ANELIA MITEVA: BOOST YOUR SELF-LEADERSHIP

Anelia Miteva's career in HR goes beyond the traditional understanding of talent acquisition, training and consultancy. As the founder, managing director and inspirational leader of CATRO Bulgaria, she introduced on the local market some of the most advanced tools for encouraging creativity, adaptability and agility. As part of the Austrian leaders CATRO Personalberatung and dieBerater®, CATRO Bulgaria uses innovative know-how based on neuroscience that boosts productivity, supports professional growth and empowers clients to unleash their potential through smart HR solutions. Here is how Anelia Miteva and her team have achieved this.

You have been part of CATRO's team for 15 years already. How have you grown as a professional since then? What is your most important achievement?

When I was offered the opportunity to develop the Bulgarian office of the Austrian company CATRO Personalberatung, I felt really honoured to be trusted in such a responsible role. Before that, I had consultancy experience in Big 4 companies, however building a company from scratch was by far the bravest career step I could have imagined.

Now, 15 years later, I only can say thank you for believing in me, as this journey turned out to be my greatest professional adventure. There have been highs and lows, we have successfully passed through economic, financial, political and COVID-19 crises, out of which we grew up stronger, more confident, creative and resilient. These are some of the strengths that people acknowledge in me, combined with natural empathy, care and support of every team member.

Building a committed, creative and courageous team through these years is the biggest achievement for me as a leader of the company, as only together we can bring the maximum added value to our clients. I firmly believe that only people who feel engaged and thriving at work can inspire other individuals and organisations to grow and develop their potential at their best.

Why do your corporate clients prefer to partner with CATRO on matters such as talent acquisition, training and HR consultancy?

We are really proud to say that 70 percent of our clients are recurring ones, using our professional HR services multiple times, and trusting us as a partner for all organisational and people issues they face.

Starting with talent acquisition – one of the biggest corporate challenges in the past decade, we help clients find the best person-organization match for their expert and executive roles. This complex process involves precise headhunting, interviews, assessments, tough negotiations, and finding a win-win solution, ensuring we meet the expectations of both employer and candidate.

With regards to our training and consultancy programmes, our clients particularly value our holistic and systematic approach. We begin with a thorough analysis, considering management goals, employees' needs, and industry trends. We also continuously introduce innovative solutions driven by our passion for learning. Some pioneering programmes we launched in Bulgaria include Employee Assistance/Well-Being programme (2020), the Neuro Agility Profile tool (2020), which helps people unfold their flexibility and adaptability, and the Video Leadership Programme: Successful in the new hybrid reality (2022) – a series of educational videos, designed to help leaders navigate hybrid work challenges.

We are also honoured by the recognition from the Bulgarian HR community. In 2023, the Bulgarian Association for People Management awarded us "HR Consultancy Project of the Year" for our innovative, tailor-made Performance Management System for one of the largest media groups in Bulgaria.

Why did you decide to include the achievements of neuroscience among the services offered by CATRO?

My personal drive for innovating urged me to explore the newest research in neuroscience and its impact on peoples' behaviour during my Executive MBA at Sheffield University 8 years ago. I was particularly fascinated by the link between the mechanisms of our brain and our engagement and thriving at work, managing stress and adaptiveness to changes. The unique employee engagement programme which I created stepping on the brain-based model SCARF® has been already empirically tested in numerous industries, revealing not only new insights for the people, but also increasing their feeling of involvement and appreciation.

Few years later we were recognized as a reliable partner of one of the biggest international players in the neuroscience field – Neurolink, to represent their tool Neuro Agility Advanced+ Profile in Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus. This assessment tool empowers people to discover their strengths and potential for resilience, flexibility and agility which are among the top 5 skills of the World Economic Forum by 2030. We are convinced that Neuro Agility programmes will bring competitive advantage to all the companies in the IT, communication, retail, and production sector, who already adopted it in their teams.

Why should every successful professional today also be a leader? How can you help them develop their potential?

I strongly believe in Self-Leadership which is the practice of intentionally influencing your thinking, feelings, and actions towards higher levels of performance and effectiveness. The three main skills behind this аre self-awareness, self-regulation and self-motivation through growth mindset, and continuous learning and development. With our assessment and training programmes for emotional intelligence, agile leadership, and personal effectiveness we equip individuals and teams with the tools to boost their self-leadership potential. One of my favourite quotes is by Robin Sharma: "Leadership is not a position or a title, it is action and example, which means that everyone could spread impact, influence and inspiration. Impact involves getting results, influence is about spreading the passion you have for your work, and you have to inspire team-mates and customers."

Is there such a thing as specifically female leadership qualities, in your opinion?

As a Board Member and mentor at EMPROVE, a women-empowering NGO, I admire the subtle yet profound strength of women, which is often overlooked and underestimated. In my view, women balance their intuition very well with data analysis in decision-making. They also prioritize workplace relationships supporting their teams to drive both personal and company success.

Sofia, 45 Bregalnitsa St

+359 2 987 30 36 | sofia@catro.com

catrobg.com