We recently connected with Jelena Sljivar and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jelena thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you ever experienced an industry-wide U-Turn? Tell us about it?
I’ve experienced a few U-Turns, both in my career and in the industries I’ve worked in.
I began in psychology, but my first professional chapter was in finance, working as a business and risk analyst. That world taught me to think in systems, models, and numbers, yet I never lost sight of what truly drives those systems: human behavior. Over time, that blend of logic and psychology naturally led me into IT and product management.
When I entered tech, the focus was on speed, automation, and efficiency. Success was measured by how fast you could build and scale. Then the U-Turn came. The industry began realizing that the biggest challenges weren’t technical at all, they were human. Collaboration, communication, and motivation became the new differentiators, and empathy found its place next to efficiency.
That shift mirrored my own transformation: moving from the U.S. to Europe and pursuing formal training in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). Studying REBT has deepened my belief that lasting progress, whether in systems or people, depends on how we think, not just what we build.
For me, the real U-Turn wasn’t moving from processes to people. It was realizing that people have always been at the heart of every process, every system, and every meaningful change.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
At the core of everything I do is a fascination with how people think, make decisions, and adapt to change. My work combines disciplines that don’t often meet, psychology/psychotherapy and product management, to help people and organizations create clarity in the midst of complexity.
In my product leadership role, I focus on designing systems and workflows that help teams move from chaos to structure while keeping human experience at the center. In my psychotherapy training and practice, I work with individuals and groups who are navigating transitions, uncertainty, or burnout, using principles and techniques from Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) to help them bring to light, challenge, and change irrational beliefs that hold them back.
What ties these two worlds together is a shared goal: enabling thoughtful, intentional change. Whether it’s a product team defining a roadmap or a person redefining their next chapter, my work is about helping them see their thinking more clearly so they can make better decisions and move forward with confidence.
What I’m most proud of is that my career has never fit neatly into one box, and that’s exactly what gives me perspective. It allows me to bridge data and empathy, structure and emotion, logic and humanity, because meaningful progress always depends on both.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
One of the most influential thinkers for me has been Brené Brown. Her work on vulnerability and courage fundamentally changed how I see leadership – not as perfection or control, but as the willingness to show up and be seen, even when the outcome is uncertain.
She often references Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech – the idea that credit belongs to the person who dares to step into the arena, who risks failure, and keeps striving toward something meaningful despite the dust, the sweat, and the critics. That image deeply resonated with me.
For a long time, I believed professionalism meant composure: keeping emotions in check and always having the answers. But Brené’s work helped me see that the real measure of strength is the courage to be imperfect, to speak honestly, and to lead with humanity.
As a product leader, that means creating teams where people can experiment, fail safely, and learn openly. And as a psychologist and psychotherapist-in-training, it means helping clients find that same courage in their own lives – to face fear, challenge old beliefs, and take ownership of their story.
Because without vulnerability, there is no courage.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
When I was 16, I left my home country and moved to the United States on my own to study, living with a host family I had never met before. It was both exciting and terrifying. I had to learn a new language, adapt to a new culture, and build confidence far outside my comfort zone.
I still remember a quote I saw on the fridge in my host family’s kitchen: “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” My immediate answer was – anything. That moment stayed with me and shaped how I’ve approached every challenge since.
To me, resilience is about acting even when failure feels likely, or almost certain, because the only true failure is not trying at all. It’s knowing that each setback teaches you something essential and that you’ll come out stronger on the other side.
Every major decision since, from changing industries to moving back to Europe and starting psychotherapy training mid-career, has come from that same belief that growth only happens when you step forward even when success isn’t guaranteed.
If any part of this story resonates with you, or if you feel I may be able to help, I’d love to connect. You can find me on LinkedIn (Jelena Sljivar) to continue the conversation.
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