Leading with…Lauren Pope
In the run up to Lead with Tempo 2025, I spoke to content strategist Lauren Pope to find out what excites her and keeps her energised.
What book have you read that’s really changed how you approach work or life?
Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. It was a liberating, compassionate read for me about productivity, prioritisation, and accepting my limitations and imperfections.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Embrace the complexity. It’s really tempting to create binaries, put everything into neat categories, or decide that there’s one Right Way to do things. But when you gloss over the complexity, nuance, and detail, you miss so much. It makes you less accepting and more judgemental. It makes you less innovative and creative. And it shuts down so many opportunities to learn.
And the worst?
When I was wondering about what the next step in my career should be, lots of the advice I heard was to try and get a job with a big tech company as that was where the prestige and the money was. I felt like my career wasn’t on track, or that it was ‘less’ because I wasn’t in a role like that. I can see now that I would have been a terrible fit for those kinds of roles and organisations (and they probably would never have hired me). I’m glad that I found my own little niche.
Do you have any of your own advice for someone new to leadership?
Make time to reflect — in writing — every week or month. It can be journaling, weeknotes, a retrospective, or any other format that works for you. Keep track of what went well, what was tough, what you learnt, the questions you have. When you’re starting out in leadership it’s really easy to throw yourself in head first, but if you never give yourself time to pause and come up for air, you’re going to miss a lot. When you make that time for reflection, you learn more, become more self-aware, and make better decisions too. It’s also a good thing to be able to look back on when you need an ego boost, or evidence to add to a CV or job application.
How do you relax outside of work?
Spending time out in nature with my dog. I’m lucky to have the South Downs national park a few minutes away, and being out walking is my favourite way to relax.
What recent developments in tech and design most excite you about the future?
All the people and organisations working to try and make sure that AI isn’t allowed to develop unchecked and unethical. Organisations like The National Writers Union and DACS that are working to protect the intellectual property and copyright of their members give me hope. And the ingenious ways that some artists, writers, and creators are finding to poison AI bots and LLMs bring me no small amount of joy. (Sorry not sorry.)
Why do you think events like Lead with Tempo are important for the content design community?
The sense of community and acceptance and being around people who ‘get it’ you get from a great conference like Lead With Tempo has been so important in my career. You learn lots in the room from the talks, but that learning continues through all the people you meet and connections you make.
Can you give us a sneaky teaser about something your talk will cover?
I think people (including me!) often come to conferences wanting to learn the best way to do things, and get some reassurance that their approach is ‘right’. But I want to talk about the times when it’s good to ignore the best practice and the rule. I’m excited to talk about it, but also nervous to hear responses!
See Lauren’s talk — But I’m not creative’: The role of creativity and connection in content design” — at Lead with Tempo in June, in-person and virtual tickets are on sale now.
