How Oana Iordachescu holds true

Let's take a moment of clarity, inspired by a dear friend of mine.

"... It’s a moment to evaluate my mindset, tools, and objectives, and to remind myself why I’m on this path."

Meet Oana Iordachescu. Founder, consultant, and sought-after keynote speaker. Oana partners with major organizations across Europe, to champion measurable impact of inclusive workplaces, cross-cultural awareness, and systemic inclusion initiatives that redefine the future of work.

In today's collab, we're going to learn her personal way to stay present, insightful, and energized. Let's go!

Alberto C. Blanco (A.B.): Tell me two regular practices very unique to you that helps you stay true to yourself when you show up for others as a leader?

Oana Iordachescu (O.I.): While I wouldn’t call myself the most consistent in following rituals, I’ve developed a couple of practices that have become reliable for me over the years. One key habit is journaling, which I’ve been doing since I was about 11. It’s not something I do every day, but I use it as a way to offload and reflect when I need to. Sometimes it’s as simple as noting down the little moments, like having my morning coffee, or reflecting on bigger events in my life. It helps me stay present - both in the moment and with where I’m at in my journey. Life often pulls us into the past or the future, but journaling brings me back to now, grounding me and giving me clarity.

Alongside this, I also do a self-check-in every six months, usually during travel time when I’ve got a few quiet hours to myself. This practice is about reviewing what’s been meaningful or regretful in the past six months, while also doing assessments like Strength Finder to better understand myself. From there, I align my goals for the next phase - whether personal, health-related, or professional. It’s a moment to evaluate my mindset, tools, and objectives, and to remind myself why I’m on this path. It helps me reset and re-energize for the months ahead, and when things feel tough, it gives me a reminder to just keep showing up.

(A.B.): How did you arrive at such practices?

(O.I.): The journaling habit started with advice from a teacher when I was 10. He suggested keeping a journal, not for the usual reasons, but to look back and see how much I’d grown over a year - how unprepared or unaware I might have been. That stuck with me. As for the regular check-in, I realized over time that while we rely on performance reviews and feedback from others, the most important person to critically assess our actions, goals, and strengths is ourselves. If I don’t fully understand myself and where I want to go, how can I expect anyone else to? That’s how these practices came about.

(A.B.): What might Leadsticks readers do to cultivate their unique way to lead?

(O.I.): Trial and error can be valuable, but not at the expense of others. Start by building a solid foundation rooted in ethics, people experience, communication, and clarity. Once you have that base, then add your personal touch - whether you're a consensus-driven leader, a creative thinker, or someone who leads with clear direction. The key is to deeply understand what you bring to the table and then test, refine, and adjust based on your unique style and environment.

May this conversation help strengthen your foundation.

To Connect with Oana:

Join Oana on LinkedIN.
Visit Fair Barcelona.
Build a word-class DeepTech team.

Hit reply and I’ll give you a specific suggestion to your situation. 

All best, 

Alberto

Featured photo

Oana and Alberto, exchanging ideas and brainstorming how to collaborate, in the Talent Arena conference, in Barcelona.

PS: if you liked this collab, you can check out previous editions here.