Lou Allen: The Radical Art of the Reset

Part of The emPOWER Breakfast Peace Down to Scale Up series… reclaiming calm as creative fuel

There’s a rhythm to life that no productivity hack can outsmart. As someone with AUDHD, I’ve learned this the hard way: when it’s not happening, I don’t force it anymore. I pause... I have learned to trust the ebb. Because when the current hits, I can smash through a to-do list like a hurricane. That rhythm, that balance between stillness and full powered flow has become the core of emPOWER’s new series, Peace Down to Scale Up.

This isn’t about doing less. It’s about doing it smarter. It’s about intentionally seeing  the ‘pause’ as the power source, the reset that keeps you moving forward with sharper focus and cleaner energy.

No one embodies that more vividly than Lou Allen, Managing Director of Factory & SIREN, one of the UK’s most awarded sound design studios & music supervision companies, headed towards B Corp certification - proving that creativity can thrive with values.

Over the past seven years, Lou has undergone a complete recalibration not just of her work, but of herself. She quit drinking. She stripped back distractions. She had faced the fallout of burnout, perimenopause, and the ghosts of old patterns head-on. She didn’t outsource her wellbeing; she made it her most ambitious project to date.

Lou has become her own experiment in energy and endurance. She’s worked on overhauling her hormonal health, researching nutrition, exploring different therapies, working with trainers, and healers. She’s explored some unconventional methods and pushed her own limits, physically and spiritually, with the same curiosity she pours into creative problem-solving at work. “I needed to understand myself at every level,” she says. “To stop outsourcing my intuition, and that same ethos is applied in my approach to my responsibilities in my leadership role.”

What’s most striking about Lou now is the sense of quiet strength that has replaced the adrenaline. She radiates a serene calm. And there’s a new kind of softness too, one rooted in readiness. After years of intentionally focusing inward, she’s even starting to wonder whether she might now be open to being in a relationship again, something that she had parked, in order to really become the version of herself that would do her justice and attract what she most wanted in her life.  Perhaps she didn’t set out to have such a profound journey of self awareness but when she looks back it was like it was on purpose.

What began as an attempt to survive burnout became a full-scale regeneration. During our conversation, I mentioned how every seven years, every cell in the body renews and how she’s seven years sober. Lou paused, then smiled. “Exactly. That’s what it feels like,” she said. “I’ve been rebuilt emotionally, physically, spiritually. I’ve literally become someone new, my authentic self.”

Perimenopause, like for so many, arrived like a storm “a full-body riot,” she laughs, forcing her to confront what wasn’t working in her life. A baptism of self knowledge in the fog  “I was in fight-or-flight for years,” she says. “Then my body just said: no more.”

So she listened. She swapped adrenaline for awareness. Alcohol for authenticity. And the result is a version of Lou that’s not just calmer, but infinitely more powerful.

At Factory & SIREN, that evolution has cascaded through the culture. “ As a team I feel we’re much more open about how we’re feeling.”  Lou smiles. “That’s what I’m most proud of. The team are communicating, supporting each other, and actually checking in. The energy in the building is great.”

This, my friends, is leadership through resonance... the gentle kind that ripples outward. The momentous shift of a deeply dynamic and healthy culture. I wanted to know more about this shift and the intentionality of Lou’s approach to her wellbeing and her leadership. To me, this is the stuff of tomorrow… This is what is going to become more and more important in order to navigate the changing landscapes and to raise the energy of an organisation, beyond the chaos and to foster values that will align the best talent to want to be part of what a company is building.  Gen Z and beyond are looking for businesses that approach their own and their people's worklife in this way. Most of you reading this will be from the play hard work harder generation - a work ethic that could leave people a burnt out husk only for the organisation to move on, find a replacement, rinse and repeat. The workforce won’t buy that anymore and forward thinking businesses don’t want to sell that, so I sat down with her to explore more…

You said in our wonderful chat that ‘change is a process, not an event.’ What did you mean by that?

No-one likes change, us humans find change very unsettling and scary.  I know I did, I knew things had to change for me but I just didn’t know where to begin because for most of my life I’ve been an ‘all or nothing’ person and I suppose that’s where I started, alcohol or no alcohol, there was no middle ground for me.  But as I began this journey of change I learnt that it’s the everyday small things that can make a huge difference.  I read a book called Atomic Habits and as a person who loves a routine, it made so much sense to me.  The small changes can make a huge impact and now I’m 7 years in, those small changes have made a huge difference plus, it’s made me much more open to change so it made me much more patient and understanding when working into our B Corp submission.   

You’ve been sober for seven years. What’s surprised you the most about that journey?  

Well, my original intention was to stop drinking for a year.  I thought I just needed some space from the constant cycle of drinking & hangovers to gain some clarity and headspace.  Within that year, I bought my first home, surprised myself by going to therapy and yoga, which was a real game changer for me.  Yoga gave me a sense of peace, I was concentrating so much on my breathing I realised I wasn’t thinking about anything else, I was freed from my own anxiety for an hour, I had never experienced that before.  And so it began... I read/Googled everything about nutrition, mind/body connection, ice baths, breathwork, saunas, the list goes on.  So, to your original question, the surprise was finding my authentic self, which I didn’t even realise I was missing.

How did perimenopause shift your relationship with your body?  

Perimenopause was so physical for me, I couldn’t hide from it and looking back, I think it had started already when I gave up alcohol. My intuition was telling me I needed to reevaluate how I treated my body. Also, after years of alcohol and stress abuse I realised I needed to be kinder to myself. And again, I think a major factor was doing regular yoga, the feeling of your own breath is so powerful it really made me appreciate what my body does, just on a day to day basis to keep me alive and safe.

What happened to you psychologically during Perimenopause? 

Like so many women I’m not really sure what was the Perimenopause and what was everything else.  I had already begun the journey of self healing so there was a lot of old trauma coming up and old anxiety that I was trying to work through so it was a tough time.  I felt insecure, overwhelmed, angry, tired.  It was the perfect storm but I couldn’t hide from it so it really forced my hand to try some alternative options.

You’ve explored different healing practices and forms of self-care. What have you learned from that?  

That alternative options are REAL options. I’ve had some huge results from breathwork, I’m not an expert so I won’t bang on about the science of it but it’s given me a space to explore myself. Also, just being kinder to myself.  I don’t have to live my life at a hundred miles an hour. I can now sit with my own thoughts.

How has this inner work influenced the way you lead at Factory?

It’s changed everything. I lead with empathy but I hold clear boundaries. I want my team to feel seen, not scrutinised. We talk openly about stress, about what’s going on outside of work. It’s not therapy, but it is human. I think when people feel safe, they produce their best work and that’s reflected in our sound, our culture, and even how clients experience us.

You have been doing the lengthy work to become a B Corp. Is this a holistic expression of the changes you have gone through internally?  

Absolutely, it’s an in depth audit of the business with clear intentions & purpose. Exactly the same as my own personal journey.

What does “business for good” mean to you at Factory beyond B Corp certification?

It means being more thoughtful in our choices and decisions.  Thinking about the outcome and the effect it will have on our team, our clients, our suppliers and the community.

It feels like you are an incredibly tight knit and loving management team - have you had to work hard for this supportive environment or is it just the chemistry of you all?

We do all get on, which is great.  But we also respect each other’s opinions, even if they’re not always aligned to each other and we’re honest with each other and I appreciate that.  Sometimes being honest is difficult but it’s real, authentic.

What would you say to someone who’s terrified to slow down, who feels that if they stop, they’ll lose momentum?

I would say, don’t stop, just slow down, you won’t lose momentum, if anything, you’ll become much more efficient.  We all spend way too much time stressing about stuff because we don’t have time to sit and think for a minute, therefore making rash decisions, and then maybe regretting that decision. Just stop, take a minute and consider your choices. And always with kindness, to yourself and others.

You’ve said when we’ve talked that “no one needs an answer immediately.” How do you build a company culture that values thinking time over knee-jerk reaction?

Company culture always has to come from the management team and it’s actually quite simple, lead by example. You can’t ask your team to be considerate if you’re not yourself. 

We’ve talked a lot about this idea of the pause being the foundation for springing forward. What does ‘peace down to scale up’ mean to you personally?

It’s about being more considerate about how I’m feeling in the moment, which sounds simple but when I was in a continual state of fight or flight I didn’t actually know how or what I was feeling.  Once I paused and took control of my own wellbeing I realised I’m actually really intuitive and once you can tune into your own intuition/your authentic self, that’s where the magic comes. Also, the best decision I ever made was getting my wonderful dog Winnie.  Walking with him everyday gives me a moment and space to think, to digest, to make decisions, to have new ideas. 

What do you want people to know about Factory and the unique ethos of your business?

That we genuinely care.  We care about the work, our team, our clients, our suppliers, our community.

Do you think the advertising world is starting to understand that wellbeing isn’t a side note but that it’s a business imperative?

I do think it’s changing, I think we still have a way to go but we’re certainly much more aware of wellbeing.  All business leaders have a responsibility to ensure there are policies in place to protect and support everyone.

What do you feel will create the biggest positive change in our industry moving forward?

I think leaders need to take real responsibility for their own wellbeing to set the tone for their team.  As I mentioned, you must lead by example in every aspect.  The moment a leader gets intentional about their mental and physical health, the entire environment can change for the better. Calm, considered and emotional steadiness are contagious.

If we want healthier, more creative, more sustainable workplaces, it starts with leaders who take their own health seriously.  Wellbeing isn’t a side project anymore; it’s the foundation of a great culture, longevity and resilience. 

What’s something you’ve forgiven yourself for recently?

I forgive myself on a daily basis because I’m still learning and understanding myself.  I’m a work in progress, I’m not perfect and never will be but I do have a deeper understanding of what works for me and how to move through negative emotions and it usually starts with forgiveness.

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What Lou has built at the company goes far beyond craft. It’s cultural alchemy… She is living proof that when a leader does the inner work, everyone around them levels up. And this isn’t just emotional, it’s physiological.

Our brains contain mirror neurons… the cells responsible for empathy and imitation firing reciprocal chemicals in the brain and body which release when we see someone else act, speak, or even feel a certain way. They’re the reason moods are ‘contagious’ and why calm is deeply powerful. So when a leader regulates their own nervous system, their team co-regulate with them. When Lou steers steady, her people unconsciously match her state. Stress drops. Focus sharpens. Creativity ignites. Productivity rises. This isn’t soft leadership, it's a strategy for tomorrow’s leader. Nervous system mastery isn’t a luxury anymore. It's a performance tool. Regulate yourself, and you raise the collective intelligence of the room. The empathy within her team has increased, the conversations happening in the building are a testament to that.

Before it was published, Siân Rogers Company Director at Siren, part of the Factory group, shared with Lou and Factory group Founder Anthony Moore her brave and unfiltered emPOWER interview about postnatal depression. She wanted to sense check it, and also to gauge if it was something she should share… “I  just hadn’t realised what she’d been carrying,” Lou said. “I felt so sad for Siân but so proud of her for sharing that part of her life.”

What Siân's courageous article has done and what emPOWER has catalysed is nothing short of a paradigm shift for working women across the board. It gave people permission to speak, to see each other fully. The viewing figures for the article tell the same story. Our workplaces are crying out for these kinds of acknowledgements. 

For those lucky enough to be working in environments like Factory & SIREN, where honesty and emotional intelligence have become part of their creative DNA, you can feel it in the room, in the energy of the work, even in how the clients respond.

That’s the quiet revolution. emPOWER is igniting a movement where authentic vulnerability breeds trust, and trust breeds energy. It’s why businesses like Factory & SIREN don’t just sound good; they feel good. Because when empathy becomes infrastructure, the whole system hums differently and that resonance is what clients, collaborators, and audiences actually respond to. So next time you try to push yourself beyond a boundary perhaps take a moment to Peace down. Rest. Then scale up and flash forward... Lead with energy that lasts.

Lou Allen will be speaking at the emPOWER session at Focus Meet The Makers on the 9th December at 9.30am so come along to hear more about Lou’s journey to peace down to scale up! Register for your free delegates pass here.