave decisions, and the courage to have honest conversations.”

A Workshop by Olesia Ulianova for the UKAD Team

The modern IT world demands speed, efficiency, and constant adaptation.
But along with these come the main professional risk — emotional burnout.

That’s exactly what the workshop “Ctrl+Alt+Del: How Not to Burn Out in IT and Reset Yourself”, conducted by Olesia Ulianova, founder of IT Grow Center, focused on for the UKAD team.

Understanding Burnout Before It Starts

During the session, participants explored how to distinguish regular fatigue from real burnout, its various forms — emotional, cognitive, professional, and value-based — and what actually “burns out” in each case: energy, meaning, or human connection.

Olesia shared practical recovery tools — from micro-actions that don’t rely on willpower to team-based resilience strategies.

🧩 Participants learned to identify their personal warning signals, build an individual safe mode, and develop a burnout prevention system — one where self-care is not a weakness, but a sign of professional maturity.

“Burnout isn’t about weakness. It’s a response to expectations that exceed your available resources.
To stay in shape, you need to know when to slow down — not wait until you crash,”
— emphasized Olesia Ulianova.

Team Burnout: When the Whole Crew Runs Out of Energy

Special attention was given to team burnout — when fatigue spreads across the group, not just one person.
Olesia discussed how to recognize the early signs — silent stand-ups, loss of humor, indifference to results — and how leaders can act to prevent collective “meltdown.”

📍By the end of the workshop, the UKAD team created their own “Anti-Burnout Map” — a set of personal and team practices designed to preserve energy, engagement, and balance even during peak workloads.

Want to Bring This Workshop to Your Company?

📩 Contact IT Grow Center to learn more about programs for teams and managers that help strengthen resilience, leadership, and emotional balance in the IT environment.

As part of the National Girls in ICT Day, Olesia Ulianova, founder of IT Grow Center, Ph.D. in Technical Sciences, MBA, USAID mentor, and expert in transformational management, delivered an inspiring speech about the role of women in shaping the future of technology, breaking gender myths, and creating an environment where women can thrive without limits.

Tech Is Not About Gender — It’s About Potential

“IT is not about men or women. It’s about mindset, curiosity, systems thinking, and the courage to create,” — emphasized Olesia Ulianova.

She highlighted that women today are not just part of the tech industry — they lead teams, build products, drive innovation, and reshape corporate cultures.
According to Olesia, the combination of female creativity and analytical thinking brings a new quality to leadership, teamwork, and the evolution of the IT ecosystem.

Five Myths About Women in Tech — and the Truth Behind Them

During her talk, Olesia debunked the most common stereotypes that still hold women back from tech careers:

💬 Myth: “Women’s brains work differently.”
✅ Truth: There are no physiological differences that affect technological abilities.

💬 Myth: “Women in IT only work in HR or recruitment.”
✅ Truth: More and more women hold technical, product, and leadership roles.

💬 Myth: “It’s hard for women to work with male developers.”
✅ Truth: Professionals speak one language — competence.

💬 Myth: “It’s harder for women to get into IT companies.”
✅ Truth: Hiring is based on knowledge and experience, not gender.

💬 Myth: “Women are less ambitious.”
✅ Truth: Responsibility, strategic thinking, and system-based mindset are key strengths of women in business.

The Mission of IT Grow Center

Founded by Olesia Ulianova, IT Grow Center is a space for managers and professionals who strive to combine technical expertise with soft skills, critical thinking, leadership, and personal growth.

The center conducts workshops, manager development programs, and team training for IT companies — building a culture of continuous learning.

“My mission is to help people grow in IT not only professionally but personally.
Technology changes the world — but it’s people who define the direction it takes,” — noted Olesia Ulianova.

Women Who Create Change

“When girls see examples of successful women in tech, they start believing they can do it too.
And that’s the best investment in the future of the industry,” — concluded Olesia.

💡 The National Girls in ICT Day is more than just an event — it’s a symbol of change.
Thanks to initiatives supported by IT Grow Center, more and more women are choosing IT as a space for growth, leadership, and inspiration.

As part of a Women in Tech community event, Olesia Ulianova, founder of IT Grow Center, Ph.D., MBA, USAID mentor, and expert in leadership development for technology businesses, delivered an inspiring talk titled “Challenges for IT Leaders in 2023+ and How to Overcome Them.”

The session brought together hundreds of women from across the IT industry — all seeking balance between leadership, change, and personal resilience.

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The BANI world: when old rules no longer apply

“The world isn’t just fast anymore — it’s brittle, anxious, and unpredictable.
Today’s leader must not only plan but also know how to improvise,” — emphasized Olesia.

She explained that we now live in a BANI environment — Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, Incomprehensible — where traditional management models no longer work.

To stay effective, a leader must be:
🧩 Build up — able to rebuild and create anew;
👁 Attentive — mindful of people and context;
🧠 Non-dogmatic — open to new ideas and unafraid to question assumptions;
💫 Intuitive — capable of transcendent thinking, guided by intuition and experience.

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What helps women leaders stay strong

Olesia shared key principles of open and inspired leadership:

Practice what you preach — authenticity over “being right.”

Responsibility is always personal — don’t delegate it to the system.

Don’t work with those who don’t believe in themselves — trust in the team starts with belief.

Teams thrive when taking action feels easier than staying still.

To be ready for change, you need a dose of “healthy social nonconformity” — courage and inner freedom.

“The leader of the future is not a superhero — she’s an architect of an environment where others can grow,” — noted Ulianova.

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Next-generation soft skills

During the workshop, participants explored the skills that are becoming critical for women leaders in tech within the BANI reality:
💡 flexibility and the ability to unlearn;
⚡ energy management — both personal and team;
💬 empathy that reduces anxiety and builds trust;
🎯 communication with clarity — “speak to be understood, listen to understand.”

A particularly strong response came from the discussion of the SCARF model — five basic human needs: Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness, which form the foundation of motivation and mutual respect in teams.

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The key message

“Women in technology today are not about gender —
they are about vision, resilience, and the ability to create meaning even in chaos,” — concluded Olesia Ulianova.

The greatest value of any leader lies in developing their people.
Some managers are naturally successful at this, relying on intuition and personal talent; others struggle simply because they lack those innate abilities.
So what should both types do? The answer is simple — learn how to do it consciously.

Mentorship is neither magic nor a sacred art that only a few can master.
Today, there are many modern methods and frameworks that help leaders:

• identify learning needs,

• organize and structure the mentoring process,

• apply a coaching-based approach, and most importantly,

• measure real results.

As Olena Urusova, HRD of Credit Agricole Ukraine, insightfully noted:

“Mentoring has replaced everything — coaching, facilitation, and even internal training.”

Throughout our program, we explored various development models, learned how to build both a personalized and adaptive approach for each mentee, and identified metrics to evaluate mentoring effectiveness.

Of course, we also focused on engagement techniques, methods for identifying mentees’ needs, and creating a roadmap — from the first meeting structure to ongoing mentoring sessions.