The Reins of Leadership
Tired of surface-level leadership hacks? Ready to learn genuine presence, deepen your influence, and build unwavering trust with your team?
Welcome to The Reins of Leadership, hosted by Business Leadership Strategist Merinda Smith. This is your essential resource for transforming not just what you do as a leader, but who you are. We go beyond theory, offering practical strategies illuminated by an unexpected source of wisdom: the intuitive world of horses and donkeys.
On this podcast, you will discover how to:
🌸 Understand how your personal energy impacts those around you. Learn practical strategies to manage your vitality, project authentic presence, and inspire action without burnout.
🌸 Move beyond limiting beliefs learn techniques to stay grounded and focused, even under pressure.
🌸 Develop powerful self-awareness, enhance your ability to read team dynamics, and communicate with empathy and clarity.
🌸 Build stronger connections that encourage collaboration and loyalty.
🌸 Gain actionable insights into non-verbal communication, boundary setting, trust-building, and presence, drawn from Merinda's work with horses – nature's masters of authentic leadership. These lessons provide powerful metaphors and direct applications for your own leadership journey.
Ready to lead with more confidence, connection, and impact?
Subscribe to The Reins of Leadership now wherever you get your podcasts, and take the first step towards becoming the present, influential, and trusted leader you aspire to be.
The Reins of Leadership
How Your Energy Triggers Resistance in others.
Ever feel like you're hitting a brick wall with someone on your team? They seem obstructive, resistant to change, maybe even defiant – making leadership feel like a battle. But what if that "difficult" behaviour isn't what it seems on the surface? What if it's not intentional disruption, but a defense mechanism rooted in fear?
If you can relate – feeling like you're walking on eggshells or questioning your approach – we get it. Many leaders discover the real issue isn't the person, but the approach.
In today’s episode, we explore a powerful leadership lesson inspired by Bundy — one of the most attuned and sensitive members of the herd. When you’re dealing with someone who’s difficult to lead, whether they're resistant, reactive, or simply hard to reach, it’s easy to default to control or force. But Bundy reminds us there’s another way.
If you’ve ever experienced the frustration of trying to lead someone who won’t respond...
Or you’ve questioned your leadership style when things get tense - this episode is exactly what you need to find your calm centre and lead with clarity, not control.
Join me as we unpack what it really means to lead individuals who respond to subtle cues and require a different level of presence and precision.
Highlights:
● Going from resistant and uncooperative to connected and responsive
● The secret to leading sensitive but “difficult” team members without using force
● Why clarity is the kindest leadership tool you have
● What firmness without force really looks like
● A peek into how your energy affects your leadership impact
● How to lead from grounded presence — especially when tension rises
● What you can do right now to recalibrate your communication and reconnect with your team
Listen now to discover how Bundy's story can reshape your approach to leading challenging individuals. Join me as we explore how to step out of the push-pull dynamic and into a style of leadership that’s calm, clear and deeply effective.
This isn’t about being soft. It’s about being precise.
Tune in and reflect:
- Where might you be using more force than is necessary?
- How can you practise more precision in your communication?
- What shifts when you lead from clarity rather than control?
Subscribe, rate & share if today’s insights spoke to you — and as always, thank you for holding the reins with me.
Resources mentioned
The Leadership Realignment Session - https://merindasmith.podia.com/aligned_success
Connect with Merinda:
Instagram: @IamMerindaSmith
Website: www.merindasmith.com.au