Reflect and connect with your inner compass.
Where is your leadership journey pointing you today?
Explore and grow through coaching.
My Beliefs:
I believe in the immeasurable potential within each individual.
I believe that by nurturing and channeling our inner energies, we unlock greater effectiveness and joy.
I believe that embracing and leveraging our unique talents adds vibrancy and richness to the world.
Purpose:
To empower individuals in harnessing their inner energies, talents, and resources.
Impact:
Through coaching, clients emerge as more engaged and effective leaders, colleagues, partners, and parents.
Approach
FBC is dedicated to creating nurturing spaces where clients:
1) Envision new possibilities
2) Revisit and update beliefs, mindsets and lenses
3) Tap into untapped reservoirs of energy and wisdom
4) Move forward with clarity and intentional action
Who I Work With
I partner with individuals, teams, and organizations ready to elevate their leadership impact. Whether you’re eager to define your unique leadership style or driven to create lasting, positive change in your career or team culture, we’ll work together to unlock your full potential. Let’s chart a path forward that’s rooted in growth, intentionality and fulfillment.
Testimonials
“Gian Paolo holds a very open and trusting space during coaching - it’s almost sacred!”
“As a result of the coaching, I learned I was capable of formulating solutions when I didn’t think I had any. GP created space that allowed me to open up, get creative, and be vulnerable. ”
“GP helped me to see myself more clearly, to stand more firmly for what I want. ”
“While coaching with Gian-Paolo, I felt supported and yet still very much in the driver’s seat.”
Origin Story
I was bound to be a coach. As I reflect on different chapters of my life, many lend themselves directly to who I am as a coach:
Navigating Different Environments: When I was 8, my family moved from the US to my father’s native land, Italy. Immersed in a classroom, vulnerable in a new culture and language, I honed my ability to connect with others, to pay attention to my surroundings and to interpret meaning depending on context. Later in life, my curiosity about ways of life foreign to my own drove me to enlist in Peace Corps. I spent fourteen formative years working initially in youth development and later as a corporate citizenship advisor throughout El Salvador and in Guatemala. Navigating within and across different environments has enabled me to develop cultural dexterity.
Challenging Assumptions: I spent about two months in a wheelchair commuting to a building not intended for wheelchairs. This experience strengthened my ability to empathize with others and respect the physical strength and mental resilience required. It also heightened my awareness of real and perceived barriers that I had previously overlooked. Furthermore, it sharpened my ability to recognize and question underlying assumptions about space and context.
Observing Other People’s Gifts: I’ve had a natural disposition or inclination to see people’s brilliance where others usually don’t. In several cases in different schools, I observed quiet, reserved classmates that others may have misunderstood, underestimated or even bullied. I connected with them in ways others couldn’t or wouldn’t.
Calming Presence: On the other hand, my friends and colleagues with higher risk appetites have shared an appreciation for my calming presence which helps them stay grounded.
Trust & Partnership: Playing soccer competitively taught me how human connection and shared goals lead to high performance. Teamwork also instilled in me the importance of collaboration, a pilar of my leadership style.
Culmination: Over time, I’ve come to realize that these and other experiences from my life have led me to question my own assumptions and stay curious to the unique journey of each human being. These abilities have proven invaluable as a Life and Leadership Coach.
BIO: I'm on a mission to ignite personal and professional growth through leadership coaching. My journey began with the Peace Corps in Central America, where I immersed myself in community and youth development. Later, co-founding a nonprofit, I spearheaded initiatives to ensure rural communities gained access to essential medical and educational services. Armed with an MBA from INCAE (founded by Harvard University in Central America), I extended my impact by advising companies on citizenship strategies across the Americas. My passion for forging meaningful connections led to successful partnerships between private entities in the US and social sector organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2014, I took a pivotal step toward my calling, embracing coaching as a tool to empower individuals to live and lead with clarity, purpose, and passion. Accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), I founded Forward Bridges Coaching to serve change agents, entrepreneurs, and anyone committed to personal and professional growth. I invite you to partner with me in designing and crafting your own bridge toward the future you most desire.