The Culture Soup Podcast®Live from Barnes & Noble: Call & Response — 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church

In this special live episode of The Culture Soup Podcast®, L. Michelle Smith celebrates the launch of her newest book, Call & Response: Ten Leadership Lessons from the Black Church, recorded live at Barnes & Noble in Cedar Hill, Texas.

Joined by trailblazing executive and former Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall, L. Michelle explores how leadership principles rooted in the Black church tradition translate into powerful lessons for modern leaders in business, community, and culture.

Blending storytelling, neuroscience, positive psychology, and leadership strategy, this conversation highlights how cultural traditions can shape resilient, innovative, and heart-centered leadership.

In This EpisodeValues as a Leadership North Star

L. Michelle shares the three values that guide her leadership and decision-making: faith, family, and freedom. Values act as non-negotiables that help leaders determine when to say yes—and when to say no.

Community: The Antidote to Isolation

Strong leadership cultures are built on connection. Drawing from neuroscience, L. Michelle explains how human bonding and trust strengthen teams and create environments where people move together with shared purpose.

Collaboration and Emotional Intelligence

Great collaboration requires emotional awareness, cultural understanding, and trust. The conversation highlights how early experiences in community environments—like church choirs—can sharpen the emotional intelligence leaders rely on in the boardroom.

Creativity and Innovation

Innovation often emerges from constraint. Leaders who cultivate calm, focused thinking create the mental space needed for insight, creativity, and new ideas.

Resilience That Builds Strength

Resilience isn’t simply pushing through adversity. L. Michelle shares a powerful practice for navigating challenges:

• Name it – Identify what’s happening and the emotions attached to it
• Tame it – Process the experience rather than suppress it
• Reframe it – Discover the opportunity or lesson within it

A Leadership Framework

Throughout Call & Response, L. Michelle introduces three pillars of leadership growth:

Self Work – mastering purpose, mindset, and personal leadership

Relationship Work – building trust, collaboration, and community

World Work – using leadership to create meaningful impact

Learn More

To learn more about Call & Response: Ten Leadership Lessons from the Black Church, visit:

lmichellesmith.com/callandresponse

There you can explore the Call & Response leadership curriculum, designed for corporations, universities, and ministries, and submit a speaker request to bring L. Michelle Smith to your organization or event.