Biography
Krystena Sterling, PCC, is an Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, Relationship Experience Designer, Leadership Strategist, and Executive Coach with more than 25 years of experience helping people, leaders, teams, and organizations thrive.
As the founder of Sterling Coaching Group, Krystena works at the intersection of human behavior, relationships, leadership, and organizational systems. Her approach looks beyond the individual to explore what happens between people and what surrounds them, including the relationships, environments, expectations, and systems that shape how people communicate, lead, make decisions, navigate conflict, and connect with one another.
Krystena helps clients make these often-invisible dynamics visible so they can intentionally create stronger relationships, greater trust, and healthier ways of working and leading. Her coaching integrates industrial-organizational psychology, emotional intelligence, neuroscience, leadership development, and systems thinking with practical strategies clients can apply in their everyday lives and work.
Her experience spans executive coaching, leadership development, organizational effectiveness, culture and change, career transitions, and relationship dynamics. Before founding Sterling Coaching Group, Krystena spent more than two decades at The Walt Disney Company and held leadership development and organizational consulting roles at Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
Krystena holds the Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential through the International Coaching Federation and is certified in a range of leadership, personality, emotional intelligence, and change-management methodologies.
At the heart of her work is a simple belief: better relationships don’t have to happen by accident. They can be designed. She is a Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) from the Association of Talent Development.
She is also the President and Executive Director of Stable Ground Institute, a non-profit equine-assisted learning organization focused on building growth, connection, and community through coaching and programs with horses and humans.