Irina Cozma, Career & Executive Coach

I dreamed overnight that I had just 500 email subscribers instead of 1,500 I actually have.

[The world is on fire and that is what I dream!!! Just to see what the book publishing journey can do to you haha]

So if you want to help me have better (day and night) dreams, please subscribe to my newsletter 🫶

By doing that, you will also have the chance to take the Possibility Thinker Assessment to check yourself if there is anything else you can do to have more ease in your professional life.

https://irinacozma.com/assessment

And if there is anything I can do to help with your (day or night) dreams, please let me know.

Like 👍, comment 💭, or re-post ♻️ to share with others.

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🧬 I coach professionals to become using the power of options. You always have the option to become better at who you are and what you do.

What has happened since I started my business 7 years ago?
If April 2019 me and April 2026 me sat in a room they wouldn’t believe each other.

I was featured in Business Insider, Forbes, Fast Company, etc.
I worked with 100+ direct clients and 200+ from partnerships.
I increased my revenue each year from the previous year.
I wrote 17 HBR articles.
I start writing a book.
I did 10+ podcasts.

Most importantly, I enjoyed every bit of it.

Since a year ago when I resigned from my last full-time job…
… I start feeling more and more like a complete human.
… my professional life makes sense like never before.

Can hardly wait to see what happens next 🥳🥳🥳

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🧬 I coach professionals to become using the power of options. You always have the option to become better at who you are and what you do.

Hiring was my first professional love :) I …
🌟 Interviewed hundreds of candidates
🌟 Validated assessments to predict performance
🌟 Designed section systems
🌟 Trained recruiters and hiring managers on behavioral interviewing

While these days my professional love is coaching, selection still has a special place in my heart :)

That’s why I’m thrilled to join this panel for Founder Institute - Keystone.

We are diving deep into how first-time founders can build culture intentionally and transition from individual contributors to effective leaders.

In this session you will learn:
✔️ Which roles matter most in the first 10–20 hires
✔️ Common hiring mistakes first time founders make
✔️ How to assess talent without a big brand or budget
✔️ How to evolve your leadership style as the team scales

📌 This event is open to anyone who finds this topic useful. No Founder Institute affiliation needed.

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🧬 I coach professionals to become using the power of options. You always have the option to become better at who you are and what you do.

It’s nice to be recognized without being asked for money in the process 😁
This is the second time Influence Digest has included me in their list.

There was no application, no fee, and no "pay-to-play" involved.

Just a simple recognition of the work I love doing every day.

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🧬 I coach professionals to become using the power of options. You always have the option to become better at who you are and what you do.

Millions of professionals wake up dreading the workday ahead.
Don’t let that be you!

After two decades of coaching leaders, executives, and entrepreneurs, I noticed a pattern:

When people feel stuck, it’s rarely because there are no options.
It’s because they’ve stopped seeing them.

That’s why I am happy to formally introduce "The Possibility Thinker Assessment" with my LinkedIn community 🎊 🌟 🎉 ✨

It’s a short diagnostic designed to reveal where your professional thinking is expanding… and where it might be quietly limiting your options.

What’s inside?
The assessment is free and explores three core areas of professional expansion:
🧠 Inner Possibilities: Developing a deeper understanding of your own strengths, values, and words.
⚙️ Process Possibilities: Using practical steps to generate more options and move past being "stuck."
🤝 Relational Possibilities: Expanding your world through deliberate collaboration and diverse networks.

Why Take It?
✔️ It’s for growth: This isn't a "pass or fail" test; it’s a developmental roadmap for your current role.
✔️ Start where you are: Whether you are an "Emerging" or "Strategic" thinker, the results provide concrete next steps to help you evolve.
✔️ Competitive edge: Even a lower starting score is a win. It gives you a baseline to compete against as you grow!

Millions of people wake up in the morning dreading the workday ahead.
Don’t be one of them!
Stop reacting to your circumstances and start shaping them.

👇 Check the comments to take the assessment and start waking up with more tools and ideas for your workday!

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🧬 I coach professionals to become using the power of options. You always have the option to become better at who you are and what you do.

I invite you to spend one hour with me on March 25th.

As part of the University of Tennessee Alumni Association Center for Career Advancements, I will talk about how to become a Possibility Thinker.

The event is organized for the UT alumni but ... ANYBODY CAN REGISTER!!
🎉 🎁 🎊 🥳

I will talk about a few of my favorite methods for creating more options in our professional lives.

The premise of the Possibility Thinking concept is this:

Millions of people wake up in the morning dreading the workday ahead.
Don’t be one of them.
You can wake up having more tools, ideas, resources, and perspective on how to better engage in your professional life.
You might not need a new job to feel different about Monday mornings.
You might just need to become better at who you are and what you do.
You might need to become a Possibility Thinker.

📅 March 25th
🕛 Noon ET

Registration in the comments.

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🧬 I coach professionals to become a using the power of options. You always have the option to become better at who you are and what you do.

I don’t need a coach to be more efficient and organized.
However, I do need a coach to…
… do my daily stretches (Thank you Hindge Health App).
… improve my voice projection (Thank you Brianne).
… do strength training (Thank you Jenniffer).
… for cardio exercises (Thank you YMCA).

[It does take a village!!]

Marshal Goldsmith – the coach guru – works with a coach.
Because he knows better.

James Clear – the habit guy – works with a personal trainer.
Because he knows better.

I cannot think of any better way to spend your money than to accelerate your progress in areas where it’s hard to do on your own.

If you want to accelerate being better at who you are and what you do, reach out:
https://irinacozma.com/contact

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🧬 I coach professionals to become possibility thinkers using the power of options. You always have the option to become better at who you are and what you do.

I want to invite you to a conversation.

Because most professional decisions are messy.
They don’t start with clarity.
They don’t wait for certainty.
And they rarely follow a straight line.
That’s not a failure of decision-making.
That’s how real life works.

On February 12, JP Michel and I will host a live conversation where we’ll share what we’ve learned from our own professional journeys and from working with thousands of clients across early, mid, and late career stages.

In this conversation, we’ll explore:
☀️ How early career decisions can shape (or not) leadership behavior later
☀️ What mid- and late-career professionals often wish they had known earlier
☀️ Practical ways to help people make professional choices without needing certainty
☀️ What meaningful behavioral change actually looks like in real life (not in theory)

This is not a “follow these five steps” session.
We will take an honest look at how people navigate complexity, create options, and move forward even when the path isn’t clear.

📅 When: February 12 | Noon ET
👉 Where: Zoom registration in the comments

I hope you’ll join us for a thoughtful, practical conversation.

And if you know somebody who might benefit from this session, please send them this post.

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🧬 I coach professionals to become using the power of options. You always have the option to become better at who you are and what you do.

Years ago, I caught myself saying:
“I need to fight with that team.”
The moment I realized how much unnecessary tension that one word created.

So I changed it to:

“I’ll have a conversation with them.”

Nothing else changed.
But my stress level did.

Emotionally charged words amplify pressure.
Neutral language creates space.

I did something similar in my daily work.

I put a single note on my monitor:

“Slow down.”

Those two words saved me from hundreds of emotional spirals.

Because words regulate.
Words calm.
Words guide behavior.

Our brain is both the simplest and the most complex tool we have.

Naming what’s happening reduces stress.
Naming what you want gives the brain direction.

Reframing language doesn’t avoid reality.
It gives you more empowering options to deal with it.

And sometimes, that’s all you need.

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🧬 I coach professionals to become using the power of options. You always have the option to become better at who you are and what you do.

Goal setting is my favorite theory ever so I cannot be silent anymore.
Seriously. When did goals become the villain? 😲

Lately, I see a lot of pushback against goals.
“Forget goals. Focus on habits.”
“Systems matter, goals don’t.”
“Processes over outcomes.”

Excuse me?! What?! 🫨 😮 😲

You cannot have a habit, a system, or a process without a goal.
You only have a habit, a system, or a process because you want something.
Your “something” is your goal.

If you have a habit, it exists for a reason.
That "reason" is your goal.

If you have a system, it’s designed to get you somewhere.
That “somewhere” is your goal.

The real confusion is this:
People think goals alone are enough.
They’re not.
But no one serious ever said they were!! 🫨 🫨 🫨

Goals are step one, not the whole journey.

Also, the fact that people do not know how to set goals isn’t the goal's fault!
The goals can be flexible, can change, can be smaller, etc.
Maybe instead of vilifying the goals, just get better at goal-setting! 😉

To clarify:
• Goals give direction
• Habits create consistency
• Systems scale effort

They all matter and they are equally important.
This isn’t either/or.
It’s both/and.

Good luck to anybody who wants to move ahead without goals 🫣 🤣

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🧬 I coach professionals to become hashtag using the power of options. You always have the option to become better at who you are and what you do.

This 20-minute exercise from Stanford *could* change your life.

It’s called The Odyssey Plan.

It reveals 3 possible futures and forces you to confront what you really want.

Here’s how it works:
You imagine 3 completely different versions of your next 5 years.

🛞 First – Expected Path

Map out your life if you stayed on your current path.
Same job. Same routine. Same direction.
Where are you in 5 years?
How do you feel?

🛞 Second – Alternative Path

Design a life that’s totally different.
What if you took a risk? Switched careers? Moved to a new place?
No wrong answers, just explore.
Where does that version of you end up?

🛞 Third – Wild Card Path

Build a future where money and other people’s opinions don’t matter.
Forget what's “realistic.”
If nothing was stopping you, what life would you create?
That’s your third path.


The Odyssey Plan forces you to zoom out, ask bigger questions, and imagine other routes.

The biggest trap in life?
Thinking your current path is the only option you have.

The Odyssey Plan shows you how many options you actually have.
And which ones are worth pursuing.

✨ If you plan nothing, you will get nothing ✨

3 futures. 3 options. 1 decision. 1 you.

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📍I coach professionals to become using the power of options. You always have the option to become better at who you are and what you do.

Every two weeks, I share one idea with 1,500+ ambitious professionals. If you want options for thinking differently and acting with clarity, join here: https://lnkd.in/edgxQqfU