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
When You Know, But You Don’t Act: Listening to the Whisper
In this deeply personal and reflective episode, I share a recent experience with my pony King that challenged me to practise what I preach about intuition, embodiment, and leadership.
What started as a riding lesson turned into a powerful leadership moment — one where I realised I knew something was off, but hesitated to act. Through King’s quiet cues, I was reminded how easy it is to override our inner knowing — and how vital it is to listen, pause, and trust ourselves, even when it’s uncomfortable.
This story isn't just about horses. It’s about:
- Why we ignore our intuition (and how to recognise when we are)
- The subtle, internal cues we dismiss in favour of logic, politeness, or hope
- How to build the muscle of listening to your inner guidance
- What it really means to lead from within — even when it’s messy
Whether you lead a team, a business, or your own healing journey, this episode is an invitation to honour your internal compass and strengthen your ability to act when the whisper first arrives.
What You’ll Learn:
- The three common reasons we override intuition: logic, being “nice,” and hope
- How those moments often echo back later as “I knew it…”
- A gentle 3-step practice to start listening and responding differently
- Why those lessons aren’t failures — they’re wisdom in the making
Journal Prompt:
Think about a moment when you knew something — but didn’t act.
What held you back?
What did you learn in the aftermath?
And how might you show up differently next time?
Connect with Merinda:
Instagram: @IamMerindaSmith
Website: www.merindasmith.com.au