Untamed Leader

Lauri Smith
  • 5.0 (14)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Biweekly

Untamed Leader is a podcast for loving rebels who are ready to speak, live, and lead from the radiant pulse of their purpose—the wild-hearted ones dedicated to transforming the vibe in the room and igniting meaningful change. Through heart-to-heart conversations, breakthrough coaching moments, solo reflections, and inspiring stories from the edge of becoming, Untamed Leader explores what it means to lead from the inside out. Host Lauri Smith weaves together three essential leadership threads: vision, creativity, and voice. Here, leadership is a sacred art. Intuition guides creation.Presence shapes communication.And your voice channels the rhythm already alive in your soul. Whether you’re already visible—or standing at the edge of visibility—something in you knows: It’s time to lead untamed.

  1. 6d ago

    Curious First: A New Model for True Leaders

    Send Lauri a message What if your biggest leadership mistake wasn't the decisions you made, but the mental model you were carrying when you made them? Leadership coach Kurt Bush started out believing leaders had to have all the answers. Spoiler: it nearly cost him the room. What he discovered instead, through mentorship, a pandemic, and a lot of curiosity, reshaped how he shows up in every room, every conversation, every crisis. In this episode, Lauri and Kurt dive into one of the clearest lessons to come out of high-pressure seasons like the pandemic: how we do things matters more than what we do. From pastoring in 2020 to leading volunteer teams and cultures, Kurt shares why he aims to be the least anxious presence in the room and how curiosity supports that. They explore curiosity as a leadership skill, and why being present is often the first step toward better decisions, stronger relationships, and healthier conflict. Plus, the brimstone butterfly, a ropes course story, a physicist around a fire pit, and why the best pastor in town might have 10 people in the pews. TAKEAWAYS 1. The mental model you carry into leadership shapes everything, including whether people actually follow you. 2. Trying to hide that you don't have all the answers never works. People always know. 3. How we do things is even more important than what we do. 4. Curiosity and presence are linked: it's nearly impossible to be genuinely curious without being present at the same time. 5. Anxiety in leadership often comes from an outdated model: needing to be right, in control, having answers. Curiosity dissolves it. 6. "Do you want to say more about that?" is a question that creates space, buys processing time, and invites deeper thinking. 75% of the time, people work themselves to a more grounded place. 7. The room takes on the leader's personality. What energy are you bringing in? 8. A leader is simply someone with people following them — everything else works itself out from there. 9. The best leaders may be the quietest ones, leading closely with a few, not loudly with many. Soul Sucker Quiz Take the Soul Sucker Quiz to learn which Soul Sucker screams the loudest in your mind so you can release them from being in charge and set your voice free!https://voice-matters.com/soul-sucker-quiz/ The Speaker Alter Ego Quiz Take the Speaker Alter Ego quiz to find out which protective mask hides your natural radiance so you can learn how to get present, connect deeply, and share your vision when it matters most!https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/ Support the show Thank you so much for listening! Take the free Speaker Alter Ego Quiz to find out which protective mask is hiding your wild, untamed radiance. https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/ Follow me on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/ Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/ YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646

    53 min

  2. Jun 19

    Hide No More

    Send Lauri a message What if the version of you that shrinks is both timid and brilliant? In this retreat coaching session, we sit with Brian Perry, an authentic communication coach and singer-songwriter, as his body remembers a childhood rule: being seen is dangerous.  What unfolds is a vivid map of survival, from bullying to family dynamics, and the subtle ways a protector part can keep you safe while also keeping you small. A kid who learned that the most dangerous thing was to be seen. A man who believed he was meant to be a priest. A body that still knows how to make itself smaller, even at six foot six.  And underneath all of it — a version of Brian that people feel in the room before he says a word. This episode is a window into real, embodied coaching work. A living exploration into what gets held back, what it costs, and what becomes possible when you stop hiding behind the lockers. As you listen, put yourself in his shoes. Ask yourself the questions I'm asking him. Notice what stirs. TAKEAWAYSThe survival strategies that kept us safe as kids don't disappear at 53 — they go underground and keep running the show. Of course they do. They worked.Courageous cowering isn't weakness. It's a smart adaptation that held something precious until the danger passed. Honoring it is the first step to releasing it.Invisibility as a survival strategy and neurodivergence interact in particular ways — the "too much and never enough" experience can make staying small feel like the only safe option.Strength doesn't come despite the survival years. It comes because of them.You can't think your way into a new version of yourself. You have to feel the posture and inhabit the body of the leader you’re becoming.  Support the show Thank you so much for listening! Take the free Speaker Alter Ego Quiz to find out which protective mask is hiding your wild, untamed radiance. https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/ Follow me on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/ Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/ YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646

    23 min

  3. Jun 16

    From Comfort To Calling With A Trusted Guide

    Send Lauri a message The most dangerous career trap is not failure. It’s comfort that slowly turns into a cage.  In this episode of the Untamed Leader Podcast, Lauri sits down with Dr. Karen Koepp, a strategic advisor who helps senior leaders navigate high-stakes turning points. At the heart of the conversation is a childhood expedition that still shapes how Karen guides clients today and the pattern she sees with leaders at every level: you can know exactly where you want to go, but the moment you step out the door, the doubts get loud. Can I do this? Will it cost too much? Am I really the kind of person who can consult others, write the book, or reinvent my career? In the face of these doubts "important but not urgent" often becomes the graveyard of our most meaningful work. Karen shares how she listens for the energy in a leader’s stories to find the real seeds of passion hiding under years of shoulds, and how she helps clients turn that passion into something structured, usable, and alive. If you’re a leader with something real to contribute and keep finding yourself back inside the house instead of out on the path, this one’s for you. TAKEAWAYS1. Knowing where you want to go is a necessary but insufficient condition for actually getting there. 2. Taming is sneaky. The comfortable structure that once kept you safe is often the same thing keeping you stuck. 3. Important but not urgent is where our most meaningful work goes to die. Connecting to our purpose helps create the motivation to get started or keep going.  4. Low-risk experiments beat big leaps when doubts cloud the way. 5. Going it alone is like trying to find the park in the dark. Generic programs built for someone else’s terrain make it worse, not better. 6. Aliveness has a somatic signature. A good guide listens for where the seeds of passion live in your story. 7. Take the first step. Don’t wait for it to become urgent — it won’t. The important thing is always a choice, and you have to be the one who makes it. Soul Sucker Quiz Take the Soul Sucker Quiz to learn which Soul Sucker screams the loudest in your mind so you can release them from being in charge and set your voice free!https://voice-matters.com/soul-sucker-quiz/ Support the show Thank you so much for listening! Take the free Speaker Alter Ego Quiz to find out which protective mask is hiding your wild, untamed radiance. https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/ Follow me on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/ Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/ YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646

    37 min

  4. Jun 13

    Tending Your Inner Fire: A Live Coaching Moment

    Send Lauri a message What does untaming look like and how do we do it? This is a real coaching session from the Untamed Leader Spring Retreat: Embody Your Vision — unscripted, embodied, and alive. Dana is stepping into a new chapter: retiring from her career, feeling called to “ocean” more, and finding out what living with more presence, intention, and impact feels like in her body. What you’ll witness is the untaming process in real time: two trees, two ways of being, and the question underneath it all. As you listen, put yourself in Dana’s shoes. Ask yourself the same questions. Notice what comes up in your own body. This conversation isn’t just hers, it’s yours too. In this episode: The difference between fire under your ass and fire in your heartThe safety question underneath many untaming decisionsHow frequency, not status, guides the untamed leaderIf you’ve ever felt the pull between the life that looks right and the one that feels true — this episode is for you. Key TakeawaysThere’s a difference between fire under your ass and fire in your heart. One burns you out. The other fuels you forward.Confirming in the “tree farm” gives you credibility, standing, and external validation. It can also cost you yourself. Either/or thinking is usually a lie. When you trust yourself new options become clear and you can go anywhere.External validation and inner calling pull in opposite directions. Knowing which one is driving your decisions changes everything.One important question lurking underneath untaming moments: “Is it safe to be who I actually am?”When you’re present, you’re safe. Presence is not a condition of the environment, it’s something you carry.Leadership is a landscape, not a ladder. There is no top tree. There is only your tree.Untamed Leaders make decisions by frequency, not by status or prestige. You can feel the difference in your body.a Soul Sucker Quiz Take the Soul Sucker Quiz to learn which Soul Sucker screams the loudest in your mind so you can release them from being in charge and set your voice free!https://voice-matters.com/soul-sucker-quiz/ Support the show Thank you so much for listening! Take the free Speaker Alter Ego Quiz to find out which protective mask is hiding your wild, untamed radiance. https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/ Follow me on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/ Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/ YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646

    35 min

  5. Jun 9

    Beyond Knowing

    Send Lauri a message What happens when insight isn't enough — when your vision is clear, your mind runs fast, and follow-through keeps breaking anyway? Executive functioning and resilience coach Kevin Bailey spent years burning out trying to out-learn and out-effort his way to success before he stopped trying to fix himself and started designing support systems built for him. That terrain between knowing and doing became part of his life's work. In this conversation, Kevin and Lauri explore the journey from masking to belonging, values as a compass, and what becomes possible when you stop fighting your own brain. Whether you're neurodivergent or just exhausted from performing a version of yourself that doesn't fit—this episode is for you. TAKEAWAYS Your differences aren't the problem. The story that your differences need to be hidden is the problem.Working harder and knowing more is not a substitute for building systems that fit how your brain actually works.Masking drains your battery at a rate most people around you can't see. For neurodivergent people, it often runs at 25–40% capacity—constantly.Recovery isn't about completely topping masking—it's about designing systems that reduce demand so the battery isn't perpetually draining.Neurodivergent burnout is distinct from job burnout. It's the accumulated cost of chronic alertness, masking, and nervous system strain—not just overwork.The gap between knowing and doing is terrain, not a character flaw. Understanding that terrain is where the real work begins.What energizes you matters. Values are a compass. Your best and worst experiences both point to them.True leadership requires courage and the willingness to be vulnerable—not a performance of confidence.Connect with Kevin kevin@gobeyondknowing.com https://www.notion.so/kevinbailey/Design-a-Work-System-That-Actually-Works-With-Your-Brain-2863ccb6c400804db39ff9a492529434?source=copy_link https://gobeyondknowing.com/ Soul Sucker Quiz Take the Soul Sucker Quiz to learn which Soul Sucker screams the loudest in your mind so you can release them from being in charge and set your voice free!https://voice-matters.com/soul-sucker-quiz/ Support the show Thank you so much for listening! Take the free Speaker Alter Ego Quiz to find out which protective mask is hiding your wild, untamed radiance. https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/ Follow me on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/ Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/ YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646

    38 min

  6. Jun 2

    Chaos to Clarity: The Systems Behind an Untamed Life

    Send Lauri a message What if the reason your business feels stuck isn't the strategy — it's all the disconnected parts that nobody's connecting? Fractional COO Lauren Zaslansky Conner has spent decades doing exactly that: linking the systems, the people, and the purpose that most businesses leave siloed. In this episode, Lauren shares how a "jungle gym career" — moving through corporate, startup, and fractional consulting worlds — taught her that everything is connected: work, family, finances, identity. We talk about the Disney turning point that changed everything, what it takes to navigate bureaucratic blobs when you're advocating for a child with special needs, and why she describes herself as "the fascia of the business." If you're a founder who can't take a vacation without everything falling apart, or a leader trying to make sense of the whole from the parts — Lauren's work and way of seeing will land. TAKEAWAYS1. The jungle gym beats the ladder. Careers that loop, leap, and explore build more transferable wisdom than a straight upward climb — and they feel more like play. 2. Everything is connected. What looks like a business problem is almost always also a health, relationship, or confidence problem. Systems thinkers know you can't fix one without looking at the whole. 3. Chaos is the entry point, not the obstacle. When life handed Lauren simultaneous job loss and a new diagnosis, she didn't collapse — she went into systems mode. Crisis can clarify what matters and what needs building. 4. Be the fascia. The heart has a job. The brain has a job. And the fascia connects them. The most valuable leadership often happens in the connective tissue between teams, functions, and people. 5. Learn the language of every system you're navigating. Whether it's a corporate bureaucracy, a school district, or a county service system — every institution has its own acronyms and power structures. Learning them is a survival and advocacy skill. 6. Founders who are the only ones holding the whole thing together haven't built a business — they've built a job they can't leave. If you can't take a vacation, that's your first clue.  Connect with Lauren LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenzaslanskyconner/ Email: lauren@zazbusinesssolutions.com Soul Sucker Quiz Take the Soul Sucker Quiz to learn which Soul Sucker screams the loudest in your mind so you can release them from being in charge and set your voice free!https://voice-matters.com/soul-sucker-quiz/ The Speaker Alter Ego Quiz Take the Speaker Alter Ego quiz to find out which protective mask hides your natural radiance so you can learn how to get present, connect deeply, and share your vision when it matters most!https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/ Support the show Thank you so much for listening! Take the free Speaker Alter Ego Quiz to find out which protective mask is hiding your wild, untamed radiance. https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/ Follow me on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/ Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/ YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646

    45 min

  7. May 29 ·  Bonus

    Leadership As A Choice (bonus)

    Send Lauri a message What if the greatest leadership credential isn't a title or a degree — it's the moment you realized you had no idea what you were doing? Charlie Sheppard — founder of the Human Presence Institute and president of Sheppard Partners — spent four decades helping executives and teams develop presence, influence, and real communication. But it started somewhere much humbler: a management role he wasn't ready for and a feeling he describes simply as "woefully unprepared." In this bonus episode, Charlie shares the discovery path that moment set him on — from modeling great leaders through NLP, to building the Drama Triangle into a leadership tool, to why presence (not information) is the differentiator that AI can't replace. Plus: bungee jumping as an untaming practice, sourdough bread as a leadership parable, and the most honest pivot pivot answer in Untamed Leader history. Key Takeaways1. Feeling like a fraud early in your career can be the beginning of a true learning path.  2. The Drama Triangle (adversary, rescuer, victim) shows up even in the simplest moments. 3. Leadership is choosing your energy state, not just your words. 4. Vision is an antidote to drama. 5. One form of untaming is practicing the edge until the edge becomes comfortable — then finding a new edge. 6. Presence — not information — is the coin of the realm now. AI can outperform any human on information retrieval. It cannot replace the energetic that announces you before you walk in the room. 7. We're often so focused on how far we haven't come that we miss how far we have. Leaders need people around them who will help them notice the mile-markers on the journey. Connect with Charlie https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliesheppard/ https://www.sheppardpartners.com/ Soul Sucker Quiz Take the Soul Sucker Quiz to learn which Soul Sucker screams the loudest in your mind so you can release them from being in charge and set your voice free!https://voice-matters.com/soul-sucker-quiz/ Support the show Thank you so much for listening! Take the free Speaker Alter Ego Quiz to find out which protective mask is hiding your wild, untamed radiance. https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/ Follow me on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/ Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/ YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646

    28 min

  8. May 26

    Post-Crisis: The Leadership Gap No One Talks About

    Send Lauri a message What happens to a leader's clarity after the crisis passes — when things go quiet and the pressure turns inward? Savio P. Clemente, TEDx speaker, journalist, bestselling author, and two-time cancer survivor, brings that answer from somewhere most guests never travel: 29 days of silence in a hospital quarantine room. In this episode, Savio and Lauri explore a hidden gap in leadership — not the crisis itself, but what follows it. They unpack metacognition as the edge beyond emotional intelligence, what it actually means to reframe suffering without minimizing it, why healing is never linear, and how the human capacity for presence is the one thing AI will never replicate. This is a conversation about what gets forged in the dark — and the kind of leader that comes out the other side. KEY TAKEAWAYS1. The post-crisis leadership gap happens when the crisis focus lifts and turns inward.  2. Metacognition is the frontier beyond emotional intelligence — it's not just noticing your emotions, it's watching who is doing the noticing. 3. Healing is not linear. It moves in spirals. What looks like regression may be a deeper layer of the same lesson returning. 4. Surrender is a leadership skill.  5. Body autonomy isn't just physical — it includes knowing your own motivations, drives, and what dims your light before anyone else does. 6. Strength isn't imperviousness. Courage is facing the thing, not pretending it isn't there. 7. Our fear in facing mortality often isn't death — it's the fear of having left unlived the thing we came here to contribute. 8. AI can approximate information, but it cannot replicate the resonance, signal, and pattern of human presence. That's where leadership lives. 9. Self-regulation isn't about suppression — it's about creating enough psychological distance from the problem to come back to yourself, then respond from there. Soul Sucker Quiz Take the Soul Sucker Quiz to learn which Soul Sucker screams the loudest in your mind so you can release them from being in charge and set your voice free!https://voice-matters.com/soul-sucker-quiz/ The Speaker Alter Ego Quiz Take the Speaker Alter Ego quiz to find out which protective mask hides your natural radiance so you can learn how to get present, connect deeply, and share your vision when it matters most!https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/ Support the show Thank you so much for listening! Take the free Speaker Alter Ego Quiz to find out which protective mask is hiding your wild, untamed radiance. https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/ Follow me on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/ Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/ YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646

    51 min
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About

Untamed Leader is a podcast for loving rebels who are ready to speak, live, and lead from the radiant pulse of their purpose—the wild-hearted ones dedicated to transforming the vibe in the room and igniting meaningful change. Through heart-to-heart conversations, breakthrough coaching moments, solo reflections, and inspiring stories from the edge of becoming, Untamed Leader explores what it means to lead from the inside out. Host Lauri Smith weaves together three essential leadership threads: vision, creativity, and voice. Here, leadership is a sacred art. Intuition guides creation.Presence shapes communication.And your voice channels the rhythm already alive in your soul. Whether you’re already visible—or standing at the edge of visibility—something in you knows: It’s time to lead untamed.

Information

  • Creator
    Lauri Smith
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    88
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Voice Matters LLC
  • Show Website
    Untamed Leader