Pivotal Leadership

Pivotal Leadership

About the Founder: Lauren Murphy

Lauren Murphy is an Executive Coach and Career Strategist who has collaborated with and inspired leaders for over two decades. She has been a thought partner to hundreds of executives from global corporations to startup founders. She oversaw a team of 55 coaches at the Harvard Business School, doubling the number of coaches to meet the needs of students and business leaders.  Lauren continues to coach Harvard Business School alumni executives and participants of Executive Education programs. She is consistently a top-rated coach among organization leaders.

Lauren brings years of business experience to her work as a Coach. Prior to her leadership role at Harvard, Lauren held various roles with increasing responsibility in marketing with the Procter & Gamble Company.  She is a Certified Executive Coach having completed the Columbia Coaching Certification Program (a joint program of Columbia Business School and Teachers College). She anticipates attaining the International Coach Federation (ICF) PCC designation in fall, 2024. She holds a BBA from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Lauren Murphy’s leadership is based on her coaching expertise, workplace knowledge and breadth of industry knowledge.  

  • Deep Experience in Coaching

    Leading over 55 coaches for over 14 years at Harvard, Lauren saw the vast range of coaching styles and techniques. She selected, helped train and evaluated over 100 coaches. She knows what works and what doesn’t work. She uses a myriad of tools and coaching techniques and designs her approach to meet the individual needs of her clients.

  • Workplace Management Expertise

    Leaders are managing change at increasingly rapid rates. Lauren has her finger on the pulse of those dynamics as she works with executives daily. Lauren, and the coaches she selects to work with Pivotal clients when needed, are skilled at helping leaders identify and overcome challenging work obstacles.

  • Broad Industry Knowledge

    Lauren coaches leaders across various industries including technology, financial services, consumer packaged goods, healthcare, media and real estate. She works closely with entrepreneurs and founding teams in technology, healthcare, consumer products and real estate startups.

Pivotal’s Business Story

Behind the Naming of Pivotal Executive Coaching

For over a decade, Lauren managed the Harvard Business School coaching program as Director, Career Education & Coaching. In that role, she exclusively coached Harvard Business School students and alumni. She was often asked if she could coach other executives not affiliated with Harvard. In 2020, Lauren launched Pivotal Executive Coaching to address the needs of executives across all industries with academic backgrounds beyond Harvard. The name “Pivotal” was chosen as it is two-fold. A pivotal action or decision is one of utmost importance. Pivotal can also represent a shift in perspective, in mindset, or even in direction. Therefore, Pivotal Executive Coaching will partner with you to assess your situation, provide you with a confidential sounding board to highlight potential blind spots, brainstorm on new strategies to consider, and provide clarity for you to move forward with confidence.