As organizations grapple with increasing complexity, uncertainty, and rapid technological change, the ability to work productively with emotions is emerging as a critical leadership capability. Yet many professionals are taught to suppress or manage emotions rather than harness them for strategic advantage. A new book by leadership coach Francesca Oduoza aims to close that gap.
Released on September 15, 2026, The ARC of Progress: A Coaching Handbook for Emotional Leadership — Transforming Difficult Emotions into Purposeful Action introduces the ARC™ Framework—Acknowledge, Reflect, Convert—a repeatable process that helps coaches, leaders, and professionals name their emotions, understand what those emotions reveal, and turn insight into intentional decisions and meaningful action.
“Emotions are not simply barriers or distractions; they are signals,” Oduoza said. “Much like a warning light on a car’s dashboard, an emotion can alert us that something beneath the surface deserves our attention. The choice isn’t whether to feel. It’s what you do with what you feel.”
The timing is significant. As AI and digital transformation reshape workplaces, Oduoza emphasizes that emotional leadership remains essential for navigating relationships, managing conflict and change, and making inclusive decisions. The handbook positions emotional leadership as a strategic unlock for effective leadership and personal growth, arguing that by examining emotional responses and the assumptions behind them, readers can create space for clearer judgment, stronger relationships, and choices aligned with their values and goals.
The ARC™ process moves readers from emotional awareness to purposeful action through three interconnected stages: Acknowledge & Accept, which helps readers recognize and make space for their emotional reality with honesty and compassion; Reflect & Reframe, which explores the beliefs and stories shaping the emotional experience; and Convert & Commit, which turns emerging insight into intentional action that lays the foundation for sustainable behaviour change.
Coaches and leaders can apply these concepts through thematic coaching domains, guided visualizations, practical prompts, and reflection exercises. The book includes foundational concepts of emotional regulation, real-life stories, action-oriented prompts for navigating emotional contagion, structured coaching domains, hundreds of reflective questions, and practical exercises for individuals, teams, and groups. The ARC™ approach aligns with most of the International Coaching Federation’s core coaching competencies and ethical principles.
The framework has versatile applications, including addressing leadership challenges, navigating difficult relationships, overcoming limiting beliefs, coaching through conflict, strengthening team dynamics, managing stress, and developing emotional intelligence. It is written for leadership, life, and executive coaches; people leaders; HR professionals; educators; mentors; and anyone committed to developing others.
Early praise for the book comes from Marcia Reynolds, PsyD, MCC, author of Coach the Person, Not the Problem, who called it “a practical tool they may invite others to use to transform emotions that feel like blocks into insights and confident action.” Emmanuel Michael, SPHRi, a leadership and career coach recognized among the Top 100 Global HR Leaders, described it as “a transformational tool for anyone committed to elevating human performance, emotional intelligence, and personal mastery.”
Oduoza, an International Coaching Federation Professional Certified Coach with more than 20 years of leadership experience, including senior roles in banking, holds a certificate in mediation and conflict resolution from Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation. She lives in Vancouver, Canada. The ARC of Progress is available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book through major retailers. More information is available at https://francescaoduoza.com.
