About me
Mgr. Ida Peťková, Ph.D.
HI! I’M IDA
“I am passionate advocate of coaching as I believe in its power to transform people as well as make dreams happen. For this reason I offer the first 20 minutes of coaching for free to new clients.”
And here is my story
If you fancy short bullet point CVs, click here, if you prefer stories, continue reading…
Suicides, Art, and Me
In 2007 I was still studying to get my Ph.D. in psychology and was employed as a researcher at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. I studied the relationship between artistic creation, mental disorders, and suicide. I got the chance to live in the US as a Fulbright scholar and speak at conferences across the globe.
At the same time, I knew that being “locked” in the researcher’s office with only books and little contact with people was not for me.
From Suicides to HR
In 2007 I applied for a position in an HR consulting company. I got the chance to meet general managers and CEOs, many of whom were awesome leaders. At the same time, I started teaching leadership skills and coaching managers whose bosses sent them to coaching to be “fixed.” Yet, I was immature and unprepared for this role.”
As a psychologist, I had learned how to evaluate leadership skills through psychological diagnostics, assessment and development centers, and personnel audits. I had read countless articles, visited many conferences, and participated in table discussions. With more than 500 hours of psychotherapy training I became better in self-management as well as understanding others. But what I lacked was becoming a leader myself.
The Road to Leadership
In 2010 I succeeded in an interview for the HR Manager role in a Dutch pharmaceutical company Synthon with a subsidiary in the Czech Republic. In less than three years, I built the HR department from scratch, set up necessary HR processes, and managed to be seen as an HR leader across the company. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed coaching leaders of that company to help them work better with their teams. During this time, I also finished ICF-Accredited coach training program The Art & Science of Coaching at Erickson College.
Coaching training and practice made me more successful in helping others succeed. In 2013 I ventured out of my comfort zone and applied for an HR role at a fast-growing American IT company, SolarWinds. Over the next year I was part of the leadership team supporting the Czech office through its intensive growth, and I also gained HR responsibility for an Irish office. In 2014 I was rewarded with a promotion to International HR Director for the Czech Republic, Ireland, Poland, and India offices. In 2015 I found myself responsible for building a Learning & Development Department, serving nine international locations, and leading a team in Texas while residing in the Czech Republic.
What truly helped me build my career were behaviors that work in most companies for most people: asking the right questions, orientation to results, learning from the success and mistakes of others, learning through doing, and most of all CARING ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF OTHERS MORE THAN MY OWN.
During my time at SolarWinds, no matter what responsibilities I’ve had, I’ve thus protected my role as a leadership trainer and a coach.
Helping Others Succeed
With my daughter and son growing up, I started to feel more and more that I want to make a bigger impact while spending enough quality time with my family. I have had the opportunity to train, coach, mentor, or design training for thousands of people.
In 2015, from all people I had been working with, my favorite group was the first-time managers. Because not only were they able to improve leadership skills fast, but because I could sense their enthusiasm to learn.
That was when I created the Grow2Lead project because I know that companies don’t always provide management training to those who need it and look for it.
Since then I have worked with different thought leaders at different levels of organizations. I have worked with those lost in their first weeks or months in the role looking for guidance on what to do to succeed, wants to make sure he is on the right track, remote leaders struggling with being a long-distance leaders, as well as with people simply looking for ways to get better faster.