At Diia.City United’s major December meetup, the conversation with the global tech leaders went far beyond the numbers.
During the panel “Leadership Practices 2026: How Do We Cope?”, we gathered blueprints for endurance in the face of constant storms.
The insights were shared by members of our Association’s Strategic Board: Artem Borodatiuk, co-founder of FRACTAL (ex-Netpeak Group), and Roman Prokofiev, co-founder of Jooble. The discussion was moderated by Maryna Pavliuk, General Manager of Glovo in Ukraine.
Rule #1: Your Resource State is Your Job
We are accustomed to thinking that a leader must be made of iron.
However, Maryna Pavliuk opened the discussion with a concept that has become mainstream at INSEAD business school: “Busy is the new stupid”.
Being overloaded 24/7 is no longer a badge of efficiency. On the contrary, it is a warning sign.
It is crucial for a leader to be in a resourceful state. If you are running on empty, you cannot recharge the people around you. The marker of this resourcefulness is a free calendar. Not just for hobbies, but for ‘mental and physical space’— the space to do nothing and reflect.
Artem Borodatiuk’s Method: The P&L of Your Energy
Artem Borodatiuk analyzes his personal resources like a systemic entrepreneur — through the numbers.
His philosophy is straightforward: Ukraine’s economic breakthrough will only happen when everyone takes total responsibility for their own life. And to do that, you must be able to manage your own energy.
Artem suggests treating energy like a financial report (P&L): identify where the income is, where the expenses are, and what the final profit looks like.
His toolkit includes:
- An Energy Audit: Regularly reviewing the list of activities that replenish you (music, a quiet forest, sports).
- Daily Positives: A practice of recording things you enjoyed during the day.
At first, I couldn’t even scrape together five items. But eventually, I started noticing a beautiful tree, a sunset, new music — and the list grew to 30 items. You learn to focus on life.
- The Principle of Energy Balance
In business, you calculate income and losses. Do the same with energy. I created a template where I write down what gives me strength and what takes it away. It’s a very simple solution: when I realized that scoring a goal in futsal gives me a massive charge, I started playing more often. Even if the team doesn’t like how I play, Artem jokes.
Roman Prokofiev’s Philosophy: Interest as a Compass
Roman Prokofiev is convinced: there is no magic pill. What worked for Winston Churchill is unlikely to suit a modern biohacker. The main thing is to know your own biochemistry and stop forcing yourself.
Entrepreneurs of my generation were often raised on the idea of ‘don’t be soft.’ But if your biochemical balance is off, willpower won’t help. Maintaining a resourceful state is a duty. You have to track exactly what drives you, Roman insists.
For himself in 2025–2026, Roman has chosen to follow his interests:
The greatest energy is found where I am interested. I don’t even try to rationalize the ROI of these actions. I feel the calling. When you do what is genuinely interesting, the question of burnout disappears automatically.
Key Takeaways
You can digitize your happiness like Artem Borodatiuk does: keep spreadsheets, analyze data, and consciously increase the percentage of pleasant things in your life. Or, you can take Roman Prokofiev’s path: intuitively follow your interests and reject the culture of “hustle” and forced achievement.
The common denominator remains the same: the resilience of the team begins with the resilience of its leader.
Our Homework for the for Q1 from our speakers:
- Clear space in your calendar for strategic pauses.
- Write out your «Energy P&L»: what nourishes you, and what drains you?
- Stop doing things that sap your strength, even if they seem rational.
There is plenty more value coming at the next Diia.City United events soon. See you there!
Special thanks to the event’s General Partner — Kyivstar.
