Developing A Conscious Leadership Style – Exclusive Interview With Assunta Cucca

''Every single of these episodes has something in common: the search for a new purpose and the realisation that something burning needs to be addressed. When I burnout, I literally felt something was burning inside me, but it was not an enemy, yet a call for more ownership of my life.''

Assunta Cucca, Kokoro Consultancy Ltd

Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better.

My name is Assunta Cucca, I am a professional executive and life coach, founder, and director of the coaching practice Kokoro Consultancy.

I am also a mum of two boys … and yes, an athlete and a yoga teacher.

I still struggle with finding a way to present myself, as I have been navigating so many identities throughout my life!

I’m originally from Italy, specifically from beautiful Sardinia, but I have been living abroad for more than 17 years. Initially, I started off my career as a journalist, then moved into NGOs, working in the sector of human rights, to then landed in the world of innovation, communication, and employee engagement for digital companies.

When my first son was born, a big shift happened and realised that I was struggling with finding a purpose in the job I was in. I really wanted to focus on all the things I was passionate about, like building relationships, helping people, working on my and other people’s well-being… Especially, I wanted to feel I was free to be myself without the pressure of fitting into the corporate world. So…I decided to go solo and created my coaching practice Kokoro.

Now, when I am not busy with my family (basically rarely!) I love going for long runs, teaching yoga, reading and travelling! My husband gave me a violin for our anniversary this year, but I still haven’t found the time to understand how it works!

Fun fact: I love cheese, but I hate touching it!

So, how did you come up with the name Kokoro Consultancy and how do you help your clients?

Kokoro is inspired by my love for Japan and its culture. Kokoro means heart, but also mind, soul, emotions, feelings, mindset. It embraces the whole human experience. It’s a beautiful concept that represents what I would like to bring to all my clients: a space where people can reflect on their lives and careers looking at their minds, emotions, and aspirations. A space where we can connect to our bodies and understand how our bodies speak to us. I truly believe we can’t separate our brain from our body: to develop one, we must cultivate the other too. What kind of audience do you target your business towards?

I work mainly with leaders in companies and organisations who are open to developing a conscious leadership style, and they are committed to creating motivated and resilient teams. These are leaders who question the old idea of leadership and want to focus on a more human, compassionate style.

I also work with high achievers who are overwhelmed by the stress and the demands of everyday life and need a space to develop their resilience and find more balance.

What would you like to achieve for yourself and your business in the future?

I want Kokoro/Assunta to be synonymous with a space where people confidently think to go to when exploring the idea of resilience and conscious leadership. That means loads of different scenarios: for instance, parents going back to work, new leaders, women struggling with mental overload, teams getting together to find new connections, athletes looking at their next challenge…

For myself personally? I want to have that so aspired balance where everything falls into place: juggling family, social life, work, yoga and hobbies in an effortless way! Too much to ask?

On top of this, the idea of writing a book has been knocking at my door quite insistently… so, at some point, I need to open that door!

Finding a balance between parenting and a fulfilling career sounds quite a challenge. Have you got any advice to share on this?

It is a challenge… especially if your belief is that it’s never enough!

I am not sure how I feel about giving advice on this, as it’s such a personal thing and is currently a live issue for me. Yet, I find that knowing we are not alone in this is a massive help.

Self-compassion is probably our best friend here: acknowledging that the way we talk to ourselves will affect the way we feel and think about our job and family…

Are you being kind enough to yourself? Have you been acknowledging where you got to so far instead of focusing on what’s missing?

A question that helps me rekindle perspective is always: what’s important right now for you? Where do you want to focus your energy?

Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far.

My greatest career achievement so far has been having the courage to continuously change careers and learn new things with resilience.

I think I am currently on my 4th career change?!

I remember clearly, in my 30s, that feeling of wanting to move, search for something else and continuously being driven by a deep sense of ambition and curiosity that ‒ at that time – drove me to move from company to company. I thought it was a weakness of mine. Then, one day, one of the best managers I had, told me: ‘Well, this is you. And if an organisation doesn’t recognise that this is one of your strengths, don’t waste time trying to fit in.’

So, I didn’t! I used my curiosity to explore different roles in innovation and communication, changing sector often and growing my experience and skills very quickly, meeting so many amazing people… Until I found peace setting up my own coaching practice and putting together the pieces of the puzzle I was missing. I love the variety!

Who inspires your work?

Totally Brené Brown, Dr. Gabor Mate, the work of Dr. Dweck, Carole Pemberton, Siegel, Kristin Neff... Just to name a few!

But also, and especially my clients. I feel so privileged to be able to hold space to so many people and their stories…

If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?

Oh, that is a complex question… there is an eternal debate on the coaching industry ‘regulate or not regulate the profession?’. I feel that this question mark shifts the focus towards the wrong thing. As a coach, I would like everyone to have coaching skills and develop the awareness that we profess to be one of the greatest skills! Yet, we think that we must make coaching a profession. Sometimes coaching is just a skill that we own and develop, and it doesn’t have to be our full-time profession. On the other side, I am all for the high standards, ethos, and knowledge that associations like the ICF provides (being a PCC ICF coach). Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today.

To be honest, there have been loads… from my time as a high-level competitive Taekwondoka to the decision to move country to the births of my children, to my experiences of burnout! Every single of these episode has something in common: the search for a new purpose and the realisation that something burning needs to be addressed.

When I was burnout, I literally felt something burning inside me, but it was not an enemy yet a call for more ownership of my life. That was a big shift: I realised I could shape my life in a way that worked for me. I could make time for exercising-which is as essential as drinking water for me ‒ having a family and a job that I loved without feeling depleted or guilty for not adhering to the 9-5. Don’t get me wrong: I am so grateful for my previous roles in companies, I had the most beautiful and innovative jobs and met so many incredible people!

Of course, things are not perfect or easy now, work is never ‘certain ‘or guaranteed, but I thrive through uncertainty as it pushes me to get out of my comfort zone every time!

I guess this is my final message: if you are courageous enough to be honest with yourself, you can find the freedom to do what you love whilst also being your authentic self.

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info!

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