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A coach and trainer specializing in management and sales effectiveness, Ophélie Ayouaza has forged an unconventional career path: she began her coaching career at age 27, cutting her teeth at a well-known firm before striking out on her own. Assertiveness, managerial skills, and sales techniques are at the heart of her practice, with a signature style all her own: training sessions where participants truly learn and have a great time.
I got into coaching fairly early on, around age 27 or 28, and somewhat by accident. I was in charge of a mentoring program, and I naturally found myself supporting project leaders and entrepreneurs. I then joined a coaching firm in early 2014, where I cut my teeth for a few years working alongside Valérie Rocoplan. That’s when I realized this was truly my calling.
In 2018, I started my own business. I earned my coaching certification in late 2020, and I’ve trained in several approaches, including transactional analysis.
I focus on two key areas. The first is management: attitudes, interpersonal dynamics, and how to embody one’s role on a daily basis. My specialty is assertiveness: knowing how to stand up for yourself without being overbearing, and setting boundaries without being aggressive. It’s a skill that’s often underestimated, yet it’s essential whenever you’re managing a team or negotiating. I provide coaching both in group settings and one-on-one.
The second pillar is the sales force. I’ve been coaching sales teams for six years, and they’re actually my favorite group to work with. They’re direct, authentic, and have a real drive to improve—as long as we’re extremely pragmatic. What fascinates me is the parallel between the role of a coach and that of a sales professional: the quality of questioning, active listening, rephrasing, and the sensitivity needed to understand the other person’s needs. These are skills that can be developed, and they make all the difference in the field.
I work with a wide variety of professionals: entry-level employees, branch managers, teams at small and medium-sized businesses, and, increasingly, people transitioning into sales roles—who often learned on the job and need to adjust some of their habits.
I discovered NUMA in 2013, back when NUMA was still a startup accelerator focused on innovation. I was working at Moovjee, and our paths naturally crossed. A few years later, I saw a LinkedIn post from Numa (Claudio) looking for English-speaking trainers. I replied, and that’s how it all started.
What convinced me to join the team was, first and foremost, the teaching approach: NUMA’s approach is pragmatic, situational, and grounded in reality. It aligns with my beliefs about what managers and salespeople really need: not theory for theory’s sake, but content they can put to immediate use.
I’m a storyteller—that’s really how I work. I use stories—either situations I’ve experienced myself or cases I’ve anonymized from my coaching sessions and training programs. All of this fuels my thinking and allows me to make very concrete connections to what participants are experiencing in their roles.
Two things that go hand in hand. The first is the content. People need to walk away with something they can put to use the very next day. We’re all cognitively overloaded, so stepping away from our daily routines for (at least) two hours really has to be worth it.
The second is enjoyment: people need to have a good time. Humor, anecdotes, and conversations that veer off course a bit—all of that is part of the training. Because when we’re having fun, we learn better. And the lessons that stick are often the ones we’ve experienced during a moment of joy.
There’s a phrase I love, which I picked up from a former colleague, Audrey, who’s also a coach at NUMA. It’s a way to sum up assertiveness in four words: “neither a doormat nor a hedgehog.” Don’t let others walk all over you, but don’t bristle at the slightest friction either . When I share it in a workshop, it brings a smile of recognition, because everyone has found themselves in one or the other at some point. And that’s exactly what I love about a good teaching phrase: it sticks, it spreads, and it keeps working long after the session is over.
The TED Talk I recommend to everyone is Amy Edmondson’s talk on psychological safety at work. Amy Edmondson is a management researcher, and this talk helped me clarify what a manager’s role really is: to create an environment where people feel safe to speak up, offer ideas, and make mistakes without fear of repercussions. I often use it in training sessions because it provides a clear framework for issues that everyone experiences but few can put into words.
A coach and trainer specializing in management and sales effectiveness, Ophélie Ayouaza has forged an unconventional career path: she began her coaching career at age 27, cutting her teeth at a well-known firm before striking out on her own. Assertiveness, managerial skills, and sales techniques are at the heart of her practice, with a signature style all her own: training sessions where participants truly learn and have a great time.
I got into coaching fairly early on, around age 27 or 28, and somewhat by accident. I was in charge of a mentoring program, and I naturally found myself supporting project leaders and entrepreneurs. I then joined a coaching firm in early 2014, where I cut my teeth for a few years working alongside Valérie Rocoplan. That’s when I realized this was truly my calling.
In 2018, I started my own business. I earned my coaching certification in late 2020, and I’ve trained in several approaches, including transactional analysis.
I focus on two key areas. The first is management: attitudes, interpersonal dynamics, and how to embody one’s role on a daily basis. My specialty is assertiveness: knowing how to stand up for yourself without being overbearing, and setting boundaries without being aggressive. It’s a skill that’s often underestimated, yet it’s essential whenever you’re managing a team or negotiating. I provide coaching both in group settings and one-on-one.
The second pillar is the sales force. I’ve been coaching sales teams for six years, and they’re actually my favorite group to work with. They’re direct, authentic, and have a real drive to improve—as long as we’re extremely pragmatic. What fascinates me is the parallel between the role of a coach and that of a sales professional: the quality of questioning, active listening, rephrasing, and the sensitivity needed to understand the other person’s needs. These are skills that can be developed, and they make all the difference in the field.
I work with a wide variety of professionals: entry-level employees, branch managers, teams at small and medium-sized businesses, and, increasingly, people transitioning into sales roles—who often learned on the job and need to adjust some of their habits.
I discovered NUMA in 2013, back when NUMA was still a startup accelerator focused on innovation. I was working at Moovjee, and our paths naturally crossed. A few years later, I saw a LinkedIn post from Numa (Claudio) looking for English-speaking trainers. I replied, and that’s how it all started.
What convinced me to join the team was, first and foremost, the teaching approach: NUMA’s approach is pragmatic, situational, and grounded in reality. It aligns with my beliefs about what managers and salespeople really need: not theory for theory’s sake, but content they can put to immediate use.
I’m a storyteller—that’s really how I work. I use stories—either situations I’ve experienced myself or cases I’ve anonymized from my coaching sessions and training programs. All of this fuels my thinking and allows me to make very concrete connections to what participants are experiencing in their roles.
Two things that go hand in hand. The first is the content. People need to walk away with something they can put to use the very next day. We’re all cognitively overloaded, so stepping away from our daily routines for (at least) two hours really has to be worth it.
The second is enjoyment: people need to have a good time. Humor, anecdotes, and conversations that veer off course a bit—all of that is part of the training. Because when we’re having fun, we learn better. And the lessons that stick are often the ones we’ve experienced during a moment of joy.
There’s a phrase I love, which I picked up from a former colleague, Audrey, who’s also a coach at NUMA. It’s a way to sum up assertiveness in four words: “neither a doormat nor a hedgehog.” Don’t let others walk all over you, but don’t bristle at the slightest friction either . When I share it in a workshop, it brings a smile of recognition, because everyone has found themselves in one or the other at some point. And that’s exactly what I love about a good teaching phrase: it sticks, it spreads, and it keeps working long after the session is over.
The TED Talk I recommend to everyone is Amy Edmondson’s talk on psychological safety at work. Amy Edmondson is a management researcher, and this talk helped me clarify what a manager’s role really is: to create an environment where people feel safe to speak up, offer ideas, and make mistakes without fear of repercussions. I often use it in training sessions because it provides a clear framework for issues that everyone experiences but few can put into words.
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