Who We Are

Loriana Sekarski, President
I led an inauthentic life for nearly 44 years. I had all the credentials as a UCLA-trained engineer, and MIT Sloan School of Management graduate who started and ran a successful consulting company for 16 years. I also had experience with many businesses of all sizes, but I had little confidence in who I really was.

And then, one day, someone asked me a powerful question that changed everything. It dealt with why I didn’t want to own my thoughts. That question started the process of tearing down the walls I had built around myself to begin my search for authenticity and purpose. I pushed boundaries, abandoned my comfort zone, and discovered who I was, instead of who everyone else expected me to be. Now, that’s what I do. I ask questions and share ideas that lead to transformation.

Since then, I have relentlessly pursued helping others bear their best fruit. This is the mission of BONSAI^®.

You can see details of my 25+ years of business experience and credentials, like being a Gallup Certified Coach, on my LinkedIn page, but that’s not what matters most. Every step of my life (good and bad steps) has prepared me for this business and the work we do. Let’s talk about working together on clarifying your purpose, discovering your superpowers, and taking action to bear your best fruit.

Patrick Sekarski, Chief Solutions Officer
Loriana and I both took the road less traveled to arrive at BONSAI^®, but my path never deviated from helping people and finding solutions. From clinical pharmacist to pharma sales to operations manager, all my past positions demanded that I develop quick, accurate, and flexible solutions to problems that often had a life-or-death impact. Within those jobs, I especially enjoyed mentoring and developing others to provide health care more efficiently and effectively.

My experience at Missouri Veterans Administration, Merck, an Express Scripts startup, and two other health care centers has given me a wide range of organizational experience. When I first started learning about Gallup strengths, it helped me make sense of my career path, unique abilities, and successes along the way. It taught me that I do well at really “getting” where others are at and helping them identify the best ways to be more effective and reach their goals. I also thrive when designing solutions and implementing best practices, which is my primary role for BONSAI^®.

Working with patients and my own personal journey has made me acutely aware of how precious life is. That awareness combined with having Context as my #1 Gallup strength prevents me from getting rattled by crises and problems like I did when I was younger and struggled with perfectionism. My ability to relate to clients who still have this burden has been extremely helpful in the coaching process. My Context strength enables me to help clients reframe situations so they can get unstuck and off a plateau.

Embracing that I am different from others and how they approach life, and helping others do the same, is my passion. I believe we should celebrate and utilize how we are unique, and that approach shines through in my coaching methods and work at BONSAI^®.

Change isn’t our goal when it comes to coaching. We work with how you were designed and seek to enhance it. We help you identify your strengths and then polish them and leverage them. We ask hard questions and walk beside you as you explore the answers and find the right mindset to use your strengths more often. And we make suggestions based on our many years of experience.

We’re active participants in this journey with you. We approach coaching from a place of shared vulnerability because we know the authenticity and transformation that comes from it.

BONSAI’s annual success is measured by the lives changed and fruit born. This impacts decisions about who we work with and the type of projects we do. It frees us to advise what is best for the client, even if it reduces BONSAI’s income.