about
Dr. Melissa Smith
Expertise Matters
As an expert on human growth and business, I am driven to strengthen leaders. Through extensive education, training, and real-world experience, I have come to discover and hone the core themes that make humans tick.
I can help you leverage know-how so you–and those you lead–can reach your most important goals. Ultimately, what we’re after is the realization of purpose. As a Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator, I join an elite group of organizational professionals from around the globe able to bring the ground-breaking courage-building research of Dr. Brené Brown to leaders and organizations. This distinction is based on my unique expertise in both human potential and business foundations.
This is the stuff of wisdom, a place knowledge alone can’t touch.
Education Matters
The science of people is my first passion and one that led me to a Masters Degree in Counseling from Truman State University and a PhD in Counseling Psychology from Brigham Young University, which included an intensive Pre-Doctoral Internship at University of Michigan.
My experience as an Entrepreneur led me to the Executive MBA program at University of Utah and the intersection of human potential and business. Leadership, Marketing, Strategy, Organizational Behavior, Negotiations: it’s all Psychology in a business suit, & I love it!
Experience Matters
As an entrepreneur and small business owner, I understand the demands and challenges of leadership and the requirement to be nimble in responding to the needs of those you lead, clients & customers, and changing market conditions all while accelerating growth. This is tough stuff.
It’s exhilarating, though, to develop leaders, create growth-centered cultures, and guide those you lead to take personal responsibility for ongoing development.
Before jumping into entrepreneurial life, I was part of administrative leadership of a specialized hospital for almost a decade. I’ve been in the trenches working out the details of specific policy decisions and I’ve been in the board room making key decisions as part of a competitive market landscape.
You can do it. I can help.
The best leaders know how to make the tough decisions with insight and wisdom. I know how challenging these decisions can be and the toll they can take. I know these decisions because I’ve made them.
Decision making is an art unto itself. There is an art to identifying what matters in decision making, and how to best balance the long view with immediate needs. I thrive at striking this balance and can help business leaders quickly identify competing demands, the critical decisions to be made, and how those decisions will reverberate both within the firm and the larger market.
As a life-long learner, I’m dedicated to the integration of science and practice. Best practices in business and life are informed by research, education, and specialized training. And science is informed by real world experience, vision that inspires action, and purpose-driven leadership.
The best leaders may not make all this magic happen, but they know how to harness it.