From Comfort To Calling With A Trusted Guide

From Comfort To Calling With A Trusted Guide

Send Lauri a message [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2389103/fan_mail/new] 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. TAKEAWAYS 1. 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 [https://voice-matters.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 [https://buymeacoffee.com/laurismith] 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/ [https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/] Follow me on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/ [https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/] Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/] YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646 [https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646]

Tending Your Inner Fire: A Live Coaching Moment

Send Lauri a message [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2389103/fan_mail/new] 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 heart * The safety question underneath many untaming decisions * How frequency, not status, guides the untamed leader If you’ve ever felt the pull between the life that looks right and the one that feels true — this episode is for you. KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. There’s a difference between fire under your ass and fire in your heart. One burns you out. The other fuels you forward. 2. Confirming in the “tree farm” gives you credibility, standing, and external validation. It can also cost you yourself.  3. Either/or thinking is usually a lie. When you trust yourself new options become clear and you can go anywhere. 4. External validation and inner calling pull in opposite directions. Knowing which one is driving your decisions changes everything. 5. One important question lurking underneath untaming moments: “Is it safe to be who I actually am?” 6. When you’re present, you’re safe. Presence is not a condition of the environment, it’s something you carry. 7. Leadership is a landscape, not a ladder. There is no top tree. There is only your tree. 8. Untamed Leaders make decisions by frequency, not by status or prestige. You can feel the difference in your body.a Soul Sucker Quiz [https://voice-matters.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 [https://buymeacoffee.com/laurismith] 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/ [https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/] Follow me on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/ [https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/] Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/] YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646 [https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646]

Beyond Knowing

Send Lauri a message [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2389103/fan_mail/new] 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 1. Your differences aren't the problem. The story that your differences need to be hidden is the problem. 2. Working harder and knowing more is not a substitute for building systems that fit how your brain actually works. 3. 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. 4. Recovery isn't about completely topping masking—it's about designing systems that reduce demand so the battery isn't perpetually draining. 5. Neurodivergent burnout is distinct from job burnout. It's the accumulated cost of chronic alertness, masking, and nervous system strain—not just overwork. 6. The gap between knowing and doing is terrain, not a character flaw. Understanding that terrain is where the real work begins. 7. What energizes you matters.  8. Values are a compass. Your best and worst experiences both point to them. 9. True leadership requires courage and the willingness to be vulnerable—not a performance of confidence. Connect with Kevin kevin@gobeyondknowing.com [kevin@gobeyondknowing.com] https://www.notion.so/kevinbailey/Design-a-Work-System-That-Actually-Works-With-Your-Brain-2863ccb6c400804db39ff9a492529434?source=copy_link [https://www.notion.so/kevinbailey/Design-a-Work-System-That-Actually-Works-With-Your-Brain-2863ccb6c400804db39ff9a492529434?source=copy_link] https://gobeyondknowing.com/ [https://gobeyondknowing.com/] Soul Sucker Quiz [https://voice-matters.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 [https://buymeacoffee.com/laurismith] 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/ [https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/] Follow me on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/ [https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/] Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/] YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646 [https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646]

Chaos to Clarity: The Systems Behind an Untamed Life

Send Lauri a message [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2389103/fan_mail/new] 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. TAKEAWAYS 1. 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/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenzaslanskyconner/] Email: lauren@zazbusinesssolutions.com Soul Sucker Quiz [https://voice-matters.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 [https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz-embed/] 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 [https://buymeacoffee.com/laurismith] 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/ [https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/] Follow me on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/ [https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/] Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/] YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646 [https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646]

Leadership As A Choice (bonus)

Send Lauri a message [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2389103/fan_mail/new] 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 TAKEAWAYS 1. 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 [https://voice-matters.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 [https://buymeacoffee.com/laurismith] 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/ [https://voice-matters.com/speaker-alter-ego-quiz/] Follow me on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/ [https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/] Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/] YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646 [https://www.youtube.com/@voicematters9646]