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The instinct that gets you promoted is not always the one that helps you lead. Many new leaders are great at the work itself, and when something needs fixing, the quickest way is to jump in and do it. Karolína Kuchařová knows that moment firsthand.
Karolína is Marketing & Communications Manager at Form Factory, with over 15 years of marketing experience across retail, telecommunications, and services, including roles at Vodafone and SAZKA. She was full of ideas and energy, and she had just started leading a team. What she was still shaping was the kind of leader she wanted to be.
She joined the Femme Palette mentoring program, offered by Form Factory, just as she was stepping into leading her team. Months of organizational changes and growing responsibility followed, so there was no shortage of topics. She wanted to give people more space and ownership, avoid micromanaging, and get comfortable giving honest feedback, including the difficult kind. The image she kept coming back to was a lighthouse: a leader who gives the team direction, calm, and a sense of certainty. Here’s what came out of it.
I’m Karolína, Marketing & Communications Manager at Form Factory. I’ve spent over 15 years in marketing, including roles at Vodafone and SAZKA. I joined the programme when I was starting to lead a team at Form Factory. The following months brought several organisational changes and broader responsibilities, so there was certainly no shortage of topics for our sessions!
I love learning, developing my skills and finding ways to do things better. When Form Factory offered me the opportunity to join the mentoring programme, I was happy to say yes. I’m always keen to learn, and I believe there’s room to grow, however much experience you already have.
I wanted to give people more space and responsibility, avoid micromanaging and become more comfortable giving honest feedback, including the difficult kind. The image I kept coming back to was a lighthouse: someone who gives the team direction, calm and a sense of certainty. That’s the kind of leader I wanted to become.
I’ve become better at letting people find their own solutions and take ownership. I also know my team better and have a clearer understanding of what each person needs to grow. I still sometimes have to stop myself from saying, “I’ll just quickly do it myself.” Apparently, that habit doesn’t disappear after one mentoring session! But I’m more aware of it now, and I’m proud of the progress.
During a period of change and growing responsibility, mentoring helped me understand myself better as a leader. Having someone outside the company to talk things through with gave me perspective on situations that felt much bigger when I was in the middle of them.
I feel I’ve grown both professionally and personally, and I’m clearer about how I want to lead.
One meaningful realization was how much my instinct to help could limit someone else’s opportunity to learn. Stepping in and solving something myself might feel useful in the moment, but giving someone room to work it out matters too. That’s something I now try to notice in everyday situations, especially when I’m tempted to take over.
I expected to work on leadership skills. I hadn’t expected how much I would learn about myself along the way. My mentor, Katarina, helped me reflect on my reactions and habits and see things I might otherwise have missed. The personal growth was just as meaningful as the professional development.
If Karolína’s story resonates with you, whether you’re stepping into leadership for the first time, learning to trust your team with more responsibility, or just ready for someone outside your company who helps you see what you can’t see on your own, that’s exactly what mentoring is for.
Your story could be the next one we tell. Explore the Femme Palette mentoring program and take the first step today.
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