About

A question I'm often asked:

"What led you to Executive Coaching?"

My response:

"Well, if you really want to know, sit back and relax because I have few stories to share."

In all the stories below, you'll find there's a through-line that reinforces two of my strongly-held beliefs:

Click to reveal Belief #1

Click to reveal Belief #2

The through-line is this...

I am blessed with an inherent ability to be keenly aware of the thoughts, emotions, feelings & behaviors of others as well as a natural obsession for seeking to understand the source of those thoughts, emotions, feelings, and behaviors.

---and---

In the 40-some years I've been on this earth, I've also been blessed with wonderful life lessons that have powerfully nurtured this inherent ability and obsession. Those life lessons are below.

The life lessons shared below demonstrate how it was both NATURE and NURTURE that led me to Executive Coaching.

These lessons also played a significant role in the development of my CORE VALUES - the values upon which I live and experience life everyday. They serve as the foundation for my business, as well.

Coaching others and helping them self-actualize is what I was built for - nature encoded it in my DNA. It's what I was meant to do and I can't imagine doing anything else. I'm in my element and loving every day of it.

It is both meaningful and satisfying for me and I believe THAT is what we all should all pursuing - meaningfulness and satisfaction in both our personal and professional lives...and I get both when I have the opportunity to help others pursue it.

Interested in working with me?Click here to connect.

Life Lessons That Fueled My Mission To Help Business Professionals Move Forward...

...forward in their careers and forward in their organizations so that they ultimately achieve their vision for a satisfying and meaningful life.

at age 4 i learned that our ability to influence others goes way beyond our words

Watch The Video

it was my father who first noticed my superpower

Watch The Video

failing is a part of life

get used to it now and learn how to make the bounce

Read The Story

become mentally tough

. . . to manage the bullies who aren't equipped to deal with your success

Read The Story

business is built on relationships

Read The Story

It is critical that we understand and appreciate the behavioral style of others and adjust our approach to communicate more effectively with them

Watch The Video

this happened after I was told. . .

"you don't look like them. They look like businesswomen and you look like a college student"

Watch The Video

a disheartening experience in Pharmaceutical sales further strengthened my passion for helping business professionals better cultivate mutually beneficial relationships

Watch The Video

the tipping point in 2009

how it all came to be

what it is today!

Watch The Video

Let's Connect!

starla@starlawest.com | 1-317-615-0758

55 Monument Circle, Suite 726

Indianapolis, IN 46204

I have a solid belief that humans can influence how the world responds to them far more than what they realize or may want to believe.

Because of that, I have an unwavering passion for helping others find their influence, own it, and then strategically leverage it to accomplish their goals.

I also believe that expertly navigating your life so that it is meaningful & satisfying for you is all about deepening your emotional intelligence and commanding control of your head game so that you show up with confidence, perseverance & resilience - all of which are critical when it comes to getting what you want out of life.

You are on stage and the world is your audience.

The world is watching you and paying close attention to more than just your words.

They're listening to a story... a story that is being told by your physical presence.

Whether you like it or not, it is, in fact, telling a story... a story about who you are, what you value, how you feel about yourself, and how you expect to be treated.

And this story can either make it easier or more difficult for you to accomplish your life goals. So, the ever-important question is, "What do YOU want that story to be?" because commanding control of it can powerfully influence how others perceive and respond to you.

Your physical presence is simply a tool you have in your toolbox for successfully navigating life. It's entirely up to you whether you choose to leverage it to get what you want out of life while positively influencing the world around you.

I loved my Chiquita Banana costume!

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Mental Toughness

The more accomplished you are, the more likely there will be bullies in your life trying to steal your success away from you.

The most effective way is to manage these bullies is to develop an unwavering level of mental toughness that can outlast any bully's attempt to emotionally invalidate you.

Here's my story...

If you viewed my first three stories, you know by now I hit it big in the Parents Lottery. Coaching with tough love and compassion is encoded in their DNA so not only do I come by it naturally, but I was also the beneficiary of it as their child.

My sophomore year, I earned the opportunity to play on our varsity basketball team. Needless to say, a few of the juniors were not happy. They attempted to intimidate me by making nasty comments in the hallways, leaving unpleasant messages on my locker, and sending 'physical' messages to me on the court.

I was being bullied and it was a painful experience as you can imagine. I wanted to quit; however, my parents wouldn't allow it. And instead of running to school administrators and demanding the school system deal with it, my parents taught me how to properly manage the bullies on my own because as they explained, 'there will always be bullies in your life.'

So how'd they do it?

First, they encouraged me to view and understand the situation from the bully's perspective. They asked...

1
Given what you know about them as well as the situation in which they find themselves, what thoughts might be going through their minds right now?
2
What do you think is important to them?
3
On the flip side, what do you think they might be worried about right now?
4
How might all of this be making them feel?
5
Is it possible their behavior is in response to the negative emotions they're experiencing? iF SO, WHY?

What my parents were showing me how to do was to employ empathy to better understand the situation and the thoughts and behaviors of others of others within it.

Now, armed with that insight, I could see that they're behavior was in response to the negative emotions they were feeling due to fears they were ill-equipped to handle. Sadly, they were taking it out on me even though it really had nothing to do with me, so I certainly didn't need to own it.

Along with empathy, my parents showed me how to emotionally-detach from the situation and refuse to take anything personally which put me in a much more informed place to decide how I wanted to handle it.

I didn't back down, nor did I retaliate. I simply did my best to remain unwavering in my confidence while staying laser-focused on everything that was supportive of me playing on the varsity team.

It was difficult, but over time their mistreatment of me subsided simply because it wasn't having the effect they were hoping for.

This powerful life experience resulted in a mental toughness I am incredibly grateful for today. And this mental toughness is what many of my clients seek to develop, as well.

Let's Connect!