Doug Smith · Author · Speaker · Facilitator
I'm Doug Smith. I help people lead from exactly who they are, from those just out of incarceration to senior executives, with an experience that hands them practices they can use the moment they walk out of the room.
Who I Am
I am not just anyone standing at the front of the room.
I am an award-winning author, a former adjunct professor, and a former public policy leader who took leading roles on campaigns that lowered incarceration in Texas, expanded diversion and treatment, and opened doors to employment and occupational licensing.
I am also someone whose mental illness and addiction once grew so severe that I committed crimes and went to prison. I have stood at job fairs where no one would take a chance on me. So I know what it takes to come back, and I know what it is like to have your past hold you back. What fuels me is watching people advance beyond anything they imagined, no matter where they have been.
Read my full story →On Leadership
Leadership is not a title or a technique. It is an expression of who you are, the impact you have on the world whether you intend it or not, and the reminder that you hold the power to shape change and inspire people to join you. As a leader, if you aren't creating leaders around you, you're doing something else.
How We Work Together
Most programs add information that fades by the next week. Mine taps into the capacity already alive in people, whoever they are and wherever they have been.
For teams and organizations. No one sits and absorbs slides. I create a dynamic, participative experience where people engage, are moved, and leave with practices they can put to work immediately. The result is a room full of people who can suddenly see the leader in themselves and in each other.
See how it works →When I work with someone individually, I treat their journey with the highest respect. The patterns in your history, the ones that serve you and the ones that have cost you, become strengths we use to move you forward with courage. From people fresh out of prison to senior executives, my clients arrive at the same place: a clear vision, a plan of action, and trust in their own capacity to lead.
See how it works →
The Book
A social worker and policy insider until untreated mental illness and addiction led him to prison, Doug Smith tells an unflinching story of descent, reckoning, and resurrection. This is not a five steps to better leadership book. It is a call to strip away the lies we tell ourselves and lead from radical honesty, humility, and earned wisdom.
Featured Cohort Program
When an organization is ready to invest in the people best positioned to drive change, the Institute develops them together as a cohort. Built by Doug Smith and Michael King, the program has grown to fifteen cohorts and more than two hundred graduates across multiple states.
Visit the Institute →In Their Words
"Doug creates a safe space that allows you to explore the leader that you are and helps you build on that. His coaching helped transform me into the leader that I always wanted to be."
"After 3 months I narrowed the goals I wanted to achieve. I found a job, doubled my salary, and drastically improved my quality of life."
"Doug is an outstanding trainer and executive coach. His deep respect and interest in the wellbeing of others provides a foundation for his real ability to make a difference."
"He teaches leadership as an intentional act, where people find internally the resources to create change externally. Our graduates now work in wildland firefighting positions in California."
In the Media
Doug has been featured in interviews, podcasts, keynotes, and national conversations on recovery, leadership, mental health, and criminal justice reform.
Stay in the Loop
Occasional notes on leadership, recovery, and leading from who you really are.