“There’s a fine line between being selfish and being true to yourself.” Nita Tucker 

In this episode, I’m joined by Nita Tucker, author, executive coach, and the founder of The Florentine, the English-language newspaper that has shaped and served Florence’s international community for more than twenty years.

We begin with Nita’s first encounters with Florence, from hitchhiking through Europe in her twenties to making the bold decision, at fifty, to move abroad and build a life rooted in curiosity, courage, and community. What followed was the unlikely birth of The Florentine: a newspaper that started quite literally from a bathroom conversation and grew into a vital bridge between the city and its global residents.

Our conversation moves through themes of belonging, leadership, and boldness – from building community around a dinner table, to taking professional and personal risks, to staying true to oneself even when it’s misunderstood. Nita reflects candidly on love, partnership, grief, and why wanting a relationship is nothing to be ashamed of at any age.

We also explore her latest book, Nobility: The Essence of Leadership, where she reframes leadership not as dominance or management, but as an intentional way of being, one rooted in dignity, principle, and the ability to elevate others.

This episode is a meditation on Florence, on relationships, on purpose, and on what it really means to live a life with no regrets, even when the path is uncertain.

Biography 

Nita Tucker is an author, executive coach, speaker, and leadership thinker who lives between Florence, Italy, and California. She is the founder and former editor of the English-language publication The Florentine, a magazine that has served the international community in Florence for decades. 

Nita’s brand, “Realizing the Possible”, has helped thousands of leaders fulfill their potential. Over the course of forty years as a management consultant, Nita has worked at the senior level for clients such as Motorola, Cisco Systems, Flextronics, and Hewlett Packard, mainly applying her Technology of Transformation to create unstoppable leaders and teams.

Tucker is the author of several books spanning relationships, travel, and leadership, including How Not to Stay Single After 40, Beyond Cinderella, It Happened in Florence, Essential Florence, and her most recent leadership work, Nobility: The Essence of Leadership (2025). Her writing and coaching help individuals and leaders cultivate purpose, clarity, and authentic impact.  

Nita has given countless seminars across the globe, bringing her down-to-earth approach and sense of fun to topics related to performance, collaboration, and leadership development. As a speaker, Nita has appeared on The Today Show, CBS This Morning, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and CNN.

Links 

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/452892.Nita_Tucker

https://www.instagram.com/nita.tucker.1?igsh=aWdzcW11ZGNxZ2h2

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitatuckerconsulting?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

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Podcast Producer: Andrew Niklas Curtis 

Production Intern: Nicole Stevens

Recording and post-production Lorenzo Maiani, Faminore Sound Agency