We recently connected with Estefânia Barsante and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Estefânia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

A big defining moment in my career was when I moved from Brazil (my country of origin) to Silicon Valley, USA, at the age of 33. It was a move motivated not by my career, but by my husband’s—who works in tech.

I had already gone through a career transition two years prior—leaving HR in the corporate world and starting my own coaching practice in Brazil. My business was finally stable when we took the leap to move to Silicon Valley. Starting over and expanding my practice in a place where I didn’t know anyone was very challenging. I had to start from scratch on so many levels—rethinking the focus of my business, building a network, coaching in other languages, etc. All of this while also setting up my personal life in a new country.

In my experience, these defining moments serve as a blank page, where you can experiment and make new decisions based on who you are at that moment. Because I had already gone through another version of starting over, there were many lessons and transferable skills I could apply. It’s very challenging, of course, but it’s also an invitation to expand yourself and become a more authentic version of who you are. There’s a lot of power in starting from scratch.

I believe in this so much that my coaching practice today is focused on career and life changes (including moving abroad), and I’m writing a book about it.

Estefânia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a Psychologist (licensed in Brazil), a Coach focused on Life and Career Changes, and a Writer.
Since I was a kid, I’ve always been very observant and curious about why people behave in certain ways and not others—that’s what led me to study Psychology. While I was there, another path revealed itself: our relationship with our choices—both personal and professional.

I’m always in search of big answers: What makes us tick? How can we be more authentic? How can we be ourselves and find fulfilling work? How can we start again and again?

All of this is part of what I do in my coaching practice. Every day, I help my clients understand what they truly want and navigate decisions and changes in both their personal and professional lives.

I’m most proud of my clients who are courageous enough to take the leap—to follow a path sparked by a dream or an opportunity—and rewrite their stories, despite the challenges.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

1. I always look for ways of improving my craft and serving my clients in the best way possible (a lot of clients come for word of mouth)

2. I build a network based on authenticity, mutual respect and support.

3. I have this mantra: “Work hard and be nice to people” and it always pays off.

4. I’m always looking at ways of taking my practice to the next level, and this year is getting my MCC (the highest tier for coaches, only 2% have them) and also finishing my book

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Coaching is an unregulated profession, so it’s very important to look for training that is credentialed by the ICF (International Coaching Federation) – the gold standard for coaching. A coach needs to have a deep understanding of human behaviour, emotions and motivations to be able to be effective. Also, it needs to have empathy and authentic curiosity about the person who is in front of you.

Also, when you’re hiring a coach, ask about their ICF credential.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.estefania.coach
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estefaniabarsante
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/estefaniabarsante/

Image Credits

Photographer: Erica Vighi