For over 20 years, Liudmyla Boichenko has been at the helm of PE “Alfa-Zemproekt”, combining the management of her own company with her work as a business trainer and coach. During this time, she has walked the path from building a successful business to a deep re-evaluation of the leader’s role, realizing that the true strength of an executive lies not only in strategic thinking, but also in the ability to develop people, stay true to one’s values, and continuously work on oneself.
Exclusively for the international magazine Business Woman, the director of PE “Alfa-Zemproekt”, business trainer, and coach Liudmyla Boichenko shared insights on the transformation of her understanding of leadership, the power of mindset in making life and business decisions, the search for harmony between professional self-realization and family, her participation in the “Mrs. Ukraine” contest, and the main principle that has become a guiding light in her life: never betraying oneself.
— For over 20 years, you have been leading your own business. How has your understanding of leadership changed during this time, and what, in your opinion, should a modern female leader be like today?
— I was fortunate to start my business and work alongside my husband. It was he who became the first example of true leadership for me. I admired his composure, his ability to take responsibility, think strategically, and make tough decisions without unnecessary emotions. For a long time, it seemed to me that this was exactly what a leader should be like.
But over the years, I realized: leadership cannot be copied. It cannot be borrowed along with someone else’s management style. It is formed through one’s own experience, mistakes, values, and willingness to constantly work on oneself.
In more than twenty years of business management, I have gone through various stages — rapid company growth, economic crises, the pandemic, a full-scale war, living on another continent, team changes, opening new directions. Each of these challenges changed not only the business, but also me as a leader.
If earlier I focused more on processes and results, today I understand: the most important capital of any company is people. That is why, for me, modern leadership is about trust, team development, the ability to listen, delegate, and create an environment in which people want to take responsibility rather than work only because they are controlled.
And there is another important conclusion I have reached. Previously, I believed that a strong leader is someone who withstands any load. Today I know: true strength lies not in working at the limit of your capabilities. It lies in staying in a state of resourcefulness, making balanced decisions, and being the pillar that people want to follow.
Someone else’s style can be borrowed. But you become a true leader only when you find your own.
Perhaps that is why today I take pleasure not only in developing my own company, but also in helping other leaders find their own management style. Because I am convinced: there are no universal recipes for leadership.
— You successfully combine several roles: entrepreneur, coach, trainer, wife, and mother. Is there a work-life balance for you, or is it rather an ongoing process of searching for harmony?
— To be honest, talks about balance always make me smile a little. First of all, there are significantly more roles in my life than it might seem at first glance. And each of these roles is an important part of who I am.
In addition, in my life, it is very difficult to draw a clear line between work and personal life. For many years, my husband and I have not only lived together, but also built a business together. We share projects, ideas, clients, learning, and friends. Over dinner, we can discuss a new direction for company development, and on the way to work — plan a family trip. For us, these are not two separate realities. This is one shared life.
Our children have also always been nearby. They saw not only the result, but also the process itself: how ideas are born, how tough decisions are made, and how we support each other. I hope that this is how they learn not only entrepreneurship, but also partnership, mutual respect, and responsibility.
But this does not mean that everything is always perfect for me. There are periods when a certain area of life requires more of my attention, and another — less. And I stopped blaming myself for this long ago.
Instead, I regularly conduct an internal review of my life. I honestly ask myself: “Which role have I dropped out of a bit right now? Where am I needed the most at this moment?” If I feel that I have immersed myself too deeply in work, I consciously devote more time to my family. If I have been putting off myself, learning, or recovery for a long time, I shift my focus. For me, this is not about a rigid schedule, but about a conscious choice and the readiness to adjust my course in time.
There is one more thing that helps me remain whole. Coaching and training activities have become for me not just another work direction, but a source of energy. I am genuinely inspired by the moment when I see a person’s gaze change, confidence appear, and the courage to act born. This is a true mutual exchange: I share my experience, knowledge, and energy, and in return, I get a sense of deep meaning in what I do.
Therefore, harmony for me is not an attempt to keep all spheres of life in ideal proportions. It is the ability to regularly perform an internal audit of one’s life, honestly determine what is most important right now, and remain whole in each of one’s roles.
— In your work, you talk a lot about mindset. In your opinion, why does it become the main factor of success or failure in business and life?
— Perhaps the biggest discovery of my life was that many of my decisions were actually not mine.
Once, I genuinely believed that a person’s main capital is knowledge. Four higher education degrees, many years of management experience, a successful business, a professional reputation… It seemed to me that this was enough to feel confident under any circumstances.
But life decided to test me.
When I found myself in Canada due to the war, for the first time I truly felt what it means to lose external pillars. I was no longer the director of a company that everyone knows. I was not the person people came to every day for decisions. I lost my familiar status, environment, sense of being needed, and for a while, I even stopped understanding who I was without all of this.
It was then that I realized: knowledge does not always help you get through a crisis. What is much more important is how we think.
Starting to work deeper on myself, I understood another thing. Many of my beliefs were formed long before I started building a business. They were so familiar that I didn’t even question them. Phrases I was raised on: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” “if you want it, you’ll get over it,” “Don’t force others to do what you can do yourself,” “birds of a feather flock together.” In childhood, these seem like ordinary phrases or folk wisdom. But it is often these phrases that determine what we dare to do, what we allow ourselves to dream about, what environment we are ready to enter, and what scale of life we consider possible for ourselves.
It was then that I understood one very important thing: we very often make the most important decisions in life unconsciously. They are made by our beliefs. And until we realize them, it will seem to us that we are held back by circumstances. When in reality, we are held back by our own mindset.
Today, working with executives and entrepreneurs, I rarely start a conversation with business strategy or management tools. First, we explore the way of thinking. Because if a person does not allow themselves to grow internally, no strategy will yield long-term results. You can read dozens of books, complete the best MBA programs, or get degrees from leading universities, but continue to live according to scenarios that were formed in childhood.
Even today, I continue to work on my mindset. I notice new limiting beliefs, learn to question my own attitudes, and go beyond the familiar. Because development is not a destination. It is a continuous process.
Today I know for sure: our life is not determined by circumstances. It is determined by the meaning we give them and the decisions we make afterward.
— Today you are preparing to participate in the “Mrs. Ukraine” contest. What does this stage mean to you, and what message do you want to convey to modern Ukrainian women through your participation?
— To be honest, for me this is much more than a beauty contest.
It is another challenge that I consciously accepted. Not because I need a crown. But because I want to be honest with myself and not give up opportunities just because they do not fit into conventional ideas of what a woman “should be.”
Perhaps, like many women, I lived for many years in a whirlwind of responsibility: business, family, children, countless tasks and projects. And in such a rhythm, it is very easy to start thinking that your own dreams can wait. That someday there will be more time, more opportunities, a better moment.
But the truth is that the ideal moment almost never comes.
That is why today I consciously choose to live differently. To be open to everything new that comes into my life. Not to refuse opportunities just because they seem unusual or go beyond the familiar script.
It seems to me that modern women live under a huge number of invisible rules. We are often told that after a certain age, it is too late to start something new. That a successful female leader must only be serious. That a mother must completely dissolve in her children. That business and femininity are incompatible. That beauty has a certain age or a certain format.
I do not agree with these rules.
I do not stop being a director when I step onto the stage. And I do not stop being a woman when I make tough business decisions. I can run a company, conduct trainings, dance, act in the theater, study, participate in a beauty contest, and stay true to myself. For me, these are not different lives. These are different manifestations of one personality.
Perhaps this is exactly what I want to show by my example. We don’t have to fit into other people’s expectations. We can be different. Strong and tender. Ambitious and caring. Rational and creative. And not choose just one role if the heart prompts more.
But there is another thought that is very important to me.
Despite the fact that this is a contest, I don’t want to compete with anyone at all.
I am not participating to prove that I am better than other women. On the contrary, I genuinely admire each contestant. Each of us has her own story, her own path, her victories and trials. And the idea of mutual support, rather than rivalry, is much closer to me.
I want to show that even in an environment called a contest, you can sincerely support one another. Because true strength is not born from a struggle between people. It is born where people help each other become stronger.
It seems to me that today this is an important lesson not only for women. The whole world really needs it. We are used to living in the logic of competition — who is more beautiful, more successful, more influential, stronger. But I believe that the future is built not on rivalry, but on cooperation. Not on the desire to prove one’s superiority, but on the readiness to support another person, rejoice in their success, and create something bigger together.
I want to live and work in such a way that there is always room in my heart for respect, gratitude, and genuine admiration for other people. Even when we are standing next to each other on the same stage.
I myself once put off some of my desires for later. It seemed that now was not the time, that first I needed to do something more important. But today I know for sure: life does not start after we manage to do everything. It is happening right now.
Therefore, if through my participation at least one woman allows herself to fulfill a long-held dream, stops being afraid of age, other people’s opinions, or her own doubts, believes in her inner fire, and takes the first step toward the life she has long dreamed of — for me, this will be the greatest victory.
I don’t want to defeat others. I want as many women as possible to defeat their own fears, believe in their inner fire, and allow themselves to live as their heart tells them. Because the most valuable victory is not a title. The most valuable victory is the freedom to be yourself.
— If today you could give only one piece of advice to women who want to develop their own business, realize themselves, and at the same time remain true to their values, what would it be?
— Do not betray yourself.
We often think that betraying oneself is one big choice. But usually, it begins with small decisions: keeping silent when you want to speak up; agreeing to something that contradicts your values; putting off your own dream because now is “not the time”; choosing a safe path just because another one is scary.
Over many years in business, I realized: the hardest decisions are not always those where you need to calculate risks or find the right strategy. The hardest part is to answer yourself honestly: “Is this really my choice, or am I just trying to meet someone else’s expectations?”
I am not calling for rash actions. Business requires calculation, knowledge, discipline, and responsibility. But no knowledge will replace the courage to take the first step. You can prepare for years, perfect a product, wait for favorable circumstances, and never start.
Fear does not always mean that we are moving in the wrong direction. Very often, it means only one thing: ahead is something new and as yet unknown. And that is often where our greatest potential lies hidden.
Many times, I went where I was scared: into relationships, new projects, studies, publicity, coaching, onto the stage. Not because I was completely confident in the result. But because I understood: if you constantly choose only the familiar and safe, you may never find out what you are truly capable of.
Of course, not every step will lead to victory. You can make a mistake, change direction, start over. But for me, it is better to act and gain experience than to regret for years what you never dared to do.
Therefore, my advice is very simple: go where it is scary, but not against yourself. Check your decisions against your own values, not someone else’s expectations. And act — even when there is no full confidence yet.
Because courage is not the absence of fear. It is the decision not to let fear live your life instead of you.
Do not betray yourself. It is from this fidelity that true self-realization, a business to be proud of, and a life that is truly yours begin.
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Photo: from the author’s archive