The effort you put in determines the results you get: Meet our Senior Project Manager | People of Accace

Meet Katarína Fábriová, our Senior Project Manager at Accace, who found her perfect balance between professional focus and personal fulfilment in an unexpected place: a hillside garden near Slovakia’s capital.

A few years ago, she and her family acquired a long-abandoned garden plot – sunny, wild and completely overgrown. No road access, no running order, just potential. What began as a bold idea turned into a shared project full of hard work, learning and surprising parallels with her day-to-day life managing international client projects.

In our latest People Of Accace interview, she reflects on how tending to a garden and managing complex professional agendas share more in common than you’d think, from the importance of planning and patience, to the joy of collaboration and the satisfaction of seeing something grow.

Your garden required some initial work and care to bring it to life. Can you relate that to any professional experience?

Definitely. When we first got the garden, we didn’t rush into clearing or planting right away. Instead, we took the time to observe it, to understand its history, see what was already growing there, and recognize the natural patterns before making any changes.

I take a similar approach when working with clients. The first step isn’t to transform things immediately, but to listen, understand their processes, plans and vision, and explore where we can best support them in achieving their goals.

Luckily, the “gardens” of our clients are usually in much better shape than mine was – but even if they weren’t, I wouldn’t shy away from the challenge. With patience and the right approach, even the wildest spaces can flourish into something truly remarkable.

How important is planning – whether in gardening or in your role at Accace?

Planning is crucial. When we got the garden, we didn’t just start planting randomly. We sat down and made a basic layout: here’s where we’ll try grapevines, here some trees for shade, here we could experiment with something else. Even though it wasn’t a formal project plan, we had a vision. At work, it’s similar. Before you even meet with the client or kick off a project, you prepare. You research, you think it through, you shop for the right tools, just like packing water and food before a full day in the garden. You don’t go in blind. And just like we plant seedlings at home before moving them to the garden, in projects we do a lot of foundational work before we even touch the real systems.

What’s skills has gardening taught you that you can utilise in your job?

Patience and consistency. It may sound like cliché, but it really applies. In the garden, you plant a small tree you find in the garden shop one day, you get your hands dirty, water it, nurture it and hope it grows. Sometimes it takes years to bear fruit. And it’s similar in project management. You often work through long phases of preparation and coordination, and the results don’t show up overnight. But when you stay committed and keep moving forward step by step, the outcome eventually comes. Like our pear tree: we managed to grow only ten pears, but they tasted better than anything from a store. Because you know how much care and work went into it. It’s the same feeling when a client project you’ve worked on for months finally goes live and everything works. That’s the fruit of your labour.

Are you afraid to get your hands dirty – literally and figuratively?

Not at all, and it’s also inevitable. In gardening, getting your hands dirty is part of the process. You’re digging in the dirt, pulling weeds, lifting rocks. Even with gloves on, you end up with blisters and sore muscles. And it’s the same at work. I don’t shy away from difficult conversations or from sorting out challenges. When something unexpected comes up, I deal with it directly, but always with empathy and structure. What happened, why, how do we prevent it from happening again?

Like in any relationship, things don’t always go smoothly – whether it’s with clients, partners, or colleagues. There will be moments of friction, misunderstandings or different expectations. But the key is open communication. Talking things through, addressing concerns and finding solutions together not only resolves issues but also strengthens trust and builds long-term, solid relationships. In the end, both in work and in the garden, the effort you put in determines the results you get.

How does teamwork show up in both your garden and your professional life?

In both cases, it plays a huge role. When we first started working on the garden, we had to rely on help from others to clear the ground. It was really a team effort, and even now, when we’re doing something more demanding (like digging out a tree) I know I need to organize friends and family to help.

It’s very similar in my role as a project manager. While I’m responsible for my own clients and projects, my work is all about connecting people – across teams, departments, and even countries. You have to be able to listen, adapt to different working styles and cultures, and still keep everyone working toward the same goal.

That sense of community is important to me, both at work and in the garden. My parents have a garden too, and we trade plants. If my dad has too many raspberries, he gives us some, and we give him something else. At Accace, we do the same: share know-how, exchange experiences, support each other. It’s never just about one person.

How does gardening support your well-being outside of work?

It’s my reset. Especially in the summer. After a busy workday, we grab the kids and go water the plants or just hang out there. It’s a different world. You’re surrounded by nature, and your head just switches off. And funny enough, while I’m digging or doing something repetitive, I often come up with solutions to work problems. It’s like this mental clarity happens when your hands are busy.

What do you enjoy most either in your garden or in your work?

Definitely the variety. In the garden, we love experimenting with different plants – for example, we grow multiple types of raspberries and it’s always interesting to see how different they grow yet they all thrive.

It’s the same at work. No two clients or projects are the same, and I really enjoy that dynamic nature of my role. Even when things change or unexpected priorities come up, we have the flexibility and mindset, both as individuals and as a team, to adjust quickly and keep everything moving forward. That’s something I really appreciate, the ability to adapt and still deliver results.

And what’s especially fulfilling is seeing the outcome of all that effort. Whether it’s a plant finally bearing fruit or a client project going live, that sense of progress and achievement – seeing something flourish because you’ve taken care of it – that’s what I enjoy most.