From Global Insights Director to Coach: Building a Portfolio Career with Courage — with Febronia Ruocco

Episode 14 With Febriona RuoccoAbout The Guest:Febronia Ruocco is a Global Strategic Insights & Analytics Director and a dual-accredited Executive Leadership Coach. Over her career, she has led insights teams globally for renowned household brands such as Cadbury-Schweppes, Diageo, Heinz, Heineken, and GSK. Alongside her corporate leadership role, Febronia runs her own international coaching practice, serves as a mentor for Durham University, the EMCC, and WIRe (Women in Research), and is an Advisory Board Member at Durham University.About The Episode:Welcome to episode 14 of the Courageous Coach podcast, where we pull back the curtain on what it really takes to be courageous with your clients, your business, and your life. In this episode, host Melissa Hague is joined by Febronia Ruocco. Febronia shares her journey from being a Global Insights and Analytics Director in the corporate world to becoming a dual-accredited Executive Leadership Coach. We chat about the surprising and beautiful integration of her insights career and her coaching practice, exploring the challenges and joys she has encountered along the way. Febronia offers a candid look at the process of unlearning the habits of a "fixer" and problem-solver, the difficulty of embracing silence, and the courage it takes to support high-performing leaders. This conversation delves into the nuances of self-regulation, the ethical use of power in coaching, and the profound importance of knowing yourself to truly empower others. In this episode, you’ll learn:The Yin and Yang of Insights and Coaching: Febronia explains how her 20+ years in marketing and insights, guiding leaders through data, provided a natural training ground for coaching. The Challenge of Unlearning: The transition from a fast-paced corporate environment to the coaching space requires unlearning behaviors like interrupting and the performative need to add value. Febronia found it difficult to sit in silence and not "pipe up all the time." Embracing the Silence: The journey from feeling "so uncomfortable with the silences" to encouraging them as a vital tool for client reflection. Power and Partnership in Coaching: A discussion on the different forms of power, the importance of "de-powering" to create an equal partnership, and using power ethically to serve the client. The Courage to Know Yourself: Febronia’s belief that to be truly courageous as a coach, you must first face your own fears, understand your limits, and do the inner work. As she puts it, how can we empower others if we can't do it for ourselves first? The Evolution of a Niche: It took Febronia two and a half years to grow the confidence to reposition her coaching practice to focus on high-performing corporate leaders. Go Deeper with The Courageous Coach ProgramIf these conversations are resonating, you might be ready to go deeper. The Courageous Coach program is designed for qualified coaches in the early years of building their independent practice. If you want to coach with more courage, clarity, and humanity and grow a business that truly reflects who you are, this is for you.You can find all the details here: https://www.melissahague.com/courageous-coaches Connect with MelissaCome and find Melissa on LinkedIn. Whether you have questions about the program, want to share what resonated from this episode, or just fancy a chat, she'd love to connect.Support the Podcast:Follow & Subscribe: If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next.Share with a fellow coach: Know someone who could use a little courage boost? Pass this episode on—courage is contagious, after all.Thanks again for listening. Until next time, stay curious, stay human and keep choosing courage.