Dancing in the Discomfort Zone with Anne Bonney

Strategic Unruliness: The Art of Breaking Rules That Hold You Back with Kim Bolourtchi

Anne Bonney Season 16 Episode 359

What happens when a rule-following lawyer trades the courtroom for the dance floor—then builds a business teaching leaders how (and when) to break the rules?

In this episode of Dancing in the Discomfort Zone, I sit down with Kim Bolourtchi,(www.kimbolourtchi.com) recovering perfectionist, competitive Latin dancer, and now strategic unruliness expert. Kim’s story begins with a jaw-dropping moment in front of the Missouri Supreme Court, when her husband casually revealed her secret dance life. Instead of career catastrophe, that confession became a career awakening and the start of her life’s real work: helping people challenge the rules that keep them small.

Kim’s concept of Strategic Unruliness isn’t about chaos or rebellion—it’s about courage and intention. She helps leaders and teams identify the outdated, fear-based rules that no longer serve them and replace those with curiosity, authenticity, and possibility. Through small, smart acts of “rule-bending,” Kim empowers people to find their voice, trust their intuition, and step into work (and life) that feels fully alive.

What You’ll Hear About

  • The three questions that help you decide which rules are worth breaking
  • How to tell the difference between fear and genuine excitement
  • Why your childhood dreams might still be whispering the truth
  • What happens when leaders trade control for curiosity
  • How dancing and law have more in common than you’d think

Kim’s story will shake up your inner rule-follower and spark that hidden part of you that knows there’s more waiting if you’re brave enough to listen. 

Want more from Kim?

 Kim Bolourtchi was crushing it as a litigator, professor, and law school leader—while secretly a nationally ranked Latin dancer. When the Missouri Supreme Court exposed her double life, she realized true power doesn’t come from rules or boxes—it comes from unleashing your full, unruly self. Today, Kim works with global leaders, Fortune 500 teams, and bold entrepreneurs to dismantle outdated rules and unlock hidden capacity. Her upcoming book, Strategically Unruly, launches October 21st.