Self-Leadership for Sustainable High-Performance with Lauren Cartigny. Deliver Results without Burnout.

The higher an Executive climbs, the fewer decisions they make, but the stakes attached to those decisions grow exponentially. In the high-pressure vacuum of the boardroom, there is often no time for deliberation or research. In these moments, leadership is no longer about technical expertise; it is about how the person has access to their intuitive clarity in the moment to make the call.

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For Lauren Cartigny, this realization wasn’t born in a textbook, but in the crucible of a high-stakes international tech career that eventually led to a total systemic collapse. Today, as the founder of The Self-Science Lab, Lauren has moved beyond the traditional “well-being” conversation to pioneer a more self-knowledge-based discipline of rituals which she refers to as Self-Leadership. By teaching executives and organizations how to master their “Human Operating System,” she is proving that high performance and personal well-being are not opposing forces; they are, in fact, inter-dependent viables which cannot exist without each other for sustainable health.

The Catalyst of Crisis

Long before she was an Executive Coach (ICF PCC) and a Mindfulness Practitioner, Lauren was a formidable force in the tech industry. With a degree in Sport and Exercise Science from Loughborough University and a deep curiosity with psychology, she spent 11 years navigating the hyper-growth demands of Tech firms like LinkedIn, Equinix, and Rackspace which were also known to be best places to work.

Her career was defined by solving business problems with complex tech solutions. She was the co-architect of digital transformations, managing global accounts for some of Europe’s largest financial institutions. On paper, the trajectory was flawless: she was a “Rackstar,” and a member of the “President’s Club,” closing multi-million-dollar deals.

However, beneath the surface of professional accolades, a silent build-up of stress was occurring. Lauren was operating a high-performance machine – her career- without understanding the maintenance and recovery mechanics of the engine – herself. This period of “success from sacrifice” eventually culminated in a profound crisis: burnout, health issues, and a divorce. It was a total system failure that forced a hard reset. Lauren reflects. “What became clear to me is that you don’t need to go through the hardship I endured to inform yourself on the mechanism of the Human Operating System which enables more conscious decision making and the awareness of how to look after your engine and run maintenance check more regularly.”

Decoding the Mind-Body Connection

Lauren did not simply “bounce back”; she rebuilt herself from a cellular level. She took time out for self-study, group therapy, individual therapy, retreats, workshops and the rest! She learnt about Gestalt psychology, behavioral science, stress management from HeartMath and Gabor Maté’s therapeutic approach called Compassionate Inquiry. This was the birth of the creation of her “Self-Science” approach.

She realized that traditional therapy, coaching and business psychology were only parts of the puzzle. She witnessed in herself unconscious patterns lead to behaviours which can drive your body into the wall, without your mind noticing. This is the science of Mind-Body connection. She discovered that old emotional patterns and stress were often “trapped” in the body, manifesting as chronic pain, mental brain fog, and decisions which don’t always serve us. By integrating self-awareness with business psychology, neuroscience with somatic release and mindfulness, she has created a way to guide people on their journey to unlocking sustainable energy.

Lauren’s transition from Sales Leader to Leadership Trainer was fueled by a desire to evangelise the importance of building “self-knowledge”, to navigate the high demands of the corporate world in a more sustainable way. She recognized that the middle management layer was particularly vulnerable – caught between executing the strategic visions of senior leadership and the emotional reality of the frontline.

As one of her formal clients shared, a Global Learning Specialist: “I admired how Lauren delivered and facilitated the training. She made everybody curious, vulnerable, and willing to learn. Now, I know how to better lead and manage in highly diverse, intergenerational environments.” This ability to foster psychological safety while maintaining a focus on delivering results became Lauren’s professional signature.

If you have a desire for making a change in your life, follow me on Youtube, LinkedIn and visit The Self-Science Lab for more info.

Join my Reset and Rise weekly workshops or book a discovery call to see if 1:1 coaching might support your transition.

The Self-Science of Conscious Decision-Making

Through The Self-Science Lab, Lauren now supports workforces by aligning personal development with professional goals. Her work centers on the belief that when a leader changes the way they “show up,” it creates a ripple effect throughout the entire organization because people do what you do, not what you say. When teams develop more self-leadership, they have more energy to access the “Three Cs”: Calm, Compassion, and Confidence to self-regulate their emotional state, adapt their communication, and have more influence. 

She uses sophisticated tools like …

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