We were lucky to catch up with Fiona Murden recently and have shared our conversation below.
Fiona, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Through trial and error. I always had a passion for understanding people, from a really young age I’d watch people and read their emotions. I suppose you could say that’s the part of me that’s Irish, from my grandmother. The Irish have an uncanny way of knowing what other people are thinking and feeling. I was really interested in doing psychology but a science teacher at school steered me towards medicine. In the United Kingdom where I grew up that meant doing a very specific set of subjects from 16 years of age. By 18 I knew I wanted to do psychology so went and studied it at university but I found the clinical side to be too all engulfing for me. I hadn’t yet learnt to boundary my empathy and other people’s feelings would drown me. So I did a business masters and went into business consulting but was drawn back once again to the people side. I left after 4 years and went back to study organisational or what some call performance psychology that allowed me to work with high performing individuals across fields. I loved it but wanted to share what I’d learnt combined with the expertise I’d built with more people. To allow younger people to unlock their potential, people from less advantaged backgrounds, people who may have never believed in themselves or known how to follow their dreams. I’m so passionate about sharing the life skills that enable everyone to live with better life outcomes. And that’s where I’m at now as an author, podcaster, public speaker and social entrepreneur.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a psychologist, author and social entrepreneur who’s spent more than twenty years working with people across all sorts of industries from Fortune 100 CEOs to Olympic athletes, surgeons and creatives – helping them perform at their best and live in a way that actually feels meaningful. Much of my work has involved profiling senior leaders, assessing what makes someone tick, what drives them, and predicting how likely they are to succeed in a role or environment.
Over time, I’ve seen the same patterns again and again. What really drives success, happiness, and fulfilment isn’t intelligence or talent alone, it’s self-awareness, emotional understanding, and the ability to connect deeply with others. These are the foundations for confidence, resilience, and genuine wellbeing, yet they’re the very things our education systems don’t teach. Young people are leaving school equipped to pass exams but not to handle pressure, make good decisions, or build the kinds of relationships that make life meaningful.
That’s why I created Defining You. It grew out of years of working one-to-one with high performers, people who had achieved incredible things but often by running on habits, expectations, or stories that weren’t truly their own. When they finally stopped and asked, “Who am I, really?” everything changed, their decisions, their relationships, even their sense of peace.
I wanted to make that process accessible to everyone, not just people at the top. Defining You is built on the same psychological frameworks I’ve used in leadership profiling, personality psychology, neuroscience, and behavioural science, translated into practical tools anyone can use. It helps people uncover what drives them, understand how they work under pressure, and make choices that align with who they truly are.
As AI takes over more technical tasks, the uniquely human skills – empathy, creativity, collaboration, imagination – are what will matter most. The future of work, and arguably the future of humanity, depends on how well we nurture those skills. My aim is simple: to share what I’ve learned from decades of real-world experience so more people can live happier, healthier lives with purpose, and a sense of connection to themselves, to others, and to the world around them.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three things that have made the biggest difference in my journey are self-awareness, curiosity, and courage.
Self-awareness is the foundation of everything. Understanding what drives you, what drains you, and how you show up under pressure changes how you make decisions, relate to others, and live your life. Early in my career, I focused on understanding other people, profiling leaders, and predicting success, but it took me longer to turn that same lens on myself. My advice is to make reflection a habit. Notice your patterns, get feedback, and stay open to what it tells you.
Curiosity keeps you learning and growing, even when things do not go to plan. The best leaders and athletes I have worked with all share this quality, they are genuinely interested in what they do not yet know. Curiosity turns failure into information and challenge into opportunity. You can build it by asking better questions of yourself, of others, and of the world around you.
And courage, not in the heroic sense, but the quiet kind that lets you keep going when it would be easier not to. The courage to tell the truth, to admit what you do not know, to choose the path that is right rather than the one that looks impressive. You strengthen it by doing small brave things consistently, the kind that align with your values, not your ego.
Together, those three qualities, self-awareness, curiosity, and courage, shape how we grow, connect, and ultimately define who we are.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Absolutely. I’m always open to collaborating with people and organisations who share a genuine interest in helping others live and work in more human, connected ways. That includes universities, sports organisations, and purpose-driven companies who see the value in developing self-awareness, resilience, and emotional intelligence, especially for young people and emerging leaders.
I’m also keen to connect with those working at the intersection of psychology, education, and the future of work, people who recognise that as technology advances, our ability to understand ourselves and each other will matter more than ever.
If what I’m doing resonates, whether that’s running Defining You masterclasses, doing a talk, creating new content, or exploring research and partnership opportunities, I’d love to hear from you. The best way to reach me is through my website at www.fionamurden.com or via LinkedIn.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fionamurden.com
- Instagram: @Fiona_murden
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionamurden/
Image Credits
Anna McCarthy Photography
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