Donna Star's second book aims to redefine balance

Executive coach Donna Star is set to release her second book, Stop Chasing Balance: Do Less. Feel More, this fall, building on a career that spans more than 30 years in corporate leadership and coaching. The book introduces her Archetypes of Balance framework and extends her message that success should feel more authentic, less stressful, and more aligned with how people want to live.

Why it matters: - Donna Star is targeting a common pain point for high-performing professionals: the pressure to do everything and still feel fulfilled. - Her new book and coaching practice push a broader message that career success should not come at the cost of personal ease, clarity, or authenticity. - The release also underscores how coaching is evolving beyond résumés and performance toward identity, fit, and long-term well-being.

What happened: - Donna Star announced her second book, Stop Chasing Balance: Do Less. Feel More, will arrive this fall. - Star is a Certified Executive Coach, Consultant, and founder of Donna Star Coaching and Consulting. - Her practice focuses mainly on high-performing professionals, especially women. - Star built her coaching business after more than 30 years in corporate roles across advertising, talent acquisition, software, and business development. - Her career background includes senior leadership posts overseeing North American sales, managing major global accounts, and leading organizational growth initiatives.

The details: - Star's first book, Unsuccessfully Successful, drew on her own experience and three decades of leadership. - Stop Chasing Balance introduces her “Archetypes of Balance” framework. - The book challenges what Star sees as a modern obsession with doing it all. - Star says she wanted the kind of coach she now provides during her own corporate years because she made work harder than it had to be. - Humor and joy are part of her approach, which she sees as a way to reduce stress and add more ease and flow. - Star says trust your gut is the best career advice she ever received, and she now uses intuition as a core coaching principle. - Star's coaching style focuses on hearing what clients may not fully say and, with permission, bringing that insight into the session. - Her training at the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching required participants to receive coaching while learning to coach others. - Star still works with coaches herself and credits her own ongoing development as part of why her coaching works. - Her stated goal is to “match your insides with your outside.” - Star says coaching is not about polishing a résumé or LinkedIn profile. - She says her work helps clients build careers and lives that reflect who they truly are. - Star says coaching is a crowded and sometimes unclear field, and fit is the best predictor of strong outcomes. - She describes coaching as both an art and a science that depends on emotional intelligence and genuine connection. - Star says artificial intelligence may improve efficiency in coaching, but technology cannot replace human connection, intuition, and personal understanding. - Her values are honesty and integrity, and she calls herself the “Say It Like It Is” coach. - Star also shares her work through speaking engagements, writing, and her online community, Moments of Momentum. - Her philosophy is summed up by the four words on her new book cover: Do less. Feel more. - Star's profile and website are available through her Influential Women profile and her website.

Between the lines: - The book launch reflects a market for coaching that speaks to professionals who want achievement without constant strain. - Star's emphasis on intuition, honesty, and fit suggests she is positioning coaching as deeply personal, not formulaic. - Her comments on AI show a wider industry tension: automation may support the work, but trust-based coaching still depends on human judgment.

What's next: - Stop Chasing Balance: Do Less. Feel More is scheduled for release this fall. - Star is likely to use the book to extend her coaching platform, speaking work, and online community. - Her message suggests continued focus on helping clients build careers and lives that feel aligned, not just accomplished.