Unlocking Our Potential in Work and Life: Why Strategic Unruliness Matters

In this episode, Dr. Laura welcomes author, strategist, and keynote speaker Kim Bolourtchi to talk about unlocking potential by questioning the rules that shape our choices. Kim shares her journey from a high-powered legal career to embracing her full identity, including a lifelong passion for competitive Latin dance that she once hid out of fear of judgment. Kim and Dr. Laura explore how many professionals learn to succeed by following prescribed paths, only to discover a persistent sense that something is missing. Beliefs formed early in life about professionalism and permission can lead us to limit our creativity and personal growth.

Kim introduces the idea of strategic unruliness as a thoughtful, values-driven way of challenging rules that no longer serve us. She explains how listening to inner signals of restlessness or dissatisfaction can open doors to more fulfilling careers and personal ventures. Dr. Laura and Kim explore courage, identity, and the importance of allowing passion and purpose to coexist with ambition. Strategic unruliness encourages professionals who look accomplished on paper yet feel called toward something more to pursue the more. We all need to learn that growth does not end with achievement and that honoring the whole self can be a powerful source of wellness and innovation.

“If you feel a call to do more, it is meant for you. You do not have to stop just because other people tell you that you should be satisfied.” - Kim Bolourtchi

About Kim Bolourtchi:

Kim Bolourtchi is a transformational keynote speaker and bestselling author whose work helps leaders break the rules they’ve inherited, reclaim the truth they’ve been trained to suppress, and lead with the full force of who they are. Her signature philosophy, Strategic Unruliness™, is the foundation of her #1 international bestseller, Strategic Unruliness: Break the Rules. Build What’s Next.

A former attorney, strategic executive advisor, and top-rated professor of communication, Kim’s career spans the boardroom, the classroom, and the dance floor — a combination that uniquely positions her to teach leaders how to access clarity, presence, and embodied confidence in high-pressure environments. She is known for her electrifying keynote style: part insight, part activation, part reclamation. Audiences don’t just hear her message; they feel it.

Over the past two decades, Kim has guided hundreds of leaders and organizations through moments of profound transition and growth. Her work is grounded in the belief that extraordinary leadership begins not with strategy, but with identity — with the courage to lead from truth instead of conditioning. She has served as Director of Leadership and Professional Development for a Top 20 law school, built nationally recognized organizations, developed graduate-level curriculum in organizational leadership and communication, and coached executives across industries through major inflection points.

Kim is also the author of Truly Inspired: Secrets for Finding Extraordinary Success at Work and host of the Get Unruly podcast. A competitive Latin dancer and movement enthusiast, she integrates embodied practices into her keynotes to help audiences access confidence and presence at a level they’ve never experienced before.

When she’s not on stage, Kim can be found dancing, writing, hosting transformational retreats in Mexico, or spending time with her two children, Nick and Samantha, and her beloved doodles.

Resources:

Website: KimBolourtchi.com

LinkedIn: Kimberly-Bolourtchi

“Strategic Unruliness™: Break the Rules. Build What’s Next” by Kim Bolourtchi

Strategic Unruliness Live

Podcast: Get Unruly

“Outrageous Openness” by Tosha Silver

“Greenlights” by Matthew McConaughey

“I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating and Escaping a Toxic Boss” by Dr. Laura Hambley Lovett

Dr. Laura on LinkedIn

Where Work Meets Life™ on YouTube

Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live