Lauren Murrell

Alone, you can go fast.
Together, you can go far.

Collaboration is not just about working together.

It is about supporting others, sharing strengths,
and growing together.

7 ways to embrace collaboration and lift others higher:

1. Share your resources
↳ Send tools or contacts that make their work easier
 
2. Celebrate small wins together
↳ Recognise their effort with a quick note or mention

3. Offer hands-on support
↳ Help with a task they feel stuck on
 
4. Be open to their ideas
↳ Ask for their input and take it seriously
 
5. Solve problems as a team
↳ Combine perspectives for better solutions
 
6. Align on shared goals
↳ Focus on outcomes that help everyone succeed
 
7. Cheer them on
↳ Celebrate their progress, even the small steps

Supporting others is never a distraction.
It is the foundation for real progress.

What else would you add?
Let me know in the comments.

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It’s been years since I posted something like this.
A lot has changed since then.

Many of you don’t know the full story,
what really happened and how it shaped me.

So I want to reintroduce myself and share that journey.

1. I was 23 and about to finish law school.
Every plan pointed in one direction: become a lawyer.

2. Then came three words I’ll never forget:
Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.
It was rare, aggressive, and life-threatening.
Doctors gave me a 20% chance of survival.

3. Chemotherapy didn’t work,
so we moved to full-body irradiation, the last option.
We needed a stem cell donor, and fast.
Miraculously, my sister Sarah was a match.

4. I was admitted to hospital and placed in isolation.
No visitors. No fresh air. One room, for months.

5. To cope, I created structure inside that space:

→ Focused on my mind: I repeated positive affirmations daily: “keep strong, keep really strong“.

→ Curated my space: I filled my hospital room with posters of my future life from New York to the Caribbean.

→ Moved my body: I bought a Nordic cross-trainer to use in my room (the doctors hadn't seen that one before!)

6. It took over two years to recover.
Eventually, I returned to law school and finished what I started

7. I qualified and began working in London, then moved to New York, the city I had visualised from that hospital room.

8. A legal role took me to the Caribbean, the other place I’d pictured. Pure paradise.

9. Then Hurricane Irma hit, and the house I sheltered in was destroyed. I was rescued and flown home, shaken and unsure of what came next.

10. I turned to Sarah again. She had once saved my life.
Years earlier, she’d created skincare to soothe my cancer-ravaged skin. Those same formulations became the starting point for our business.

11. We launched By Sarah from our kitchen table,
skincare built on transparency and simplicity.

12. I left law behind and stepped fully into entrepreneurship.
It wasn’t planned but it felt right. A new adventure.

13. The sales came and people connected with our story.
Forbes, The Times, This Morning - it still feels surreal!

14. During lockdown, I shared my experience publicly for the first time on Deliciously Ella’s podcast and in Vogue. It was a big step out of my comfort zone.

15. Alongside growing our business, I began speaking at events about resilience, rebuilding, and starting again. It felt cathartic.

16. It's been over 7 years since Sarah and I started our business, we're closer than ever (phew!) and sales are growing every year.

17. That brings me to now.
I share lessons on courage, leadership, and growth here on LinkedIn, alongside the story I live every day.

Life has taught me that anything is possible, and I'm so excited for whatever comes next.

Would be great to hear your story too!
Drop it in the comments.

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The real test of leadership is simple:

What do you do when the room starts to panic?

Anyone can lead when things are steady.
Clear plan. Predictable outcome. Low pressure.

That’s not where leadership is decided.

It shows up when things shift:

❌ Plans break down
❌ Pressure builds
❌ People lose clarity

Because in those moments, people don’t need more noise.
They need someone who can stay steady.

When the plan stops working,
you can tell who people trust within seconds.

If you want to be that person, focus on this:

1️⃣ Slow your response
↳ Pause before you speak.
↳ Rushed words create more panic.

2️⃣ Lower the intensity
↳ Your tone sets the room.
↳ Calm delivery settles people faster than perfect answers.

3️⃣ Focus on what is known
↳ Separate facts from assumptions.
↳ Clarity starts there.

4️⃣ Give one clear next step
↳ Not ten ideas.
↳ One action people can follow.

5️⃣ Hold your body language steady
↳ No pacing. No sharp movements.
↳ People read you before they hear you.

You don’t need all the answers.
You need control over how you show up.

Because in high pressure moments:

People don’t follow the loudest voice.
They follow the steadiest one.

That’s leadership.

—

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P.S. Staying steady under pressure is a skill, not a personality trait. But it takes a foundation to hold it together when things get hard.

I wrote a free PDF guide to help with exactly that:
How to Build Resilience

The six foundations for navigating uncertainty and moving forward.

To get it, join my newsletter and I'll send it straight to your inbox.
Join 70,000+ readers here: https://lnkd.in/erg8ErK7

How to Speak Like a Leader (even if you aren't one)

Words can make or break how people see you.

Hesitation makes you sound unsure and unprepared.
Clear, confident speech makes people trust you.

Leadership starts with how you communicate.

9 ways to sound like a leader every time you speak:

Eliminate fillers
❌ Um, I just wanted to say…
✅ I want to add…
↳ Fillers make you sound hesitant. Speak with purpose
 
Speak in short sentences
❌ Let me explain a few things before we begin…
✅ Here’s what you need to know.
↳ People tune out long-winded speech. Get to the point
 
Replace weak phrases
❌ I feel like this could work.
✅ I’m confident this will work.
↳ Uncertainty makes others doubt you. Own your words
 
Pause instead of rushing
❌ Talking too fast to fill silence.
✅ Pausing to let ideas land.
↳ Silence adds weight to your words. Don’t rush
 
Use people’s names
❌ That’s a good idea.
✅ That’s a good idea, Katie.
↳ A name grabs attention and makes people feel valued

Control your tone
❌ Raising your voice to be heard.
✅ Lowering your voice for impact.
↳ A steady voice is more powerful than a loud one
 
Ask strong questions
❌ Do you think this is okay?
✅ What do you recommend?
↳ Leaders invite insight, not just approval
 
Cut unnecessary apologies
❌ Sorry, but can I add something?
✅ I’d like to add something.
↳ Apologising too much weakens your presence
 
End with certainty
❌ I hope that makes sense.
✅ Let me know if you need details.
↳ Leaders close with clarity, not doubt

Every word you say builds or breaks your credibility.
Speak with intention, and others will take you seriously.

If this helped, pass it on ♻️
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