Lana Starr
Therapist & Executive Coach

Personal & Professional fulfillment through self-awareness and self-management

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About Lana

I have experience as a therapist and an executive coach helping individuals explore and develop skills to manage the psychological and emotional challenges that impact personal satisfaction, self-esteem, relationships, professional and personal development, and personal definitions of success.

I began my career as a Human Resource Business Partner in financial services, covering the investment banking and corporate finance businesses. In that capacity, I partnered with senior leadership to develop an effective HR agenda that supported the organization's business objectives. My remit included: overseeing performance evaluation processes, employee engagement initiatives, talent development programs, year-end compensation, recruiting strategies, employee relations, and workforce planning. While my role was diversified, I tended to gravitate towards one-on-one employee development.  

Over the years, what I found striking time and again, was that employees rarely faced serious challenges with the core functions of their jobs. In fact, most loved them—it was everything else that was problematic! Often employees struggled with the psychological and emotional challenges of working with others. It was this understanding that led me to pursue a master's degree in mental health counseling, believing professional fulfillment is largely achieved through one's ability to be self-aware and self-regulate in moments of anxiety and distress.

Lana Starr

MA, Mental Health Counseling
New York University

BS, Industrial and Labor Relations
Cornell University

Clients

My thought process and self-worth dramatically shifted after meeting Lana. I didn't know what to expect from our sessions and received so much more than career guidance. Lana provided me with worksheets and conversations that helped me uncover several blocks that were holding me back both personally and professionally. Much of what I unblocked in our sessions I couldn't overcome in years of traditional therapy. I greatly value my relationship with Lana as she is kind, but also challenging and thorough. She will make you accountable to your goals while encouraging you to go deeper so you have an opportunity to understand your value, personality, and potential.

Director, E-commerce

My work with Lana was efficient and valuable. I was able to identify and take action on blind spots that were previously obstacles to my development. I am noticeably more confident in my interactions with both clients and colleagues and have a deeper skill set in managing my anxiety. I found Lana's HR background in financial services to be extremely relevant to understanding the dynamics of my work environment.

Principal, Investment Banking

Lana was extremely helpful in getting me to examine my own thoughts, strengths, and improvement areas. As a result of working with her, I've become a better self-advocate, collaborator, and understand what makes me tick and thrive at work. She's an active listener and was a pleasure to have a coach. I can't recommend her enough (and have!).

Director, Marketing

My time working with Lana was really productive. Thanks to Lana, I better understand my professional strengths and what motivates me, which in turn allows me to approach my work more confidently.

Director, Product Marketing

Therapy

My belief is that our ability to live a more satisfying life is predicated on our capacity for self-awareness and subsequently self-management. Therefore, by examining our patterned behavior and underlying thinking, we have an opportunity to understand the dynamics of our distress. This understanding, derived from insight-oriented therapy, coupled with cognitive behavioral based techniques, can help us transition to living a better life.
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I work with clients who may be experiencing stress, anxiety, emotional fatigue or sadness, and are at a critical point of needing new methods to live a better life. A better way of living includes a greater ability to manage our emotional engagement with triggering people, events, or circumstances. I help facilitate the process of introspection and awareness with the goal to build and foster skills to better manage emotional and psychological reactions. Regulating our emotions in and of itself is a worthy goal; however, my hope is for my clients to ultimately improve the quality of their lives, and maintain a sense of contentment and well-being.

I have experience as a therapist and an executive coach helping individuals to explore and develop skills in order to manage the psychological and emotional challenges that impact personal satisfaction, self-esteem, relationships, professional and personal development, and personal definitions of success.

My approach is active, engaging, and non-judgemental.

Coaching Areas

Interpersonal Development & Wellbeing

Humans are social beings that experience emotions within the context of others. Our ability to manage negative emotions at the workplace impacts our capacity to effectively communicate with our colleagues. Communication is often riddled with personal triggers, beliefs, biases, and assumptions—preventing genuine listening and a true exchange of ideas. Becoming aware of our perceptions, particularly in emotionally heightened dialogues, can help us regulate our responses and lead to healthy communication and high-quality workplace relationships. Meaningful connections with colleagues and the perception of social support contribute to our overall wellbeing—both personally and professionally.

Authentic Leadership & Management Development

Leadership style comes in many forms and is highly influenced by your unique lived experience. Lived experience refers to the knowledge acquired from the specific encounters in life. It is often the most challenging encounters that play a powerful role in shaping character and perspective. Understanding and appreciating the lived experience of oneself and others fosters more authentic interactions with employees. Authentic encounters are paramount to establishing psychologically-safe environments, allowing for greater engagement, creativity, and innovation.

Inclusion Awareness Focused Coaching

Organizations looking to attract and retain diverse employees should first consider the inclusivity of their environments. A non-inclusive workplace thwarts diversity recruiting efforts and risks alienating its existing employees. A non-inclusive work environment often has profound effects on the wellbeing of its employees—impacting cognitive resources, performance, and contributing to burnout. The foundation of an inclusive organization is inclusive leadership behaviors. Inclusion requires leaders to gain awareness and explore their own long-established patterns and biases, as well as the biases that persist within their organization. Newfound perspectives can lead to new experiences that shift old patterns and incrementally shape a culture of allyship.

Get in touch

For a free consultation or questions, please contact me below.

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© 2021 LANA STARR EXECUTIVE COACHING