Katya Davydova on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Katya Davydova. Check out our conversation below.

Katya, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
I’ve been on a journey of expression as my theme for this year, especially as I face my own reticence of being seen and instead opting to be the listener in social circles. Recently, I sang as part of a community choir (with my previous singing experience being belting songs in the shower), launched a long-form writing newsletter called Drinking Curiositea, and, my favorite, learned to dance!

At the top of this year, I enrolled into beginner salsa classes, and also got roped into learning bachata. After 30 consecutive weeks of learning both, I decided to continue the salsa journey, and have now been dancing for 11 months straight! That’s 2-6 nights of dancing each week.

The reason this brings me so much joy is that it is such a gorgeous medium to express oneself through movement, AND a way to steal moments in time to co-create an experience with one’s partner. Much like bouldering (my previous obsession before salsa), dancing completely entrances me: when I have a strong connection with my lead, the whole world falls away. Nothing else exists except for right here, right now.

I came into dancing thinking I had two left feet and zero grace, since I grew up doing gymnastics, running, lifting, and other power-oriented activities. Allowing myself to surrender to being led (difficult for my dominant personality!) has really deepened my appreciation for partnership and being in flow.

During classes with my militant instructor (every move has to be perfect, and I dig that!), I experience feeling out of my depth and frustration. That, to me, is the whole point of learning and growth–getting to stretch far beyond the comfort zone and coming out on the other side.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Yes! Hello there, I’m Katya! My mission is to make the world of work (and life) more joyful, meaningful, and human.

In short, I’m an organizational development expert, ICF-certified holistic executive coach, keynote and TEDx speaker, and award-winning author.

To make this easier on your eyes and attention span (😉), I’ll break it down into sections.

Key Work

I’ve had the honor to impact 7,000+ executives, managers, and individual contributors across 700+ workshops and coaching engagements on topics like effective feedback, leading change, strategic thinking, inclusive behaviors, and habits of joy, working with leaders at Google, Netflix, Instacart, e.l.f., JobAdder, and more, spanning almost every industry.

I’m also the founder of Effervescent You (soon to be rebranded), where I guide leaders to feel at home on the stage of their life. That means I get to:

1. Coach high performers in executive communication and public speaking, leadership challenges, and transitions. I help them fall in love with themselves and their work.

2. Speak and facilitate learning experiences on leadership development, joy, and personal growth on stages like TEDx, Culture Summit, Conferences for Women, and global learning and development organizations.

3. Consult with organizations to untangle thorny organizational challenges to uphold individual and systemic thriving.

Background

I hold an M.S. in organizational development and knowledge management and an ACC coaching credential from the International Coaching Federation. My background is in running and scaling L&D programs, people operations and building employee experience initiatives, consulting, and human-centered design.

I also wrote a book on wonder in the ordinary and gave a TEDx talk on treasure hunting. You can find them here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZDPJ23L/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBWPB604NVw

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who taught you the most about work?
Hands down, my mom. We came to America from an underserved country when I was a kid and my parents were around 40. None of us knew English, so my mom had to: learn the language and customs, find a job, make sure I was settled in school, grapple with the identity loss of being a highly-skilled worker and community member to starting from scratch, and survive in a totally different way of being.

She found an accounting job (numbers don’t really have language barriers), went to night school for English classes, and made the ordinary extraordinary, like creating a pizza-making day celebration (because we were too poor to eat out).

My mom relished the phrase “Yes, I can, I know I can,” and we’d say it together when math homework or gymnastics or life got hard. That cultivated a strong belief in myself that I can really accomplish anything if I put my mind to it, and it’s worked out in life so far. I was curious about writing a book, so I did. I sent in a last-minute application for a TEDx talk (literally, the deadline was 11:59pm and I clicked Submit at 11:58pm), and shared a message on stage that I still get comments about its impact years later.

This tenacious mindset, however, had a dark side. There was pressure of perfectionism from my parents, where “If it’s not an A, it’s not okay.” So as much as I learned about just doing it, I had to unlearn perfectionism and ignoring the constant pushing beyond my limits (definitely a great thing in many contexts, but it’s quite easy to overdo for high-achievers).

Luckily, as I’ve been on that acceptance and growth journey myself, I’ve shared my learnings with my mom, and now we hold each other accountable for not working too hard to the point of burnout.

When did you last change your mind about something important?
Such a poignant question, and one that I believe more people need to talk about. It’s okay to change our minds!

Something I’m actively experimenting with is ditching the hustle mindset and trusting that great opportunities will surface, given I put in the relevant work and energy.

As I alluded to above, my superpower growing up was achievement through sheer effort. Work hard, see results, de-prioritize rest. One funny thing was that I would work out harder and lift heavier when on my cycle so that I could “shorten” it and not have to deal with it–pushing through at all costs, ignoring biology. I was so adamant about powering through (emphasis on power!).

These days, while I still work really hard–especially having quit corporate two years ago and exploring life as a business owner, executive coach, facilitator, and so many more hats–I try to be mindful of where my energy goes. I know I’m most fresh in the mornings, so I do my deep work then. Afternoons are for coaching sessions and other necessary business tasks. Sometimes, I will work 12-hour days–albeit with distractions and breaks–but I try to schedule evening activities like salsa dancing and friend hangs so I can efficiently finish my work on time.

I am also more okay with not getting everything done on my daily to-do lists, in line with how Oliver Burkeman writes about wrestling with our human finitude in his book Meditations for Mortals. I am in a season where I give myself more grace and love instead of being militant about perfect achievement every single day. (Just yesterday, I gave myself a day off from working out and really leaned into that rest day, which happens about once every few months, and felt not even one iota of negativity towards myself about it!). Finally, despite my best efforts, I’ve accepted that I cannot get back to all of my messages and requests from others across eight different platforms on a daily basis, so I often take a while to reply to friends, and that’s okay, even if I have to ask for grace from others.

In sum, I believe that the more goodness we put out into the world, the more goodness will be reflected back to us. If I can share my gifts and presence with others, I trust that good things will come. And instead of constantly grinding, I can relax into the seasons of hard work and rest without always being 100% on. This has been a major change in how I operate and how I coach others, and it’s been a beautiful, bountiful journey so far.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I have a set of several core beliefs that guide my experience, work, and relationships with others:
1. Self-awareness is the foundation of leadership and life.
2. Authenticity is the courage to be seen as you are, not as you think you should be, and is a lifelong practice of removing our armor and integrating the different parts of ourselves.
3. Responsibility (doing the work) is how we honor our potential, and our response-ability tells us our approach to doing the work.
4. The difficult practices of leaning into paradox, expanding our capacity to hold seemingly opposing truths, and discernment are crucial to engaging with the world with critical thinking and feeling.
5. Our power lies in presence and curiosity–the cornerstones of human existence and flourishing.
6. Play, magic, whimsy, and joy are always accessible if we look for them and choose to act on them.

One of my drivers in life is to help people feel seen, heard, and valued. That means I have to attune to myself, my relationships, and the world in order to help others do the same, if they choose.

Often, I work with high-power leaders who want a quick fix: “I want to be a better public speaker. I want to lead my team more effectively. Give me the tangible skills!”

And, yes, tangible, research-backed skills are absolutely crucial, and I do teach those.

But it’s so important to be able to face our own selves–the light and the shadow–to see ourselves and our perceptions for what they are. I believe this deep awareness and metacognition, coupled with a kindness to ourselves first, can make the world a better place.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: When do you feel most at peace?
Movement, nature, and flow. Those three criteria are my recipe for peace.

Movement: there’s nothing like a runner’s high or a scintillating salsa dance that makes me feel both euphoric and centered during and after the fact. I seek out movement daily to create inner peace and outer strength.

Nature: one of my favorite things to do is escape city life to hike some remote mountain. The exaltation of doing something really hard, rewarded by stunning views and sheer quiet at the top, is really irreplicable. Whenever I slow down enough to hike or even lie down in the grass at the park, peace comes.

Flow: when I’m writing and in a psychological state of flow, everything else melts away. This stillness brings peace and expansion as I focusedly wrestle with ideas.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/effervescentyou
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/kdavydova13
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katyadavydova/

Image Credits
Rich Schmitt
Laura DelPrato
Kori Price