Strategic coaching that turns potential into performance.
About Nicole Barbano
Nicole Barbano is the Founder of Hunter Ambrose International and a strategic executive coach specializing in leadership development for C-suite executives, entrepreneurs, and high-performing professionals who are scaling organizations, navigating complex decisions, and managing competing priorities.
With two decades of proven success building and divesting businesses while placing thousands of executive leaders across North America and the UK, Nicole brings unmatched real-world experience to her coaching practice. She partners with leaders to crystallize vision, accelerate execution, and create sustainable leadership frameworks that drive both organizational performance and personal fulfillment.
Nicole’s methodology integrates strategic business acumen with her signature focus on alignment, agency, and measurable outcomes. Her approach is designed for executives who demand both clarity of thought and precision in execution.
A California native, Nicole now resides in Kansas City, Missouri, with her husband and business partner. Their three grown children are successfully pursuing their own professional trajectories—a testament to the family leadership principles that inform her work.
For executives ready to elevate their strategic thinking, enhance their leadership effectiveness, and create intentional space for what matters most, Nicole provides the framework, accountability, and expertise to achieve transformational results.
Inside Nicole Barbano’s Coaching Practice
A Track Record of Transformative Coaching
Nicole Barbano’s coaching practice is built on more than two decades of experience guiding leaders through moments of change, growth, and high-stakes decision-making. Her clients include C-suite executives, founders of start-ups, senior hospital leadership teams, and small business owners. She has also maintained a long-standing commitment to pro bono work, offering quarterly sessions to individuals facing significant life disruptions such as homelessness, incarceration, or career displacement—a commitment that began in 2001 when she worked with women determined to rebuild their lives through meaningful employment.
The 4F Method: A Framework for Alignment and Impact
At the core of Nicole’s approach is her proprietary 4F Method—a leadership framework designed to align four essential dimensions: First (professional excellence), Fitness (physical and mental resilience), Finances (strategic resource management), and Family (relationship and life integration). The philosophy is straightforward: only by putting yourself first can you fully serve others.
This is not superficial self-care, but rather extreme ownership of one’s choices and behaviors. When one area becomes misaligned, it often causes friction elsewhere. Identifying and addressing that imbalance sets in motion the “domino effect” of positive change across both professional and personal spheres.
Individual and Corporate Coaching Engagements
Nicole’s coaching engagements are highly tailored. For individual clients, preparation often begins with identifying a specific topic, decision, or challenge to work through. This clarity ensures each conversation drives measurable progress, supported by structured accountability.
For corporate clients—including start-ups, healthcare systems, and small businesses—programs are designed to meet defined objectives such as executive onboarding, leadership alignment, or strategic development.
Speaking Engagements and Event Facilitation
Her work extends beyond one-on-one and corporate coaching. Nicole is a sought-after speaker for leadership conferences, professional retreats, and industry events, known for delivering sessions that combine strategic insight with actionable takeaways. She regularly collaborates with organizers to tailor content to audience needs and can provide her own streamlined intake process for event planning.
Global Client Reach
Nicole works with clients across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the UK, and Australia, accommodating time zones and unique scheduling requirements. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, she travels approximately 30% of the time for business, maintaining the same level of privacy, security, and professionalism whether on the road or at her home base.
Privacy, Security, and Client Resources
Sessions are conducted via secure Zoom links. While she does not record sessions, Nicole offers the option of AI-generated private summary notes for reference and accountability—always allowing clients to opt out. Additional confidentiality protocols are available for publicly traded companies, organizations in stealth mode, or other high-security environments.
Corporate and executive clients who book four or more sessions in advance gain access to a private client portal for scheduling, resources, and session materials. Her policies are designed to respect both the client’s time and the integrity of the coaching relationship, requiring 24 hours’ notice for cancellations, with a one-time grace period for first-time late changes.
Standards for Participation
Nicole’s coaching philosophy emphasizes presence and engagement. She requires participants to be on camera during sessions to strengthen trust and ensure active participation. In corporate coaching, each participant joins from their own device to preserve audio and video quality, encourage direct contribution, and maximize session value.
For couples leading or building businesses together, Nicole may recommend a corporate coaching structure after establishing individual goals in the first session. Candidates placed by Hunter Ambrose within the past year are eligible for coaching, with clear boundaries maintained between recruitment and coaching engagements.
A Coaching Practice Built for Results
Through this combination of strategic insight, disciplined methodology, and personal accountability, Nicole Barbano helps leaders elevate their impact, align their lives, and navigate the complexities of leadership with confidence and clarity.
The 4F Method is the foundation of Nicole’s coaching practice. Successful, sustainable professional growth is short-term without a 4F approach.
First, Fitness, Finances, and Family.
It’s how we align what matters personally with where you’re going professionally — so you’re not just growing, you’re thriving.
First - Putting yourself first isn’t selfish. It’s the most responsible thing you can do to show up, engage fully, and perform consistently — for your team, your family, and your future. And often, putting yourself first means doing the things we’d rather avoid: getting enough sleep, setting boundaries, organizing your environment, and taking ownership of your life instead of letting it run you over.
Fitness comes next — not as a number on a scale, but as a foundation of presence, energy, and clarity. How you move your body in the first ten minutes of your day, how you nourish it, and how you tend to your emotional health — these choices don’t just impact your health. They impact how you lead, think, and recover.
Finances come before family because you can’t be present for the people you love if you’re quietly distracted or overwhelmed by money. Most adults don’t know their basic numbers — bank balances, available credit, debt-to-income ratio, and retirement savings. That lack of clarity robs us of time, presence, and power. Financial awareness isn’t about wealth. It’s about stability, ownership, and choice. Imagine taking a trip with your family, knowing everything was saved, planned, and prepared — and knowing you won’t dread the bill when you get back. That’s peace of mind. That’s leadership at home.
And finally, Family. The people we love, raise, support, or choose — they’re the reason we show up. When your health is aligned, your finances are steady, and your focus is clear, the time you spend with your family becomes richer, deeper, and more intentional. This is what it means to lead a life on purpose.
And to achieve the professional goals you dream of, and have the determination to achieve.
Nicole’s purpose?
To create extraordinary experiences and opportunities for herself and the people she cares about. That starts here.
Q and A with Nicole.
Q: Nicole, who do you coach?
I work with leaders at pivotal moments in their careers—whether you’ve just stepped into a new executive role and are finding your footing, are redefining your leadership in a rapidly changing AI-driven world, or are searching for your next “why.” My clients are high performers who know that sustained success requires intention, discipline, and the right strategic partner.
Q: What shapes your leadership philosophy?
My approach is rooted in timeless principles passed down from my Italian immigrant grandfather, who arrived from Potenza with an unshakable commitment to excellence, discipline, and family legacy. His World War I photograph sits in my office as a daily reminder that true leadership is as much about character as it is about achievement.
I believe leadership is lived, not just taught. Even traditions like Sunday dinner serve as leadership exercises—bringing people together with purpose, creating space for meaningful dialogue, and strengthening the bonds that sustain us through change.
Q: How did your coaching journey begin?
In June 2006, I founded Hunter Ambrose International from my dining room table—determined to launch before my children started summer break. I gave myself one quarter to prove it and make it work. As a single parent in a modest San Diego apartment, there was no safety net—only a clear deadline and unwavering resolve. By fall, I had secured immediate client success and moved to La Jolla, proving that decisive action and disciplined execution can transform both a career and a life.
Q: What is the 4F Method?
The 4F Leadership Framework is my signature coaching approach, designed to help leaders excel across four essential dimensions:
First – Professional Excellence: Elevating your executive presence and business acumen. Putting yourself first allows you to serve others at the highest level.
Fitness – Physical & Mental Resilience: Building the energy and focus required to lead with stamina and clarity.
Finances – Strategic Resource Management: Strengthening your financial literacy and decision-making for long-term stability.
Family – Relationship & Life Integration: Balancing relationships and responsibilities to create a meaningful life beyond the office.
When something feels misaligned or stuck professionally, it almost always connects to an area that’s stuck personally. By identifying which 4F dimension is out of alignment, then taking time for pause, reflection, and better decision-making, the “domino effect” of effective change often shows up elsewhere in life and work.
The 4F Method is about stepping out from behind the curtain of excuses, drama, and blame. It’s about extreme ownership—of our lives, our choices, and our behaviors—and the understanding that when the 4Fs are aligned, we create the balance needed to lead well professionally and live well personally.
Q: How has your work shaped your perspective?
My experience spans global corporations and the smallest communities in Rural America. Rural leadership, in particular, has taught me the value of resilience, resourcefulness, and leading without unnecessary complexity. Whether in a corporate boardroom or a rural hospital, the principles of authentic, grounded leadership remain the same.
Q: How do you approach communication with leaders?
Clear, direct communication is non-negotiable. I believe ambiguity can derail teams and damage trust—something Malcolm Gladwell’s research in Outliers reinforces. My filter for all communication is simple but powerful: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
Q: What role does curiosity play in leadership?
Curiosity is the foundation of growth. One of my first questions to every client is: Where have you been, and where are you headed? The best leaders stay open to new perspectives, challenge assumptions, and embrace change—whether they’re navigating AI-driven transformations, redefining their purpose, or preparing for their next chapter.
