Kate Davis

The Skill of Vulnerability: How Executive Coach Amy Green Smith Quiets Inner Critic & Builds Trust

July 28, 2026

This week, Kate sits down with Amy Green Smith, executive leadership coach, master hypnotherapist, and keynote speaker, for a conversation on vulnerability, trust, and communication that’s equal parts practical and funny.

Amy explains why vulnerability is one of the most disarming tools a leader has, how humor-based communication systems help teams say the hard things without the blowup, and why confrontation avoidance always comes with a hidden cost. She also talks about her background as a master hypnotherapist, breaking down what hypnosis actually is at a scientific level and why it’s able to quiet the inner critic, the internal guard that usually blocks new beliefs from sticking.

Themes covered: authentic leadership, psychological safety, trust building, hypnosis, the inner critic, workplace culture, and humor in leadership. Plus, the story behind “q-tip stick,” a phrase that will make sense once you hear it.

About Amy Green Smith

Amy Green Smith is an award-winning executive leadership coach, master hypnotherapist, and keynote speaker with over two decades of experience teaching women leaders how to reclaim their self-worth, establish unshakable boundaries, and communicate with power. She is also highly sought after by corporate executive teams where broken communication is stalling decisions, tanking the bottom line, and quietly bleeding out the organization’s best people.

A former corporate overachiever herself, she had her own burnout breakdown leading her to develop the transformational WORTHY.™ Method: a framework that teaches highly accomplished leaders to close the gap between external success and internal self-worth, so they can finally set boundaries, have the hard conversations, and communicate powerfully in every room they walk into. Not just the professional ones.

With her signature blend of “I’ve been there” empathy and “let’s cut the BS” directness, Amy is known for her uncommon style of irreverence, wisdom, and humor. When not helping women flip the bird to burnout (and the patriarchy), Amy snuggles her Japanese Chin pups (The Double Chin) or builds Halloween animatronics with her husband of nearly three decades.

Connect with Amy: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Free Private Podcast Series: Boundaries Over Burnout