Alba Contreras Rodriguez, MBA, PCC
Owner & President FONS LLC
My perfectionism tendencies started from an early age, but I discovered that wasn’t always a good thing.
My parents saw me as the perfect little girl because I was so caring, and it mattered to me to be good and to do good. Then they divorced and I took the lead, looking out for my mom and determined to be the best.
After finishing high school at sixteen, I moved with my mom and younger brother to the United States to learn English and honor my grandfather’s belief that if you spoke two languages you were worth two people. Four months later I was in college but instead of seeing this as an achievement I was disappointed in my grades. Good enough was not good enough.
As I graduated, worked in multiple countries, industries, and companies such as Ford, General Motors, and KPMG Consulting and started a family of my own, I did not notice how much I was encouraged to aim at perfection so that I could climb the corporate ladder. I could do it, I had to do it, and failure was not an option if I wanted to stand out in crowded, competitive work environments.
I became so focused on excelling in corporate life and achieving my family’s dream of becoming USA citizens that I even decided I needed to get an MBA while being a full-time executive.
We achieved our dream, but it came at a cost: I wasn’t getting promoted, I was physically and emotionally exhausted, and I experienced multiple guilt trips for not being as involved in my children’s lives as I wanted to be. My life wasn’t fulfilling and the very strength that had made me successful—perfectionism—was pushing me toward burnout.
CERTIFICATIONS
International Coaching Federation (ICF)
-Credentialed Professional Certified Coach (PCC)
Global Team Coaching Institute (GTCI)
-Certified Team Coaching Practitioner
European Mentoring & Coaching Council (EMCC) Global
-Individual Team Coaching Accreditation
College of Executive Coaching (CEC)
-Advanced Certified Personal and Executive Coach
Hogan
-Hogan Assessments Certified
EDUCATION
University of Florida
-Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Computer & Information Sciences
University of Michigan, Ross School of Business
-MBA
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management
-Technology, Operations and Value Chain Management Executive Certificate
I needed a coach which was ironic since throughout my career I had coached my peers and even my bosses. But it was no longer about having the right sponsors and marketing myself; it was about identifying and breaking my limiting beliefs and becoming more aware of my strengths and how they were helping or hindering me.
My coach encouraged me to journal and that’s where I envisioned my future—becoming an executive coach so that I could replicate for other leaders the transformational experience I was having and leave a legacy.
This was a major transition for me. Now I had to transform myself, so I took early retirement and launched my business, FONS LLC, while getting the credentials I needed.
Today, I coach executives, teams, and groups to navigate transitions and transformations in life and in business utilizing tools such as the Hogan Assessments and my signature program, “The Cost of Overusing Your Strengths.”
To me coaching feels like the art of the possible—to witness how a person can transform in such a short amount of time. To experience that evolution, that growth, and to really be able to help them look in retrospect and see how much they’ve accomplished for themselves and the ripple effect of the work they’ve done. I’m elated that they will be able to sustain the momentum they’ve gained and grateful that I was able to be part of that journey with them.
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