Shannon D. Smith is a Certified Professional in Talent Development, career strategist, and founder of Untrap Your Talent™. She helps mid-level professionals escape roles that look good on paper but feel wrong in practice so they can reclaim their energy and build careers that finally fit their strengths, values, and vision.
Shannon D. Smith is a Certified Professional in Talent Development, career strategist, and founder of Untrap Your Talent™. She helps mid-level professionals escape roles that look impressive on paper but feel wrong in practice—so they can reclaim their energy and build careers that finally fit their strengths, values, and vision.
With master’s degrees in Instructional Design and Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Shannon brings over a decade of experience designing leadership development programs, delivering high-impact training, and coaching professionals at the intersection of performance, purpose, and personal growth.
What sets her apart is her focus on alignment, not just achievement. Shannon isn’t here to help people chase the next shiny title—she’s here to help them stop shrinking to survive. She guides capable, high-performing professionals to uncover the hidden misalignments holding them back and design work lives they don’t have to pretend to enjoy.
Shannon’s own career journey—from being overlooked and overqualified to becoming a respected voice in talent development—gives her a unique lens on what it means to outgrow your role, question your path, and crave more than what your resume says you should want.
Through her course, coaching programs, and Substack publication Untrapped, Shannon helps professionals who’ve hit a wall turn that breaking point into a turning point. Whether she’s guiding corporate clients, mentoring individuals, or speaking to audiences who are ready to stop performing and start realigning, Shannon brings a powerful mix of clarity, strategy, and lived experience to every conversation.
- The Work Trap Is Draining You.
- The Psychology of Being ‘Too Good at the Wrong Job’.
- Signs You’ve Outgrown Your Role (and what to do about it).
- Why traditional career advice fails mid-level professionals.
- Why You Don’t Need More Skills—You Need a Better Fit.
- You’re Not Burned Out—You’re Trapped: Reframing burnout through the lens of misalignment.
- My Journey from Misalignment to Meaning: The personal story behind Untrap Your Talent™.
- What does “getting untrapped” really mean—and who is it for?
- Can you share what your own career misalignment looked and felt like?
- A lot of professionals chase success only to feel stuck later. Why do you think that happens so often?
- You talk about “roles that look good on paper but feel wrong in practice”—what are the hidden costs of staying in those roles too long?
- How is misalignment different from burnout, and how do the two often overlap?
- For someone who feels stuck but doesn’t know where to start, what’s the first step to getting clear?
- What’s your take on the pressure to constantly upskill—especially when someone’s real issue is fit, not capability?
- What’s next for Untrap Your Talent™—and how can listeners get involved?
- If someone listening today feels quietly trapped in their role… what would you say to them right now?