Francesca Bavestrello | EEC Alumni Spotlight | July 2025

Psychologist, mother, coach and explorer of the human, Francesca found in coaching not only a professional tool, but also a path of personal transformation. Trained as a coach at the EEC in Madrid and, later, in Teams online, today she accompanies others from Chile, with a compassionate, deep and full of presence gaze.

How did you come to coaching and the EEC?
In 2013, while I was working in Santiago, the possibility arose of moving to Madrid because of a job opportunity with my husband. I resigned and thought about what I could study. A coach suggested that I should do some coaching training, especially if I was thinking of becoming a mother. I was struck by his comment. In Madrid I researched different schools and found the EEC. I really liked its approach, its programmes and the teaching staff.

I became pregnant before starting the programme, so I studied coaching while I was pregnant, newly married, unemployed and in a new city. It was a very powerful life and training process. I finished cycle I and II at almost 37 weeks, and picked up my diploma with my daughter in my arms. It was a transformative experience.

What did you learn through coaching?
A lot. To be more loving and compassionate with myself and with others. To understand that each person sees the world according to their experiences, that there are as many truths as there are people. I also learned to live more lightly, to give everything its due weight, to practice gratitude, and above all, to forgive. Forgiveness brought me a lot of freedom.

What do you think of the recommendation you were given to become a mother before studying coaching?
I believe that coaching is transformative at any time in life, but it is true that being a mother you find yourself in a new role. The coaching tools have helped me to live motherhood more fully, as well as my other roles.

From your first contact in 2013 until today, how have you seen the evolution of coaching?
There has been a very positive evolution. In Chile it has become much more validated as a process. Even so, there is still confusion: some people think it is consultancy or coaching. It is key that as coaches we explain well what it is about. Coaching does not give answers or solutions, it invites us to look at it from another perspective. It is profoundly human. In a world full of noise, coaching is a space for inner connection.

Where do you see yourself in five years?
Together with my family, doing what I love: coaching. With balance, authenticity and confidence. Being coherent with who I am.

What has been your biggest challenge?
I left the corporate world, with its stability and security, to dedicate myself to coaching. For years I did parallel processes, but they were not enough. Deciding to take the step was difficult, but I am proud to have done it.

What is your passion?
My family, and also coaching. Connecting with people. Seeing how looks change, how something clicks in a conversation. That's magical. It's very similar to what happens when a child finally understands a difficult exercise in class. Accompanying that moment is a gift.

What happens outside the coaching session?
A lot of magic happens there too. Change is not only what happens in the session, but what is transformed afterwards: how you look at the world, how you act. Coaching transforms the self, and from there everything else.

Do you have a phrase that represents you?
I am constantly learning. It helps me to be more loving to myself, to let my guard down and make room for growth.

What final message would you like to leave?
To those in training: the journey does not end with certification. Participating in alumni spaces, observed sessions, supervision and continuous training is key. Coaching is enriched by walking with others.

And two more invitations: to connect with tenderness - towards oneself and towards others - and to learn to be grateful with greatness, without feeling that we do not deserve it. To be grateful is also to receive from a place of dignity.

Listen to the full interview on Spotify