Yet her perspective on burnout may surprise you. Burnout, she explains, is rarely about simply pushing harder. In fact, the real danger often comes from refusing to acknowledge how we feel. Before the mind admits burnout, the body already knows. Learning to listen — physically and emotionally — becomes essential.

Veronique speaks candidly about the dark moments that appear during long runs and in life: the moments when doubt creeps in, when energy drops, and when continuing feels almost impossible. Instead of forcing herself forward, she focuses on the smallest next step — the next kilometre, the next breath, the next essential task.

The conversation also challenges the myth that strength means endless resilience. Veronique argues that acknowledging when you are not okay is often the first step out of burnout. Kindness to oneself, honesty about energy levels, and the courage to slow down can be far more powerful than relentless pressure to perform.

This episode is a reminder that burnout is not a personal failure. It is a signal — one that asks us to listen more closely to our bodies, our energy, and our deeper purpose.

About the Guest

Veronique Bourbeau is a record-breaking ultramarathoner, author of Fearless: One Woman’s Transformational Journey from a Treadmill to Running the African Continent, and the Founder and CEO of Run4Humanity, a non-profit organisation.

A global speaker with a Master’s in Public Administration, Veronique has dedicated her life to initiatives that move far beyond short-term aid. Her work focuses on empowering communities and helping break the cycle of poverty through access to clean water.

Veronique is currently preparing for an extraordinary challenge — becoming the first woman to run the length of Africa from Alexandria to Cape Town, a 14,000 km journey aimed at helping ensure water accessibility for millions and driving long-term change for communities across the continent.

Aisha reflects on leading intuitively. Before logic or structure, she reads emotion, atmosphere, and the unspoken dynamics between people. Working with young people affected by trauma, she explains why energy is often felt before it can be explained — and why creating safety begins long before the first question is asked.

The conversation explores what it means to be a “good mirror” — matching energy thoughtfully rather than overwhelming it, and guiding people toward safety rather than shutting them down. Aisha shares how culture, language, and context shape what feels safe, and why energy that works in one place may not translate in another.

Julia and Aisha also discuss the extremes: generating so much energy that others feel muted or unsafe, or shrinking so much that no energy is created at all. Both can destabilise a group. Leading, they conclude, is about balance — being aware of the force you bring, without overwhelming or disappearing.

This episode is a reminder that energy is not accidental. It is something we generate, adjust, and take responsibility for — especially when others are looking to us for safety and direction.

About the Guest:

Aisha Zannah Mustapha is a writer, speaker, and social entrepreneur exploring new models of leadership rooted in emotional intelligence, storytelling, and community. She is the author of The Girl Who Carried Fire and works across education, climate resilience, and women’s leadership. Her work focuses on reframing leadership for a new generation, creating spaces where people can lead authentically and build meaningful impact. She is committed to amplifying African voices in global leadership conversations.

Together, they reflect on moments in their own leading where habits, preferences, and blind spots can be traced directly back to how they were educated — what was rewarded, what was discouraged, and what was never questioned. From structure and organisation to evidence, empowerment, and questioning authority, education sits deep in our Essence.

The conversation explores how early learning can both strengthen and limit us. Julia and Mona talk candidly about prejudice versus judgement, the impact of failure, and the importance of learning, unlearning, and relearning as we grow. They reflect on how questioning — something encouraged in some educations and punished in others — becomes central to trust, confidence, and psychological safety in teams.

Mona also shares how empathy and grace play a crucial role in leading across difference — recognising that people come with different capacities, experiences, and confidence, and that equality does not mean sameness.

This episode is a reminder that leading is shaped long before our first job title — and that the work of leading well often begins with understanding, and questioning, the education that formed us.

About the Guest:

Mona-Lisa Danieli Mungure is an Attorney in the High Courts of Botswana and the Regional Head of a division in one of Botswana’s government Ministries. Additionally, she plays a strategic role in Botswana’s human rights discourse where she has served and continues to serve as a national consultant and national legal team coordinator on different occasions. She has experience in various aspects of civil law and she has worked in pluralistic environments including private practice, the public sector and civil society organizations. She is the Executive Director of an award winning initiative called Molao Matters which sits on various regional and national networks to push for women's rights holistically. Molao Matters also provides pro bono services to marginalized women and advances feminist approaches in civic governance and development spaces. Mona-Lisa is also a certified Data Protection Officer and a firm advocate for just practices in data management ecosystems.

Nyuta reflects on a question that has followed her throughout her life: why do people trust me? Growing up in a loving and open family, she learned not to hide parts of herself. For her, trust begins with alignment — saying what you mean, doing what you say, and leaving no gap between what you feel and what you show.

The conversation explores the foundations of her trust in others: professionalism, results, and chemistry. Trust, she explains, grows when someone proves they are reliable, when their standards match her own, and when there is a human connection that goes beyond culture or surface difference.

Nyuta also speaks candidly about doubt. Rather than offering blind trust, she prefers to name hesitation openly: “Help me to trust you.” For her, clarity shortens the distance between doubt and confidence. If something feels wrong, she would rather say it aloud and watch the response than let suspicion linger unspoken.

The episode moves between toughness and vulnerability. Nyuta shares how she tells her team when she does not know the right answer, while also taking full responsibility for mistakes. No mistake is theirs alone. People, she believes, need someone they can lean on — someone who will not lead them into danger for the sake of pride.

This episode is a reminder that trust is built through honesty, shared values, discernment, and courage — and that leading requires both warmth and firmness, often at the same time.

This episode is a reminder that trust is the greatest asset in a crisis — and that it can only be drawn on if it has been built, carefully and deliberately, long before the crisis begins.

About the Guest:

Anna Konstantinovna "Nyuta" Federmesser is a Russian humanitarian worker, founder of the Vera Foundation and the Lighthouse Children's Oncology Foundation, activist for the rights of oncology patients. She actively promotes awareness on the necessity of palliative care in Russia, suggesting legitimization of palliative help and establishment of proper education in this field.

Maria reflects on trust not as something that can be trained or demanded, but as something that is created over time through communication, shared values, and relationships. A crisis, she explains, does not create trust — it reveals it. In moments of pressure, leaders rely instinctively on the systems, cultures, and people they have already built.

The conversation explores the nightmare scenario of crisis leadership: being trapped in a system you do not trust, surrounded by people you do not trust, guided by values you do not trust. Without psychological safety, transparency, and shared responsibility, stress rises, communication collapses, and people look for exits rather than solutions.

Maria and Julia discuss what sustains trust under pressure: presence, consistency, honesty, and the courage to listen. They talk about trust as a two-way practice — trusting others to speak up, and being trustworthy enough to genuinely hear what is said, especially when it is uncomfortable.

This episode is a reminder that trust is the greatest asset in a crisis — and that it can only be drawn on if it has been built, carefully and deliberately, long before the crisis begins.

About the Guest:

Maria is a Master Certified Coach (MCC), accredited by the International Coach Federation (ICF) with more than 4,000 coaching hours. She brings over 25 years of corporate and consulting experience, having held senior regional and global leadership roles in international organizations. Her career includes positions such as Managing

Partner at ecap;

Group Head of Organizational, Learning & Talent

Development at J&P; Global HR Director at Vision; and

EEMEA Training & Development Manager at Nielsen.

She has also led Talent Acquisition for NCR across the MEA region and served as an Executive Leadership Trainer and Mentor at PwC.

Maria holds a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics and Insurance Studies from the University of Piraeus, a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from MIM, and a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Middlesex University.

Ebisan reflects on how she approaches relationships with openness, but also with hesitation — not as fear, but as discernment. She talks about trusting the signals we feel in our bodies, and how gut instinct often tells us when something feels right, or when something feels off, long before we can explain it.

The conversation explores how trust is built in layers, through consistency, accountability, and paying attention to behaviour over time. Ebisan shares how trust looks different across cultures, generations, and contexts — and why what feels trustworthy in one situation may not translate directly into another.

Ebisan and Julia also speak candidly about disappointment — what happens when trust is broken, why we often feel more disappointed in ourselves than in others, and how ignoring early signals can leave us feeling foolish rather than angry.

This episode is a reminder that trusting others starts with self-trust — listening carefully, questioning our instincts when needed, and learning to hold openness and hesitation in balance as we navigate relationships.

About the Guest:

Ebisan Akisanya, Chairman, WIMBIZ Board of Trustees, is a seasoned development professional with nearly 30 years of experience driving social impact across corporate and nonprofit sectors. Her passion for inclusive growth is reflected in her active service on several not-for-profit boards, where she contributes to initiatives that address systemic social inequities and uplift vulnerable populations.

She currently serves as coordinator, Corporate Responsibility and National Programs at Chevron Nigeria, where she leads initiatives that drive sustainable impact. Ebisan holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacology and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Lagos.

Beyond her corporate role, Ebisan is also an active member of the African Philanthropy Forum (APF), a dynamic network of social investors committed to advancing development across the continent.

Geeta reflects on her early work helping connect institutions in India to the internet, and how mistrust of new technology gradually shifted through familiarity, experience, and positive outcomes. She shares how trust is rarely based on complete knowledge — it is a judgement call, shaped by risk, context, and past experience.

The conversation explores why trust is fragile and difficult to rebuild once broken, and how negative experiences undermine not only our trust in systems, but also our confidence in our own judgement.

Geeta also speaks about the role of those designing systems — the importance of clarity, reliability, predictability, and security — and why trust is strengthened when expectations are shared, behaviour is consistent, and mistakes are acknowledged rather than hidden.

This episode is a reminder that trust is not blind belief. It is built through constant attention, thoughtful design, and the quiet work of making systems worthy of the people who depend on them.

About the Guest:

Geetanjali Sampemane is a software engineer at Google London, where she focuses on designing systems for security, privacy and transparency. She started her career helping countries get connected to the Internet, first in India with the ERNet project, and then with the UNDP’s Sustainable Development Networking Programme. She got to see first-hand how people and organisations learn to trust new technology.

Swatee reflects on her experience convening groups of women philanthropists — many of whom arrive already cautious and guarded — and why trust cannot survive without clarity. When people feel unclear about purpose, expectations, or what the exchange really is, trust begins to erode.

She introduces the idea of friendship as method — an ethic grounded in mutuality, shared responsibility, and human connection. Trust, she explains, weakens when communities become centred on the convenor, when power is misused, or when transparency gives way to cleverness.

The conversation names the moments where trust fractures: when people feel used, manipulated, unrecognised, or unvalidated. When surprises replace honesty. When boundaries blur. When humility disappears.

This episode is a reminder that trust rarely breaks in one dramatic moment. More often, it breaks in small, avoidable ways — and it is the work of the leader to notice them before it is too late.

About the Guest:

Swatee Deepak works at the intersection of philanthropy, gender equality, academia, the arts and community building. She is the founding partner of Shake The Table and Closer Than You Think, Co-Chair of the Global Fund for Children and EMpower – The Emerging Markets Foundation, Advisory member of the L'Oreal Fund for Women and a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Marshall Institute at the London School of Economics. Across her work, from advising governments, corporations, foundations and families of wealth to co-founding initiatives that centre solidarity and shared power. Swatee brings a deep commitment to creating communities rooted in trust, mutuality, and integrity.

Sheila reflects that trust is important for all working relationships: between founders and teams, executives and boards, leaders and investors, and why without it, progress stalls. But she is clear: trust does not begin with others. It begins with trusting yourself; your judgement, your instincts, and the signals you learn to listen to over time.

The conversation explores how experience, conditioning, and past trauma shape how we trust. Whether that shows up as self-doubt, over-trusting others, or good girl syndrome in the hope of gaining approval. Sheila shares how these patterns can feel useful early in a career but become limiting as responsibility grows.

She also speaks about learning to stop blanket trusting people, becoming more discerning, and intentionally building environments of trust by surrounding herself with peers who offer honesty, clarity, and reflection.

This episode is a reminder that trust is not blind optimism. It is a daily practice and quiet work that makes running a business possible.

About the Guest:

SHEILA GUJRATHI, MD, is a biotech entrepreneur, executive, champion for under-represented leaders, and author of the bestselling book The Mirror Effect: A Transformative Approach to Growth for The Next Generation of Female Leaders. Over the past 25 years, she’s had the privilege of developing life-changing medicines for patients with serious diseases while building and running private and public biotech companies—including some exciting exits. Today she’s a founder, chairwoman, board director, strategic advisor, and consultant to start-up companies and investment funds. She co-founded the Biotech CEO Sisterhood, a group of trailblazing female CEOs—because we’re all better when we support each other.

Drawing on years of experience leading peacebuilding efforts, Samar explains why trust isn’t created once and for all, but built step by step through curiosity, careful listening, and naming what others may hesitate to say. She reflects how leaders can acknowledge their own struggles without losing credibility, and why this honesty helps teams do the same.

The conversation also explores what happens when trust is absent inside organisations. Samar outlines the practical consequences: fewer ideas, missed opportunities, reputational harm, high stress, lawsuits, and teams unable to withstand crises. She contrasts this with what becomes possible when leaders put trust at the centre more innovation, healthier workplaces, and stronger resilience in moments of crisis.

Listen to this episode to learn why building trust is not just a moral choice but a practical necessity and how peacebuilding lessons can reshape the way we lead.

About the Guest:

Samar S. Ali is a skilled mediator, a careful listener, and a compassionate teacher. Pulling up a chair to tables around the world, Ali engages in some of the most entrenched conflicts of our time, always with the intent of finding positive resolution through common ground. In this pursuit, Ali is a Research Professor of Political Science and Law at Vanderbilt University, the founding President and CEO of Millions of Conversations, and co-chair of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy. This work places Ali right at the intersection of national security, human rights and economic development.

Each woman offers her word as a gift: a word that captures how she leads, shaped by where she comes from and what she has lived.

As each woman explains why she chose her word, we begin to see how language shapes leading and how it influences the way trust is built, care is expressed, decisions are made, and responsibility is carried.

Taken together, the words reveal a wide spectrum of how women lead: with love, joy, service, curiosity, humility, humanity, empathy, trust, integrity, and wisdom.

This episode is a reminder that leading is deeply personal and that sometimes, the words we lead with say more than any framework ever could.

About the Guests:

Maryam Pasha is a Storytelling strategist, producer and curator. She is co-founder of XEQUALS Studio, a creative studio dedicated to telling stories that can create a just, sustainable and joyful future. Projects include TEDxLondon, the Climate Curious Podcast and THE HERDS London.

Anna Kalmár is a social entrepreneur and mental health professional, the founder of the Budapest based mental health initiative, AdniJóga. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Innovation from the University of Cambridge and currently serves on the board of the Hungarian Coalition of Social Enterprises.

Isata Kabia is the Founding Director of Voice of Women Africa, an organization focused on empowering women in Sierra Leone.

Sheila Gujrathi, MD is a biotech entrepreneur and executive, healthcare investor, drug developer, and speaker with over 25 years of experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries.

Dr Mai Chen (LLB(Hons)(Otago), (LLM(Harvard),HonLLD(Otago), CMInstD), is a top barrister in NZ and President of NZ Asian Lawyers.

Chadia El Meouchi is the Managing Partner at Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm

Sonia Adell Valen is a scientific communication and training specialist whose work sits at the intersection of medical education, evidence, and clear, human-centred communication.

Manuela Algañaraz works in commercial roles within social enterprises, focused on building partnerships and revenue models that support social impact at Bemtevi Negócios Sociais.

Unjela Kaleem is a communications and public affairs leader with over two decades of global experience helping organisations protect reputation, influence policy, and build trust across complex, high-stakes environments.

Saki Chen is an attorney licensed to practice in both New York and China, and a certified FAA private pilot with ratings for fixed wing land and sea, instrument flying, high performance, and complex aircraft. She serves as the China Governor for The Ninety-Nines, Inc., the international organisation of women pilots. In 2016, Saki flew around the world in a small single-engine aircraft, an extraordinary journey that combined precision, perseverance, and a pioneering spirit.

Anna shares how stepping into leading wasn’t a grand decision it happened when the organisation she created began to truly form, and people started looking to her for direction. Suddenly, she realised she wasn’t becoming the leader. She already was one, long before she felt ready for the title.

She talks about seeking coaching in the early years because she couldn’t even say out loud, “I am a social entrepreneur.” She thought she needed to adopt a louder, more traditionally “masculine” style of leading to be taken seriously. But as she describes beautifully, that didn’t fit. The journey wasn’t about changing herself rather it was about authorising herself. And about discovering an approach to leading that is both caring and fierce, collaborative and boundaried.

This episode is a reminder that great leading doesn’t come from reshaping yourself into someone else’s mould. It comes from being anchored in who you are and being brave enough to stand firm in it.

About the Guest:

Anna Kalmár is a social entrepreneur and mental health professional, the founder of the Budapest based mental health initiative, AdniJóga.

She holds a Master’s degree in Social Innovation from the University of Cambridge and currently serves on the board of the Hungarian Coalition of Social Enterprises.

She has been recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in Hungary and named one of the Top 100 European Women in Social Enterprise in 2023. She is passionate about understanding how systemic change happens and how we can shape more just and equitable societies.

Maryam shares that narrative isn’t just about telling your story. It’s about deciding the foundation on which you stand. When you don’t define your narrative, she says, you end up living someone else’s. She talks about the moment she realised she had been shrinking herself; to be agreeable, to be easy, to take up less space and how everything changed when she chose to show up with certainty and self-respect. 

She describes the shift from being shaped by the expectations of others to shaping her own direction: a shift that gave her confidence, presence, and the ability to speak and act with conviction. When you know what you’re trying to do in the world, she says, you stop asking for permission and start owning your place in the room. 

This episode is a reminder that leading doesn’t begin when others believe in you. It begins when you do. 

About the Guest:  

Maryam Pasha is a Storytelling strategist, producer and curator. She is co-founder of XEQUALS Studio, a creative studio dedicated to telling stories that can create a just, sustainable and joyful future. Projects include TEDxLondon, the Climate Curious Podcast and THE HERDS London. As a storyteller and coach she has worked with hundreds of speakers, including philanthropists, Nobel-prize-winning academics, business leaders, technical experts, activists and students. She has helped organisations to raise over a $1.5 billion to fight climate change, worked on talks that have been viewed over 25 million times and supported activists who’ve successfully changed the law in England to protect girls from child marriage. Earlier this year she joined the Palestine Comedy Club as an Exec Producer, is on the board on Climate Spring and a visiting Fellow at Oxford University. 

Varsha shares how she had never thought intentionally about leading until she realised the models she had been exposed to didn’t match who she was. Growing up in a matrilineal family, she saw a form of leading that was shared, facilitative, caring but also clear and confident. The Expedition helped her name this Essence and understand that motherness is not a limitation, it is leadership.  

She talks about Energy; how leaders generate it by checking in on teammates, reminding teams of purpose, celebrating small and big wins, and at times stepping in with her own raw Energy when everyone else is depleted. And she is honest about the boundaries needed to protect that Energy, including saying no and switching off.  

Varsha also speaks of India’s many feminine archetypes- nurturing, fierce, strategic - and how dismissing motherness at work dismisses the very source of strength and Energy that she brings. Her leadership, she’s learned, lingers in the people she supports, the belief she builds, and the care she normalises.  

This episode reminds us that when women lead from who they truly are, they sustain not just themselves, but everyone around them. 

About the Guest:  

Dr Varsha Pillai leads Gender Diversity and Advocacy for Women in Manufacturing at Tata Electronics, working to strengthen workplace cultures and progression pathways for women. With over two decades in communications, her passion for exploring how media shapes gender and social change led to a PhD in Gender Advocacy in Digital Media from Symbiosis International University. Recognised with fellowships in India, the Netherlands, and Geneva, and named a Changemaker by Change.org India, Varsha brings both lived insight and analytical rigour to advancing equality in organisations and beyond. 

Vijaya begins by reflecting on how she grew up believing that showing vulnerability made you unreliable, less capable, and easier to dismiss. As a founder and leader, this belief pushed her into toughness, especially during the crisis year of 2020, when her organisation hit zero revenue and she carried the weight of answers she didn’t have. 

Through the Expedition’s conversations, she realised that vulnerability is not the opposite of strength it is a form of strength. But it comes with boundaries. Her biggest insight:  vulnerability should build trust, not become confession. 

She talks about how leaders can reveal enough to be relatable, human, and accessible without destabilising teams or exposing themselves in ways that create long-lasting, unhelpful impressions. She also shares what she’s learned about leading across generations, and how every age group brings its own version of vulnerability to the workplace. 

This episode is a reminder that leading is not about having all the answers. It’s about creating the space where honest conversations grounded, thoughtful, and human can happen. 

About the Guest:

Vijaya Balaji – CEO and Managing Director, Toolbox India Foundation and Principal Founder at Social Lens Consulting is amongst the pioneers in advising Nonprofit organizations on organization development and strengthening requirements. In her diverse experience working in the Social Impact Sector, Vijaya has worked as an Impact and Capacity building and Organization development practitioner, she has coached organizations over 750 + organizations, designed diagnostic and assessment tools and toolkits, and technology enabled platforms for organizations. Her experience built over the last 14 years includes the conceptualization of the capacity enhancement and organization development at The GROW fund, The Better World Initiative, Parivartan, the Social Impact Optimization Program, Forbes Fellowship and the Value Circle at toolbox INDIA. Vijaya serves on the boards of 2 nonprofit organizations as part of steering them in the fulfillment of their strategic vision and goals. She is an evaluator at the Echoing Green fellowship, a past Advisory member of the India @75 – a CII Initiative and her podcast ‘covering ground ‘spotlights ground realities of social change making organizations. The Founder’s Table hosted by her brings the stories and journeys of founders and their motivations and challenges in navigating driving social impact.

Nayonika shares how she initially rejected Motherness. It felt like a stereotype. But through reflection and the Expedition, she realised that Motherness captures what she naturally brings: care, emotional awareness, organisation, and creating spaces where people feel comfortable and seen. 

She talks about how ancestors not just family but every woman she has learned from influence her leading. She reflects on the role of her education, which gave her the tools to question, to rebel, and to bring lived experience into leadership and team-building. 

She also speaks about reading the body noticing cues in herself and others and how witnessing trauma in others shaped her commitment to staying in difficult conversations instead of avoiding them.  And she also opens up about what she wants to jettison- letting go of the “good girl” expectation and learning to lead from her own standards, not others’. 

A thoughtful, grounded conversation about Essence, identity, and the quiet transformations that change the way we lead. 

About the guest:  

Nayonika is a development sector professional, holding an expertise in working towards girl child education, social justice, gender equality and women leadership. Her ardour and rigour towards unveiling the stories of women and girls belonging to the marginalised communities goes beyond any defined ambit. She believes in reaching to the crevices of these communities and creating safe spaces to hear the unheard voices of women and girls through her work. She continuously strives to broaden her horizons and cater to girls and women in various capacities. An alumnus of Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Indian School of Business (ISB), Nayonika has worked with various respectable institutions of the sector, including Ministry of Women and Child Development, Delhi and M.V. Foundation, Hyderabad. She is currently leading the Curriculum and Communications Team and Leadership Programs at VOICE 4 Girls. She is also a part of the founding cohort of Sehyogi Fellowship, having gained a certification to provide psycho-socio support focused on adolescents’ mental health. Over the time, she has excelled in designing programs tailored to meet the needs of adolescents and delivering effective training and mentorship. Moreover, she has a keen appreciation for art, is a professional dancer and an avid reader. 

Isata shares that being a trailblazer often isn’t a choice. It happens when you step forward out of necessity, conviction, or courage when you realise, as she puts it, “the hero you’ve been waiting for is you.” 

She talks about her journey of learning to lead as a quiet storm: calm yet powerful, nurturing yet unyielding. The “quiet” stands for listening, reflection, and grace. The “storm” stands for courage, disruption, and truth. Together, they form a style of leading that combines humility and strength. 

This episode is a reminder that trailblazing doesn’t always look like breaking walls; sometimes it’s about holding doors open quietly, until others can walk through. 

About the guest:  

Isata Kabia is the Founding Director of Voice of Women Africa, an organization focused on empowering women in Sierra Leone. She believes in building a strong community of women who support one another and encourages more women to take part in politics. This, she believes, will lead to better decisions that promote peace, prosperity, and rights for everyone. 

Isata is also behind AFRiLOSOPHY, a program that started in 2015. It offers training in manufacturing and financial management to help women start and grow their own businesses. She understands that when women are economically strong, they can lead and make a real difference in their communities. 

Ragini shares why she refuses to see ego as a “dirty word.” For her, ego is self-belief — the conviction that fuels courage, creativity, and resilience. It’s what helps you dream big and keep going when the odds are against you. But she also insists that ego alone isn’t enough. Without empathy, you lose connection, trust, and perspective. 

The conversation explores how empathy keeps people with you — as team members, collaborators, or community members — by listening, responding, and leading with honesty. Ragini reflects on moments of building and eventually pausing Leap Club, and how trust, transparency, and care shaped every decision along the way. 

Together, Julia and Ragini unpack what it means to lead online communities, balance ambition with compassion, and make tough calls with integrity. Ragini leaves us with a striking reminder: “Ego pushes you forward. Empathy keeps people with you.”  

And perhaps most powerfully — that real leading is about being ambitious not just for yourself, but for others too. 

About the guest: 

Ragini Das is the Head of Google for Startups in India and the co-founder of Leap.club, a women-first professional network that grew to over 25,000 members. She previously spent six years at Zomato leading growth and international market launches. Recognised as a LinkedIn Top Voice and Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur, Ragini is known for building communities that balance ambition with authenticity and for championing women who do the same. 

Mai reflects on what she calls “transcending worlds” - the process of shifting from one phase of life or leadership into another, especially after exhaustion or disappointment. She shares how energy, not time, is the true currency of leading, and how we often drain it trying to meet expectations, fit into old definitions of success, or push through without rest. 

The conversation explores how to pause without guilt, rebuild momentum after burnout, and reconnect with a sense of purpose that feels alive again. Mai’s reflections remind us that the real work of leading isn’t just about direction, it’s about the Energy that sustains it. 

Listen to this episode to learn how to regenerate Energy when you’re stuck, and how to transcend the worlds that no longer serve your growth. 

About the Guest:  

Dr Mai Chen (LLB(Hons)(Otago), (LLM(Harvard),HonLLD(Otago), CMInstD), is a top barrister in NZ and President of NZ Asian Lawyers. She was previously Managing Partner, Chen Palmer Public and Employment law Specialists, independent non-executive Director, Bank of New Zealand Board, New Zealand, a member of the New Zealand Securities Commission member, Adjunct Professor at the University of Auckland Business School and School of Government, the Inaugural Chair, NZ Global Women, and a top 10 finalist, 2014 and 2016 New Zealander of the Year  

They start by exploring the pressure to push through pain, mask discomfort, and pretend you’re fine, especially when you’re the one in charge. Both share the emotional cost of ignoring your limits, and what happens when you don’t give your team permission to share their pain and limitations.  

From there, the conversation moves into the nuance of vulnerability. What do you share about your condition? When does it build trust and when does it start to center you too much?  

Listen to this episode to rethink what strength looks like and to discover how self-awareness, emotional literacy, and forming a relationship with your body might just be the leadership shift we all need. 

About the Guests:  

Unnati Joshi is a development professional with over a decade of experience in community outreach, partnerships, and program management. Currently serving as a Senior Program Officer at Mountaintop International, she holds a degree in Psychology, an MBA in Marketing, and certifications in Counseling Psychology, CBT, and Adolescent Guidance. Committed to education and community development, she collaborates with social leaders and engages youth and women through storytelling circles, fostering spaces for connection and growth. An advocate for mental well-being, Unnati focuses on holistic development and community resilience while pursuing personal and professional growth. 

Jenny is an advocate for ‘Systematic Inclusion’, bringing to life the criticality of accessibility if we are to become an equitably safe and sustainable world.  Jenny is dyslexic and has ADHD and believes that “the way that my brain is wired differently is an asset”. This led her to leading the Heathrow Inclusive Learners Partnership to ensure equitable pathways for learners to gain experience, internships and work. 

Jenny advocates that each person should have an equitable seat at the table and creating an environment that is safe for everyone; to challenge and improve the way we interreact and build the world around us. 

The two reflect on the months they’ve just spent on the Women Emerging Expedition, realising again and again how rare and valuable it is to have a partner in leadership when so many peers are walking a lonely road. They talk about the power of being “the same but different” similar enough to share a wavelength, different enough to bring out each other’s strengths. 

Lily and Melati also explore the challenges of co-leading: how a close friendship can fuel vision, stamina, and creativity, but also complicate leading others, setting boundaries, and making hard calls. They share glimpses of their day-to-day rhythm from long hours in Bali to impromptu walks through new cities and how that rhythm builds a kind of “leadership soulmate” energy that keeps their mission alive. 

Listen to this episode to hear how friendship can make co-leading extraordinary and what it takes to keep that friendship strong while leading others. 

About the guests: 

Melati is a 24-year-old full-time changemaker and movement builder, and the founder of YOUTHTOPIA and Bye Bye Plastic Bags. She founded Bye Bye Plastic Bags at the age of 12, since then, Melati has spoken on world stages such as TED and the UN, she recently co-chaired the World Economic Forum GPAP committee, sat on the inaugural Expert Advisory Panel for the Earthshot Prize, and has had her film, Bigger Than Us, premiere at the 74th Cannes Film Festival 2021. Today, Melati launched her new company, YOUTHTOPIA, focusing on youth empowerment through short, meaningful peer to peer programs and providing them the tools they need to be changemakers. Her vision is to make YOUTHTOPIA the go-to platform for young changemakers.   

Lily is a 22-year-old Singaporean-Iranian changemaker and one of the Co-Founders of YOUTHTOPIA. Since its launch in 2020, YOUTHTOPIA has focused on youth empowerment through peer-to-peer programmes, providing students with the tools they need to be changemakers. Currently, Lily is also a senior at Yale-NUS College studying Global Affairs and Environmental Studies. In line with the values of YOUTHTOPIA, Lily is an active changemaker in her community who leads the Moulmein-Cairnhill Mentoring and Tutoring Programme for disadvantaged students in Singapore, and is heavily involved in grassroots voluntary work. Lily is also the youngest ever elected PAP Policy Forum Council member, and is a vocal advocate for youth-centric policies within the government.   

The conversation explores a central dilemma for leaders: if you never listen, you risk mistakes and isolation; if you listen to everyone, you risk paralysis. Maryam and Neval talk candidly about how they’ve learned to find the balance, from setting boundaries around feedback to recognising when to say no, and creating structures that make input meaningful rather than overwhelming. 

Listen to this episode to explore how to find your own voice as a leader while still creating space for others and how to balance inclusion with clarity when making tough decisions. 

About the guest:  

Maryam and Nivaal Rehman became activists when they were eight years old, and started inspiring girls in their village in Pakistan to continue their education, when poverty was leading them to quit school and work instead. The now 18-year-old twins have since worked in their local and global community for causes including girls’ education in Pakistan and around the world, climate justice, gender equality and inclusivity. They even have their own non-profit, The World With MNR, that uses advocacy, storytelling and development to take action and inspire others to do the same.They are continuing their activism through volunteering, traveling and sharing their experiences through their social media and their YouTube channel, The World With MNR. They’ve used their platform to cover several events — from the Social Good Summit in New York City, to the Girl Up Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. — and interview global figures, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, and Madame Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank. Their activism has led to recognition in media and several awards, including the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award (now the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers). Most recently, they released their documentary on the status of girls’ education in Pakistan, and held global screenings to spark further conversation and inspire audience members to take action themselves. 

Belai shares how she uses traditional art forms like music, dance, and weaving as leadership tools to connect people, shift energy, and ground communities in shared purpose. From playing the sape (a traditional healing instrument) to leading communal dances and weaving circles, she shows how leadership can transcend language barriers and invite deeper connection. 

She also speaks candidly about the risks of relying too much on words, the burnout young activists face, and the importance of replenishing energy to sustain change-making over the long run. 

Listen to discover how leadership can be quiet yet powerful—an invitation, a rhythm, a flow of energy that unites people and sustains movements. 

About the guest:  

Belai is a Health and Human Sciences student and climate activist currently studying in Sheffield, UK. Her passion for both human and environmental health combine in Planetary Health. Descending from the Dayak people of Borneo, she is also involved in supporting the development of local and customary communities in Kalimantan, Indonesia. 

Growing up the youngest of four sisters, Ghina absorbed early lessons that leadership isn’t a title but a mindset, something you practice long before anyone calls you a leader. She reflects on the battles with self-doubt, modesty, and cultural expectations that made her hesitate to step forward, and the turning points when she decided to challenge herself and lead anyway. 

Ghina speaks about the different ways of leading sometimes from the front, sometimes alongside, sometimes from behind and why knowing yourself is key to choosing which way to step up. She also talks honestly about exhaustion, criticism, and the ever-present voices of insecurity, and how she counters them with one conviction: my dreams are bigger than my doubts. 

Listen to this episode to explore why starting early matters, how to lead without copying others, and why finding and owning your own voice is the most powerful act of change. 

About the guest:  

As a law graduate, Ghina Rai has been fearlessly advocating women's rights through many channels, including her own social community, InPower Indonesia, which focuses on women's substantive representation in policymaking. Through her unyielding commitment to championing the cause of the marginalized, she imparts hope and inspires change by teaching refugees and living with labour rights movements. She also used her writings online to shed light on inequalities and serve as a call to action. In her leisure time, she practices martial arts, showcasing the unlimited potential of women. 

Musimbi reflects on lessons from communities she has worked with around the world, including Indigenous women in Peru who remind us that as long as we are alive, we cannot live without hope. She speaks about hope not as naïve optimism, but as an active choice: showing up each day, making small differences, and course-correcting even when change feels impossibly far away. 

She also shares how to be authentic while carrying hope for others, the importance of joy and resilience in dark times, and the balance between acknowledging doubt and refusing to be paralysed by it. From drawing on history to noticing the smallest sparks of change, Musimbi shows that hope is both a practice and a responsibility. 

Listen to this episode to discover how to navigate today’s world with courage, joy, and hope and why leading with hope is not optional, but essential. 

About the guest-  

Musimbi Kanyoro is a globally respected leader in education, philanthropy, and women’s empowerment. She is the Chair of the Board at UWC International, guiding a worldwide education movement for peace and sustainability. Previously, she was President and CEO of Global Fund for Women, where she oversaw over $140 million in grantmaking and elevated the organisation’s global influence. Musimbi has also held senior leadership roles at the Packard Foundation, World YWCA, and Lutheran World Federation. With a PhD in Linguistics and advanced studies in theology, she is recognised internationally as a trailblazer championing women’s leadership, rights, and cross-cultural collaboration. 

Back by popular demand after her earlier episodes (95 and 96), Julia Cleverdon returns to answer listener questions on how leaders can hold these three circles in balance. She shares insights on building strong teams without letting prima donnas dominate, sustaining energy when cynicism creeps in, and the challenges of leading virtual teams. She also reflects on when it’s right to focus heavily on a task, and when the priority must shift to nurturing individuals or repairing culture. 

The conversation makes clear that the art of leading isn’t about perfect equilibrium, but about knowing when to lean into one circle more than the others without ever letting any of them drop. 

Listen to this episode to explore how task, team, and individual interact in real-world leadership and why the most effective leaders never lose sight of all three. 

About the guest: 

Dame Julia Cleverdon is Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund. She was previously Chief Executive of Business in the Community from 1991 to 2007 and later Special Adviser to The Prince’s Charities. 

Julia co-founded Step Up To Serve (#iwill) and is Vice Patron of Teach First, having been its first chair. She served on the Careers and Enterprise Company and Fair Education Alliance boards, and was previously chair of the National Literacy Trust. She is Patron of Right to Succeed and chaired Place Matters and the National Statistician’s Committee on Inclusive Data. 

Monica explains why feedback is so hard both for the giver and the receiver and why avoiding it usually makes things worse, not better.  

She shares practical tools for leaders who want to give feedback that is fair, constructive, and effective, without damaging trust or relationships. From using phrases like “I’m wondering…” and “Help me understand…” to balancing compliments with areas for growth, Monica offers approaches that keep conversations honest, humane, and actionable. 

They also explore how to avoid the common traps: waiting too long, overloading with criticism, making it about yourself, or panicking in silence. Instead, Monica lays out how to structure feedback meetings, how often to hold them, and how to give people a genuine voice in the process. 

Listen to this episode to learn how feedback, done thoughtfully, can build trust, spark growth, and strengthen relationships, and in the process strengthen entire organisations. 

About the Guest:

Dr. Monica Medina is a literacy consultant for International & US Schools alongwith a seasoned educator and leadership expert dedicated to fostering inclusive and effective communication strategies. With a strong background in organizational development and higher education, she has worked extensively to support leaders in navigating complex workplace dynamics.

Best known for founding Sisters in Islam and now leading the global movement Musawah, Zainah speaks with striking honesty about the realities of leadership when your work is seen as both revolutionary and controversial. From pushing for legal reform to confronting deeply patriarchal religious narratives, she reflects on what it means to stay the course when change is slow, resistance is strong, and public silence can sometimes speak louder than protest.  

Zainah offers few guiding principles that shape her approach to leadership: 

Courage: Leadership isn’t the absence of fear. It’s the decision to keep showing up, even when it would be easier not to. 

Channelled outrage: Righteous anger alone won’t change a system. Progress demands patience, persistence, and the ability to transform frustration into constructive change. 

Strategic Legacy: Effective leadership means understanding power, timing, and consequence. Your leadership is only as meaningful as the leaders you raise behind you. 

Listen to this episode if you want to understand what it really takes to lead within, rather than against, complex systems. Zainah doesn’t just model resilience; she redefines what effective, enduring leadership can look like in 2025 and beyond. 

About the Guest:  

Zainah Anwar co-founded two ground-breaking women’s groups that engage with Islam from a rights perspective to promote equality and justice for women living in Muslim contexts. She co-founded Sisters in Islam in Malaysia in 1987 and Musawah, the global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family, which was launched in 2009.  She now chairs its Board. Zainah has worked as a journalist, a researcher, a columnist, and a senior programme officer in the Political Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat. She has written numerous articles and given talks on Islam and women’s rights, political Islam, Malaysian politics and race relations. 

Anita explains why leading creative people starts with trust: trust in the team, trust in the process, and trust in yourself. She shares how to create the right kind of invitation by holding space for chaos, she talks about breaking away from the traditional hierarchy between teacher and student where one is on a pedestal and the other on the ground and instead, sitting together in a circle. She also believes in giving people time to settle in before work begins. 

She also explores the specific challenges of creative leadership: managing vulnerability, navigating unpredictability, and knowing when to step in with structure and when to step back and let the magic happen. 

Listen to this episode to discover how leading creative teams is less about control and more about creating space, trust, and enabling the conditions where something truly original can take shape. 

About the Guest:  

Dr. Anita Ratnam is a choreographer, performer, producer, speaker, mentor, Artpreneur and the pioneer of Neo Bharatam, a unique new dance style. Anita’s most notable works in her current repertoire are Naachiyaar Next (2019), A Million Sitas (2010), Ma3ka (2009), 7 Graces (2005), Faces (2007), Neelam (2006) and Andal Andal (2011) 

She breaks a good speech into two halves: preparation and delivery. From using A5 cue cards and writing your opening and closing lines first, to finding the right pauses, stories, and shifts in volume, Julia’s approach is rooted in years of trial, error, and speaking to audiences around the world.

Along the way, she shares tips for calming nerves, holding attention, and making sure your message lands and lasts.

Listen to this episode to learn how a well-prepared, well-delivered speech can change the room, the conversation, and maybe even the course of events.

About the Speaker:  

Julia Middleton is the host of the Women Emerging podcast and a best-selling author of “If that’s leading, I’m in” as well as two previous books: "Leading beyond Authority" and "Cultural Intelligence". She is deeply committed to helping people from all backgrounds to find their own approach to leading. 

In 2022, Julia led an expedition of 24 women to find 'an approach to leading that resonates with women'. In 2024, she founded Women Emerging. She leads expeditions with women all over the world using the 4Es methodology, discovered on the first expedition. 

Prior to that, Julia was founder and, for over thirty years, Chief Executive of Common Purpose, which grew to become one of the biggest leadership development organisations in the world. 

Julia is also an Ambassador for the Aurora Prize based in Armenia, on the boards of Alfanar Venture Philanthropy in the Arab World and Equality Now which operates globally, and on the Advisory Councils of Fundacao Dom Cabral in Brazil and Synapse in Pakistan. 

Born in London and brought up in New York, Julia was educated at French Lycées and graduated from the London School of Economics. She is married, with five children and lots of grandchildren. 

Autumn shares how to run a strategy meeting that doesn’t feel like a slow march through an agenda. Drawing from her experience leading both high-pressure editorial rooms and creative retreats around the world, she explains how to create conditions where people feel safe enough to speak up and bold enough to think differently. 

From setting the right physical environment to lowering the stakes so risk-taking feels possible, Autumn offers practical steps to help teams listen better, push ideas further, and leave the room with a shared sense of momentum. 

Listen to this episode to learn how a well-led strategy meeting can do more than setting a plan. It can unlock creativity, trust, and collective energy. 

About the Guest:  

Autumn Phillips is a travel writer, adventurer and change leader.   

She retired in 2024 from a 20-year career as a newspaper editor, leading newsrooms across the United States.  

Her leadership was recognized with many national awards, including two projects that were Pulitzer Prize finalists.   

In 2023, she began taking readers on international trips, teaching them how to write about their journeys as a way to deepen the experience. She is starting the year by leading a women’s creativity retreat in Lamu, Kenya.   

She was named NATJA Travel Journalist of the Year for stories on Lebanon, Sudan and Finland.   

She writes a weekly newsletter and has published long-form narrative pieces on Kyrgyzstan, Ireland, Finland, Pakistan, Sudan, Zambia, Lebanon, Cuba, Morocco, the Grand Canyon, the World Nomad Games in Kazakhstan, and the Galapagos.   

Susan talks about entering a room grounded, choosing observation over reaction, and how to read the atmosphere of a meeting not just for what’s being said, but what’s being felt. Susan shares practical insights from her work. 

This isn’t leadership as performance. It’s leadership as presence. And it’s a conversation that gently but powerfully asks: how do you want people to feel after sitting with you? 

If you’ve ever led a room and walked away unsure why something didn’t land, or if you’re learning to show up without rushing to solve, this episode offers a calm, precise lens on what might be happening beneath the surface. It will teach how to hold the future. Quietly. Intentionally. Together. 

About the Guest: 

Susan Taylor is a transformational coach and facilitator with over 30 years of experience helping entrepreneurs and executives unlock their potential through heart-centered and purpose-aligned practices. As CEO and co-founder of Generon International, she draws on her expertise in Bohmian Dialogue to foster clarity, transform relationships, and build cultures of innovation and inclusivity. A former Forbes contributor and founding member of the Conscious Leadership Guild, Susan also serves on the Advisory Committee of the American Leadership Forum. 

Fiona begins with neuroscience: why proximity makes us smarter, how brains sync when people interact face-to-face, and what that means for the quality of thinking in a strategy session. She then explores how to design and steer, not control a conversation. From setting boundaries and naming non-negotiables, to using intuition, spotting weak signals, and asking the right questions, her approach is built around high trust, curiosity, and deep listening.

She also unpacks the role of leaders as both participants in the system and observers of it, holding a bifocal view that allows for creativity and rigour at once.

Listen to this episode to learn how to lead strategy sessions that go beyond sticky notes and PowerPoints and instead unlock clarity, ownership, and systems-level thinking.

About the Guest:

Dr Fiona Kerr is a researcher and advisor working at the intersection of human connectivity, technology, and systems thinking. She is the founder of the NeuroTech Institute and FOCUS, and works with public and private sector organisations on building adaptive, human-centred approaches to complex challenges. With a background in neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, and complex systems, Fiona brings over 40 years of industry experience. In 2023, she was named a Fellow of ATSE for her work on human proximity and problem-solving. She currently serves as Director of Applied Integrative Research at MindChamps in Singapore, focusing on how digital tools and human interaction affect learning and cognition across ages.

Drawing on her background in the arts, Paula offers guidance on everything from how to set the tone and read the room, to how to use physical space, body language, and structure to help people open up and contribute. She discusses what makes people switch off in strategy sessions, how to deal with difficult participants, and how to use tools like parking intense conversations for later, movement, and physical prompts to keep energy and focus alive. 

She also unpacks how to frame the day with clarity by setting the context, stating the purpose, acknowledging the politics in the room, and always keeping an eye on the outcome. 

Listen to this episode to discover practical, people-centered strategies that will help you lead better strategy days. 

About the Guest:  

Currently the Business Lead for Culture and Community Development at Oxford City Council, Paula Redway has extensive experience as a CEO of arts centres, theatres and festivals in England and Wales. She is also a member of the executive committee of CLOA (the Chief Cultural and Leisure Officers Association) and a trustee for Farnham Youth Choir and the Magna Carta Trust. 

Outside of work, Paula loves singing, travelling and exploring the great outdoors with her family. 

Ruth reframes followership as an active choice, not a passive role. You’ll hear why deciding to follow comes before any leader’s bid for attention, how those roles shift constantly in modern organisations, and which leadership missteps like micromanagement, poor communication or lack of direction cause followers to disengage. 

Ruth introduces two key dimensions of followership: 

Deferral: stepping back, allowing the leader to lead while still engaging and asking clarifying questions. 

Support: stepping up to help the leader succeed through effort, advice, feedback, and shared purpose. 

Listen to this episode to rethink the assumption that leading is always about being in charge and discover how following well can be just as powerful, intentional, and impactful as leading. 

About the Guest:  

An organisational development and communications professional based in Australia with global connections into leadership and followership communities. Dr Ruth Sims brings a unique, research-based and expert understanding of followership and the difference that effective followership can make in your organisation.  

Women Emerging runs group expeditions for up to 24 women who want to find their own approach to leading. They run over 7 months—explorers commit to 5 hours of exploring each month. Each group is formed around a community, geographical or sectoral. Most expeditions are online, though some groups meet at different points.     

They talk about the pressure to fit in and how the expedition gave them the confidence to bring their whole selves into their work. Sasha reflects on how the pursuit of neutrality often dulls trust, and Kamden shares how she’s learning to value her uniqueness rather than suppress it. Together, they explore how trying too hard to match expectations kills both innovation and authenticity. 

Through the lens of renewable energy, they redefine leadership using metaphors from their field: energy efficiency as emotional resilience, solar panels as people absorbing and transforming knowledge, and emulsion as the leader’s role in holding contradictions like authority and collaboration together. 

Listen to this episode to discover why leading is like an emulsion how to lead like an emulsifier. 

About the Guests:  

Sasha Vaswani is an Onshore Power Analyst at Shell, driven by a deep commitment to championing a Just Energy Transition. She is the creator of the short-form educational series #TalkingTransition, a contributor to the Energy Institute magazine, and an active supporter of their Young Professionals Network. Sasha has shared her insights at major industry events including ADIPEC and Climate Circle, and aspires to lead on the frontline of a net zero future.   

Kamden J. Maas is deeply driven to leave the world better than she found it. She specializes in gas storage, a critical field spanning everything from medical oxygen to cutting-edge hydrogen. Her strong background in renewable energy, fuels her commitment to scientific advancement, further enhanced by her unique grasp of logistics—a domain she notes is essential for global operations. Kamden is also constantly addicted to learning, whether it's expanding her expertise in her field or growing personally. When she's not immersed in work or working out, this former collegiate athlete and engaged community leader finds joy in baking and traveling.  

Saki reflects on what she learned about leading while navigating a complex and high-risk expedition with a small, intimate crew, many of whom were older and more experienced than her. She speaks about the importance of being bold enough to dream big, even when the odds (and the funding) aren’t in your favor and how that boldness can inspire others to believe in your vision, too. 

She also shares how she handled self-doubt, the power of clarity when leading more experienced people, the need to own your mistakes, and why it’s vital to stay focused on what success really means. 

Listen to this episode to hear how leading doesn’t always come with a title sometimes, it’s about taking responsibility, earning trust, and finding your way through, even when you’re not entirely sure you can. 

About the Guest:  

Saki Chen is an attorney licensed to practice in both New York and China, and a certified FAA private pilot with ratings for fixed wing land and sea, instrument flying, high performance, and complex aircraft. She serves as the China Governor for The Ninety-Nines, Inc., the international organisation of women pilots. In 2016, Saki flew around the world in a small single-engine aircraft, an extraordinary journey that combined precision, perseverance, and a pioneering spirit. 

Falak shares two hard-earned insights she wishes she’d known earlier. The first: stepping back as a leader too soon, even with the best intentions, can leave your team without the support and skill set only you can offer. 

Her second insight explores the complexity of leading with a deep sense of social justice. Falak speaks about the emotional cost of navigating injustice, whether it’s systemic inequality, condescension in global health settings, or being overlooked despite expertise. She explains how leaders must balance their moral clarity with strategic patience choosing which fights to pick, and when. 

Listen to this episode to explore what it means to lead when you're tired, tested, and deeply committed to change.  

About the Guest:  

Falak Madhani is a health systems leader who works on the development and evaluation of healthcare approaches geared towards equity and social justice. Falak is passionate about enabling – through working closely with communities, patients, and healthcare providers – the creation of home-grown solutions that can make holistic primary care equitably available in low-resource settings. 

Falak’s research portfolio is focused on primary care, mental healthcare and suicide prevention in Northern Pakistan. She holds an MSc Public Health in Developing Countries (now called the Public Health for Development program) from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a liberal arts degree from Bennington College, in Vermont, USA. Falak is also trained in humanistic integrative therapy. 

As a part of the AKU Brain and Mind Institute, Falak leads the establishment of a Living Labs framework in Northern Pakistan for brain and mind research and programme development. She is concurrently Head of Research at Aga Khan Health Service, Pakistan. 

Alison shares nine fundamentals she wishes she’d known before she started leading. Starting with this vital truth: don’t do it alone, build a support network. From building your own “survival kit” of support and stability, to learning the art of delegation, Alison’s insights are thoughtful, honest, and deeply grounded in real-life leadership.

She also unpacks hard-won lessons like the need for a “hard streak,” the importance of leading upwards, and why communication isn’t just a part of leading; it is the very act of leading. Her reflections reveal how moral courage, containing emotions, and picking the right team members shape a leader’s impact far more than any textbook theory.

Alison’s list will make you pause and ask, “What would be on mine?” Tune in, reflect, and perhaps even start your own list of what you wish you’d known at the start.

About the Guest:

Alison Coburn is one of the founding team of Common Purpose which started in the UK in 1989 and now has over 130,000 alumni globally. She currently leads Common Purpose’s environmental programmes.  In 2020 Alison founded Sky Blue, a campaign to support leaders around the world who are tackling the environmental crisis.  She is passionate about inspiring and supporting leaders to work collaboratively for a sustainable future. She started her career in the arts, then joined the BBC Radio making programmes on social and environmental issues. She is an Ambassador for the Tutu Foundation UK and a Trustee of Well Grounded. 

Amy dismantles the illusion that leadership is about charisma or glamour. For her, it’s always been about getting the basics right: clear structures, strong boundaries, showing up fully, and being open to constant learning. From navigating emotional labour during a crisis to wrestling with self-doubt in high-stakes roles, Amy’s account is raw, reflective, and refreshingly real. 

If you’ve ever questioned whether you have the ‘charisma’ to lead, listen to this episode to let that myth go. 

About the Guest:  

Dr. Amy Brand is a leading publisher, entrepreneur, and executive known for advancing equity in science and expanding access to knowledge, particularly through her transformative leadership at the MIT Press. She has spearheaded initiatives such as open access models, increased representation of women’s voices in STEM publishing, and innovative partnerships, including a collaboration with a children's publisher and the launch of Direct to Open. Beyond the Press, Dr. Brand has co-founded the Knowledge Futures Group, served on influential boards, produced the Emmy-nominated Picture a Scientist, and received numerous honors for her positive impact on scientific and scholarly communication. 

Aramide shares the eight lessons she’s learned about leading, starting with the power of believing in people before they believe in themselves. From listening fiercely and celebrating growth, to standing by your mission and helping others find themselves in their work, her insights are grounded, simple, and deeply human. 

She also speaks about leading in resource-limited settings, where love, safety, and dignity are often as essential as strategy. Her leadership is deeply shaped by the reality of her students' lives and her commitment to making a tangible difference.  

Listen to this episode to discover crucial insights on leadership - the kind that are rarely found in textbooks but often learned the hard way through lived experience. 

About the Guest:  

Aramide Kayode is an education advocate and social entrepreneur committed to transforming the lives of children in low-income communities. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Talent Mine Academy, a free school in Nigeria providing 12 years of high-quality education to underserved children. Aramide’s mission is to empower young people as community leaders and changemakers, and her students have already impacted over 5,000 residents through social initiatives. A graduate of Harvard Graduate School of Education and Covenant University, Aramide currently serves as a Youth Representative at UNESCO and sits on the Youth Advisory Board at RIVET. Her work has been featured by Global Citizen, Malala Fund, Harvard Magazine, and more. 

They speak openly about the quiet tensions that can exist between senior and younger leaders: the hesitation to give feedback, the fear that sets in when one drops the ball, and the 'who's first to shake hands'. But what surfaces just as strongly is mutual trust, and a shared belief that leading can evolve when we reframe hierarchy.  

“When you're too much about hierarchy and titles, you lose your ability to be creative, to be spontaneous, to be innovative, you know, to be open, to really be your genuine self,” said Folawe. 

This closing episode invites more open dialogue across generations so that together, we can move towards a new normal of leading. 

About the Guests:  

Folawe Omikunle is a social entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in education, international development, non-profit leadership, and sustainability. A Tutu Fellow and finalist for the Africa Education Medal, she has been recognised as one of Nigeria’s most inspiring women. Folawe serves on multiple boards and is deeply committed to unlocking Africa’s potential through investments in human capital. 

Funmi is deeply invested in supporting women and girls to lead with confidence in their communities and across diverse spaces. She is the Expedition Director at Women Emerging, where she leads the global delivery of the Expeditions, and the founder of EquitED– the award-winning initiative working to shift gender norms in Nigerian schools. Her work combines strategy, communication, and community building to inspire bold, inclusive change. 

What unfolds is a deeply grounded conversation on reclaiming identity, resisting colonial definitions of mentorship and leadership, and learning to lead in a way that honours both elders and future generations. Jackie shares what it means to carry her Indigenous identity and ancestral knowledge into powerful political and institutional spaces; she calls this a journey “from the outhouse to the White House.” Emma shares how, over time, elders in her community saw leadership potential in her, much before she saw it in herself.

Together, they model an intergenerational exchange that is neither hierarchical nor linear, it’s circular and rooted in reciprocity, presence, and a reverence for the natural world.

“A Birch tree doesn’t say to a Cottonwood, ‘you’re bigger than me.’ They just exist. They coexist. And they each have their own medicine.” – Jackie

Tune in to hear how leading, for them, is less about roles and titles and more about holding space, honouring lineage, and being of service to the land and people.

About the Guests:

Jackie Qatalina Schaeffer, as the Director of Climate Initiatives, she brings over 20 years of experience in communications and business management. She facilitates stakeholder engagement and supports various projects focused on environmental health, climate, and sanitation across Alaska. Jackie served as the Lead Facilitator for the Holistic Approach to Northern Sustainable Communities project and co-authored several regional energy plans in collaboration with the Alaska Energy Authority and local leaders. Her current work includes addressing water security and sanitation for unserved homes in rural Alaska, climate adaptation, community engagement, and integrating Indigenous perspectives to bridge service gaps. Jackie’s commitment to serving Indigenous populations allows her to merge culture and Indigenous knowledge with her professional endeavours, creating a powerful blend of Western and Indigenous perspectives.

Emma Johnson, a Cowlitz Tribal member, received her BA in Cultural Anthropology from Washington State University Vancouver and her MS in Sociocultural Anthropology at Portland State University (PSU). Emma is currently the Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge (ITECK) Coordinator in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office at PSU. In this role, she focuses on community engagement, partnership development, and cultivating a sense of belonging for students. Emma is extremely passionate about place-based education and connecting people to the landscape by introducing them to plant and animal relatives. She feels at home in the world of tribal food sovereignty and strives to support the reclamation and restoration of traditional foodways in Indian Country.

Mia reflects on how she had to shed learned notions of deference and excessive politeness to form a meaningful connection. Mieke, the professor, in turn, shares how intentional presence, deep listening, and care are at the heart of how she holds space and how that is, in itself, a way of leading. 

They explore how age difference can create assumptions about what each person brings to the table, and how those assumptions can be challenged through honest dialogue and mutual respect.  

Listen to dive into a conversation between two women at different life stages, choosing curiosity over hierarchy as that’s where the magic in leading resides.   

About The Guests:

Mieke Verloo is Professor of Comparative Politics and Inequality Issues at Radboud University in the Netherlands, and Non-Residential Permanent Fellow at the IWM, Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. She has extensive publications on gender equality policymaking in Europe, on gender mainstreaming and intersectionality, on gendered body politics, gendered knowledge politics, and on opposition to gender equality in Europe. For 2022-2036, she is coordinating the CCINDLE project. Since 2020, she is also chair of the FLAX Foundation

Mia Haug is a political science graduate from Estonia with a strong background in student politics. She’s also the Operations Manager at Women Emerging. As cofounder and former board member of 020 - a student political party at the University of Amsterdam - she led key initiatives aimed at improving student representation and passed policies that addressed key issues affecting the community. Later, as Chair of LEF, a youth-oriented party in the Netherlands, she worked on radical policy ideas like universal basic income, better access to mental health care, and just climate action.

Women Emerging runs group expeditions for up to 24 women who want to find their own approach to leading. They run over 7 months—explorers commit to 5 hours of exploring each month. Each group is formed around a community, geographical or sectoral. Most expeditions are online, though some groups meet at different points.   

Gina and Laurie discuss how this unique methodology pushed them beyond traditional leadership concepts, encouraging them to look inward and examine the trauma that influences their behaviors and leading.  

They share how acknowledging and understanding their trauma, whether from major life events or smaller, recurring patterns - has helped them build more authentic, boundary-conscious, and compassionate practices for leading. Through vulnerability, clear communication, and personal growth, they’ve learned that leading effectively isn't about people-pleasing but about offering support while staying true to their own values. 

Listen to this episode to step into the expedition with Gina and Laurie and discover how understanding your Essence can help you lead with more honesty and strength. 

What starts as a meeting of two very different "cores" becomes a deep exploration of how we lead, how we listen, and what it takes to connect across differences. 

Ukonwa speaks candidly about the concept of Core and Flex, and how finally having language for this idea helped her understand and explain how she moves through the world. She shares that while her core is firmly rooted in her Christian faith, her capacity to flex beyond that allows her to connect across cultures, beliefs, and ideologies with empathy and openness. It's not a contradiction, she says, it's clarity. 

Julia and Ukonwa dive into the realities of clashing cores: how to stay in conversation when you disagree at a fundamental level, and how to decide when to speak, when to stay silent, and when to walk away. Ukonwa reflects on moments of being misunderstood, being triggered by cultural language, and making space for others.  

“Everybody doesn’t deserve your point of view. But if someone’s open, you owe them curiosity,” expresses Ukonwa. 

Listen to this one to gather how to listen through discomfort, stay present through difference, and hold onto curiosity even when our backs go up.  

It’s a fitting and moving end to a series about what it takes to lead with Cultural Intelligence in a deeply divided world. 

About the Guest:  

Ukonwa Ojo is a dynamic leader with 27 years of experience across industries, having held senior roles at Amazon Prime Video & Studios, M.A.C Cosmetics, Coty, COVERGIRL, Unilever, Reckitt, and General Mills. Now Founder/CEO of Zaia Ventures, she builds businesses that uplift underrepresented communities, including Zaia, a global Christian social platform and Ada & Edith, a luxury womenswear brand redefining comfort. 

From childhood the stories we’re told, girls are invited to understand emotions, their own and others’. Boys, on the other hand, are often cast in roles of action and control, with little space given to their emotional lives. This absence, Francesca felt in her own personal sphere and further states that it comes with consequences. When boys grow up into men, many bring into workplaces and relationships a deeply ingrained sense that masculinity must be earned and it can easily be lost. 

What happens, then, when a woman is leading men raised on this narrow model of masculinity? 

Francesca brings sharp insight and practical wisdom to this question. She shares how women can navigate moments of resistance, projection, or even emotional overwhelm in male-dominated teams without surrendering authority or compassion. She also challenges the common understanding of misogyny, reframing it not as hatred of women, but as hatred of the feminine qualities men have been taught to reject in themselves. 

“You don’t need to dominate to lead men. But you do need to remember you’re in charge,” said Francesca.  

Listen to this conversation to gain a new lens on cultural intelligence: one that includes gendered storytelling, emotional safety, and the quiet, often invisible pressures shaping how men show up and how women can lead them with clarity, empathy, and strength. 

About the Speaker: 

Francesca Cavallo is the co-author of the New York Times bestselling Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series, which sold over 8 million copies worldwide and was translated into 49 languages. In 2019, she founded Undercats to radically boost diversity in children’s media. A year later, she released Doctor Li and the Crown-wearing Virus (translated into 38 languages) to fight Anti-Asian racism. In 2022, she launched Paralympians!, celebrating extraordinary Paralympic champions. A sought-after public speaker, Cavallo champions women’s and minorities’ rights at conferences around the globe. Her newest project is about masculinity, and it's called Boys of the Future. 

“Almost everybody you meet will have a different culture from you,” says Julia. “CQ is about interfacing with cultures that aren’t your own. Way beyond just race.” 

Julia responds to questions such as: 

• Does your Core ever change? 

• Can organisations have Core and Flex? 

• Do you always have to stand up for cultural intolerance? 

• How do you find your knots, your biases, and what do you do about them? 

She shares personal stories. Choosing whether or not to cover up in Jeddah. Picking a sari for her son’s wedding in Bangalore. Moments that show how her own Core and Flex have evolved. 

Listen to this episode to reflect on your own Core and Flex, learn why self-awareness is key to leading across cultures and discover how CQ is not about perfection, it is about staying curious, courageous, and committed to growing. 

"The stronger your core, the more you need to think carefully before dismissing someone else’s," says Julia. 

She offers practical guidance on how to avoid misreading moments of cultural collision, and how to recognise the difference between disagreement and disrespect. Drawing on her own experience from facing difficult conversations to moments when she chose to stand by her Core at great cost, Julia illustrates how courage, clarity, and the language of Core and Flex can transform confrontation into productive disagreement. 

The episode also explores what happens when cultures collide within a person. Listen to this episode to understand how to manage cultural collisions between people and within yourself with empathy, strength, and a grounded sense of your core and flex. 

"Sometimes, when cultures collide, we feel it as a clash, but what if we saw it as an opportunity instead?" says Julia. 

Through real-life stories and thought-provoking insights, she unpacks why these clashes occur, how to navigate them with curiosity rather than frustration, and what leaders can do to turn cultural differences into strengths rather than obstacles. 

Listen to this episode to discover how embracing cultural collisions can deepen your understanding, strengthen your leading, and help you build more cohesive, high-performing teams. 

"The stronger your core, the more people will trust you. And the more flexible your flex, the more people will trust you," said Julia. 

Julia explains how finding the line between core and flex should keep moving as that is what helps in navigating different generations, sectors, beliefs, specialisms, aspirations and backgrounds while staying true to ourselves. Through personal stories she illustrates the risks of having either an overwhelming core with little adaptability or too much flexibility without a clear identity. 

Listen to this episode to discover how understanding your Core and Flex can help you lead across cultures, build trust, and navigate complexity with confidence. 

"The really big, complex problems that we dream of solving have no respect for boundaries. If we insist on staying within them, we have no hope of addressing these challenges. We must develop cultural intelligence to cross them," said Julia. 

Julia unpacks four prerequisites for Cultural Intelligence - A deep interest in people, being genuinely curious about others; willingness to unpick personal biases and habits that hinder CQ; the stamina for an endless journey, knowing CQ is something we build over time; the courage to stand up to cultural intolerance when we see it. 

Listen to this episode to learn why Cultural Intelligence is no longer optional while leading in a global world and how you can start building it. 

"Resilience really lies within teams and communities. The danger is that when we feel under pressure, our instinct is to withdraw. But the more we isolate ourselves, the harder it becomes to sustain resilience in the long run," said Liz. 

Liz and Julia discuss the two key pillars of resilience: stories and systems. How the narratives we tell ourselves shape our ability to bounce back, and how daily habits provide a foundation for long-term strength. Liz also shares micro-practices, from reframing overwhelming situations to grounding techniques that help reset and recharge. 

Listen to this episode to learn how to reframe challenges, build sustainable habits, and take help from teams and communities to strengthen your resilience. 

About the Guest: 

Liz Bloomfield is committed to creating a more just world where everyone thrives. During her 25-year career as a British Army officer serving in Iraq, corporate executive, and humanitarian responder, Liz has worked with mission-driven leaders across the globe. She has experienced first-hand the positive outcomes when leaders invest in building their own resilience and mental fitness and support their teams in doing the same. She helps changemakers reconnect with their purpose, supercharge their energy, and increase their impact. 

"Resilience isn’t about being unbreakable. It’s about learning how to pause, process, and move forward with greater clarity," said Liz. 

Liz and Julia discuss the importance of mental fitness, understanding personal triggers, and reframing setbacks as opportunities for growth. Liz also shares how leaders who prioritise their own resilience create stronger, more impactful teams. 

Listen to this episode to challenge your understanding of resilience and explore how small, intentional choices can help you lead with renewed energy and purpose. 

And stay tuned for Part 2, where Liz dives deeper into how resilience plays out in leadership, the role of identity and belonging, and the practical strategies she uses to help changemakers increase their impact without burning out. 

About the Guest: 

Liz Bloomfield is committed to creating a more just world where everyone thrives. During her 25-year career as a British Army officer serving in Iraq, corporate executive, and humanitarian responder, Liz has worked with mission-driven leaders across the globe. She has experienced first-hand the positive outcomes when leaders invest in building their own resilience and mental fitness and support their teams in doing the same. She helps changemakers reconnect with their purpose, supercharge their energy, and increase their impact.    

Women Emerging runs group expeditions for women who want to find their own approach to leading. Over seven months, explorers commit five hours per month to immersing themselves in the experience; listening to audios, speaking with guides, engaging in deep self-reflection, and coming together for monthly calls to test, challenge, and grow alongside a diverse group of women. Shurti and Myriem share how this unique methodology pushed them beyond traditional leadership concepts, leading them to profound realisations about themselves, their strengths, and the elements shaping their leading. 

"Essence is represented in both light and shadows before we lead, we must first accept both," said Shurti. 

"Combining visibility and humility was something I had to work on. I used to think that being visible meant losing humility, but now I see that you can be both—and that being visible can create impact," shared Myriem. 

Listen to this episode to step into the expedition with Shurti and Myriem and discover how confronting fears, letting go of expectations, and embracing your Essence can transform the way you lead. 

About the Guests:  

Myriem Benkirane is a solopreneur specializing in social media marketing, helping businesses and entrepreneurs with strong values create tailored strategies. Born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco, Myriem embraced personal growth after the loss of her dear father in 2017 and her beloved husband in 2021.   

In 2022, at the age of 30, she returned to studying and is now an Executive Master participant at ESCA Ecole de Management, specializing in Digital Marketing. Passionate about leadership and communication, Myriem strives to set a positive example for her two children and aims to inspire others with her journey of resilience. She is also involved in various associations, including Women Emerging, TEDxESCA, Toastmasters, and Women in Business. 

Shurti Singh is on a mission to reshape the future of leadership, one authentic conversation at a time. As an MBA student at Universal AI University, she has learned that true leadership flourishes when we embrace both our strengths and vulnerabilities. Through Women Emerging Expedition, she is building bridges between empathy and action, creating spaces where everyone's story matters and collective growth thrives. 

Shurti believes in transforming challenges into steppingstones for success, because when we lead authentically, we inspire others to do the same. For her, leadership is about more than just personal growth, it’s about championing a way of leading that celebrates our whole selves and empowers others to find their voice and purpose. 

"In hostile environments, the rulebook helps you survive, but humanity is what helps you lead," said Mounia, highlighting the importance of balancing structure with empathy in crisis situations. 

Mounia recounts the lessons she’s learned, from the early days of rigidly following protocols to realizing that true leadership requires authentic connection, even amidst chaos. She discusses how small, human gestures, like listening, asking questions, or even offering a hug can rebuild trust and resilience in the most challenging circumstances. 

Listen to this episode to learn how compassion, awareness, and authenticity can transform not just leadership, but the lives of those you seek to help. 

About the Guest:  

Dr. Mounia Amrani, a medical doctor specialising in pediatrics, holds additional training in international health and tropical medicine from the Tropical Medicine Institute of Antwerp. Currently serving as a Regional Medical Team Leader with MSF Southern Africa, she offers support to operations across Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Mozambique. With over 15 years of experience in the medical humanitarian field, working closely with communities, she is deeply committed to providing access to care for marginalised populations. Originally from Morocco, Algeria, and Belgium, Mounia is now based in Johannesburg. As a mother of twins, she balances her professional life with her personal interests, including gardening and indulging in North African couscous. 

"When women step back, observe, and use their innate skills of collaboration and perspective-taking, they create win-win outcomes that redefine success in even the most challenging environments," said Nora. 

Nora delves into the unique skills women bring to negotiation, emphasising the power of incremental innovation and soft influence. She shares insights on leveraging flexibility and adaptability, facilitating team contributions, and empowering others to thrive. 

Listen to this episode to understand how women can translate their essence into action to lead effectively, even when facing resistance and criticism. 

About the Guest: 

Nora Madjar is an Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs at the University of Connecticut School of Business. She received her Ph. D. in Business Administration from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. She was also a Fulbright Scholar in Bulgaria in 2011. Her main expertise is creativity in the workplace and her research examines the social and contextual factors that stimulate or hinder creative performance and what stimulates creativity in negotiations. Her scholarly work also explores different ways to structure jobs to facilitate creative work and facilitate the creative process. She has multiple articles on creativity published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management and Academy of Management Journal, among others. Professor Madjar teaches courses in organizational behaviour, managing creativity and innovation and negotiations for both undergraduate and MBA students. 

"Fear is our worst enemy, but it’s also unavoidable. The key is to act despite it, step by step, without letting it paralyse you," said Susana. 

Susana reflects on the importance of staying true to yourself, avoiding the trap of blending in, and knowing when to observe quietly and when to take decisive action. She candidly discusses how over-relying on allies and internal systems can lead to disappointment and why resilience and self-reliance are critical for success. 

Listen to this episode to discover how to stay true to your purpose in challenging environments, strike the right balance between patience and action, and build a career defined by resilience, courage, and integrity. 

About the Guest: 

Susana Lopez is a private equity professional with nearly 20 years of experience in fund formation, fundraising, and investments in the infrastructure and renewable energy sectors. Passionate about combating climate change, she has led efforts to mobilise private capital at scale for sustainable projects, particularly across Latin America, focussing on innovative blended finance and impact-driven solutions. 

"Isolation is one of the biggest traps of power: it’s physical, emotional, and logistical. Leaders must make conscious efforts to stay connected to the real world, or risk losing perspective," Katrien explained. 

Drawing from her experience coaching politicians and working with high-profile leaders, Katrien shares practical insights for thriving in power. She discusses the importance of maintaining strong personal networks, learning to take calculated risks, and setting clear boundaries in team management to avoid burnout. Katrien also emphasises the need for women to recognise and seize opportunities, while negotiating conditions that align with their goals. 

Listen to this episode to equip yourself with tools to combat the isolation and perfectionism that often hinder women leaders and learn how to stay connected and thrive in high-pressure environments. 

About the Guest:  

Katrien Van den broeck is the author of “Confronting the 10 Traps of Power” (2024), a survival guide for women in politics. She previously worked as communications and campaign lead for Prime Ministers of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt and Alexander De Croo. In 2017, she started coaching politicians and through her consultancy Bam.boom, she offers digital communication strategies for clients such as the European Commission, Brussels-based embassies, and UN bodies. Katrien is committed to bringing more women into politics. She is a resident trainer at the Alliance of Her, an empowerment program for liberal women in Europe. In 2024, she co-founded ELECTA, a non-partisan women’s academy for winning elections, aimed at closing the gender gap in politics. Katrien holds an MA in Modern History, and degrees in Investigative Journalism, Online Diplomacy, and Digital Marketing. She lives in Belgium with her partner, two children, and two stepdaughters. 

"In a hostile environment, don’t mirror the hostility—flip it on its head. Be the opposite, and you’ll draw people to you," said Jamie.  

Jamie recounts inspiring stories from her work with over 250 athletes from 55 countries, highlighting the importance of staying true to your mission despite external pressures. Taking examples of leading from the work of leaders like Becky Sauerbrunn, she illustrates how authenticity and quiet strength can drive change and inspire others. 

Listen to this episode to be reminded about the importance of abundance mindsets over scarcity mindsets, staying aligned with your core values, and the transformative potential of creating spaces where all voices are valued. 

About the Guest:  

Jamie is on a mission to make sure that people of all ages are inspired by women athletes who look and sound like them. A deep believer in the power of stories to change lives, Jamie is deeply committed to elevating as many diverse voices as possible within the world of elite women’s sports. Through Flame Bearers, she's worked with over 250 Olympians and Paralympians from 55 countries and received 22 awards for her work in video, podcasting and social media. She holds a Harvard Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard, Master of Business (MBA) from Dartmouth, has a decade of experience in the corporate and nonprofit worlds and an International Studies Major & Gender Studies Minor from Middlebury College.   .

"Fear is not the enemy; it’s my friend. It sharpens my focus and reminds me of the respect I must have for the risks I take," said Jill. 

Jill emphasises the importance of empowering team members by creating a "charter of communication" and ensuring all voices are heard. She also reframes failure as “discovery learning,” highlighting its essential role in driving progress and innovation. 

Listen to this episode to find some powerful insights on leading; whether you’re leading a team, facing challenges, or diving into the unknown, Jill’s experiences will inspire and empower you to reframe success and failure. 

About the Guest:  

Jill Heinerth is a Canadian cave diver, underwater explorer, writer, photographer, and filmmaker. She is a veteran with over thirty years of filming, photography, and exploration on projects in submerged caves around the world. She has made TV series, consulted on movies, written several books and is a frequent corporate keynote speaker. Jill is the first Explorer in Residence for the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, a recipient of Canada’s prestigious Polar Medal and a Fellow of the International Scuba Divers Hall of Fame. In recognition of her lifetime achievement, Jill was awarded the Sir Christopher Ondaatje Medal for Exploration from the RCGS and the William Beebe Award from the Explorers Club. 

"By definition, being the editor of a newspaper means you're in a toxic environment whenever you walk into a newsroom. You're not just handed respect; you have to earn it every day," says Autumn. 

Autumn discusses how she overcame the "man up culture" of her early career and learned to lead authentically by balancing empathy with decisiveness. She highlights the importance of fostering trust, creating spaces for constructive dialogue, and being fully present for her team.  

Listen to this episode to find learnings for anyone striving to lead with integrity and resilience in environments that test their limits. 

About the Guest: 

Autumn Phillips is an Editor for The Post and Courier. With a career spanning leadership roles like Editor in Chief and Executive Editor, she has overseen Pulitzer finalist projects, launched Post and Courier Travel, and raised millions for public service journalism. Recognised as Journalist of the Year by the North American Travel Journalists Association, Autumn combines her passion for storytelling with a love of adventure and community building. 

“They often refer to me as 'baby' in court, not as a romantic gesture, but to belittle me, as if I’m a child who doesn’t belong there. It makes me angry, but I’ve learned to respond firmly and claim my space,” said Aaminah.  

She recounts her strategies for maintaining resilience, from humour and delegation to finding solace in reading, walks, and even Korean dramas. 

Aaminah also discusses how her organisation, She-her Pakistan, is creating a supportive environment for vulnerable communities and female professionals, emphasising the importance of fair compensation and gender sensitivity. 

Listen to this episode to gain powerful insights into the realities of working in patriarchal systems and societies, the need for gender-sensitive legal practices, and the importance of cultivating resilience in the face of systemic inequality. 

About the Guest: 

Aaminah Qadir is a human rights advocate and constitutional lawyer based in Pakistan. She is the founder of She-her (pronounced shai-her or city in Urdu) Pakistan, a public interest litigation organisation that is dedicated to providing legal representation to vulnerable communities in the country.   

Aaminah's work focuses on empowering victims of domestic violence, religious minorities and the trans community through securing their legal rights. She also works to train members of the judiciary in Pakistan on gender sensitivity and on laws that are enacted to protect women.  

Aaminah also focuses on the intersection of climate and gender justice litigation to highlight the disproportionate impact of climate change on women in the global south -- an extremely under-studied field in Pakistan. She has completed her undergraduate degree in global affairs and history of art at Yale University and has studied law at the University of Cambridge.  

Prue also explores the balance of being both flexible and dogged in leadership, highlighting her relentless five-year campaign to bring sculptures to Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth. On her approach to leading, she reflects on the responsibility of channeling Energy “You must have Energy as a leader. You can’t just sit still and expect things to happen. You need to galvanize others, inspire them with enthusiasm, and make them believe that the goal is not just possible, but exciting.”   

This episode dives into Prue’s evolving leadership style, the power of persistence, and the nuanced art of fostering talent while respecting individuality. Listen to this episode to gain fresh insights into leadership, creativity, and optimism from a life lived with purpose. 

About the Guest:  

Dame Prudence Leith is a renowned South African-born restaurateur, cookery writer, and broadcaster. Best known as a judge on The Great British Bake Off since 2017, she has had a long and influential career in the food industry, from founding the Michelin-starred Leith's restaurant to establishing Leith’s School of Food and Wine. An advocate for food education, she has written 12 cookbooks and seven novels, while also chairing initiatives like the School Food Trust. Leith has been involved in various educational and charitable endeavors and is Chancellor of Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. In 2024, she launched Prue Leith’s Cotswold Kitchen, further cementing her legacy as a culinary icon.

“What came out of the bumpy times, probably because of the bumps, is a much stronger relationship,” reflected Anna.  

Listen to this finale to discover how shared values, mutual respect and navigating challenges can forge stronger bonds and redefine how women lead together. 

About the Guest:  

Anna E. Ordóñez, M.D., M.A.S., is the Director of the Office of Clinical Research (OCR) at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in the United States. With over a decade of experience at NIMH, she has held key roles including Director and Deputy Director of OCR, as well as Medical Officer of the NIMH Intramural Child Psychiatry Branch. Previously, she was the Medical Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at San Francisco General Hospital and Assistant Adjunct Professor at UCSF. Anna is trained as an Adult, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists and holds a Master of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research with an emphasis on Implementation Science. She has dedicated her career to conducting and overseeing mental health clinical research studies, with a particular interest in global mental health and implementation of evidence based mental health interventions in limited resource settings. 

Dr Ayesha Mian is the founder and CEO of Synapse, Pakistan Neuroscience Institute. She is the immediate past Chair, Department of Psychiatry (2013-2020), Aga Khan University and the Founding Dean of Students of the Office of Student Experience (2017-2020), AKU.   

Dr Mian created the first child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship training program in Pakistan. She has been internationally recognised for her work; key awards include the Jeanna Spurlock Award for Diversity and Culture by AACAP, the Laughlin Fellowship by American College of Psychiatrist (ACP), Presidential Award and Outstanding Mentor by AACAP, Robert Fellowship for Inspirational Mentorship (AAP), Fulbright and Jaworski Awards in Educational Leadership by BCM and a Lifetime Achievement Award by the University of Missouri, Department of Psychiatry. 

"It’s not just about hierarchy; it’s about our collective input and how we achieve things together." said Sophie. 

Listen to this episode to explore how women working together challenge gender norms and stereotypes, offering a fresh perspective on collaborative leadership while providing practical takeaways for fostering synergy, overcoming biases, and leading with inclusivity. 

About the Guests:  

Sophie Kwasny has over 25 years of experience in intergovernmental work, focusing on human rights, data protection, and sport governance. She is the Head of the Sport Division at the Council of Europe and Executive Secretary of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS). Her work supports ethical, inclusive, and safe practices in sport through cooperation between public authorities, sports federations, and NGOs. Previously, she led the Data Protection Unit, managing the modernization of Convention 108, a key international framework for privacy and data protection. Sophie holds a master's degree in law from the University of Strasbourg. 

Francine Hetherington Raveney is an experienced professional with expertise in international consultancy, sport governance, gender equality, and fitness instruction. As Deputy Executive Secretary of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) at the Council of Europe, she leads initiatives focused on diversity, integrity, and human rights in sport. Her career includes roles in film finance, communications, and anti-discrimination advocacy, as well as the development of gender equality strategies for the audiovisual sector. An Oxford graduate and certified Pilates instructor, she integrates her diverse skills to foster growth and well-being in various sectors. 

Rema and Ritu share their secret of working together as women leaders: fostering trust, aligning upon core values, and embracing differences to complement each other’s strengths. Their collaboration thrives on open communication and a shared focus on organisational goals rather than personal agendas. 

"You always need pace setters who keep the race moving forward," Rema notes. "It’s not about passing the baton but ensuring you’re nudging each other forward and staying relaxed about who sets the pace at different times." 

Explore more such insights in this episode that exemplifies female partnerships that drive results in high-stake environments.  

About the Guests:  

Rema Subramanian is a Co-founder and serves as Managing Partner at Ankur Capital. She serves as a Board Member at BigHaat. Prior to Ankur, Rema has three decades of experience in building and scaling operations across various sectors like financial services, education, IT, packaging, etc. in India. She has headed several companies across various sectors, growing many from scratch to large-scale businesses. She has deep domain experience in the education and outsourcing sectors. She brings the unique capabilities of having been an entrepreneur and worked across sectors. She is a management accountant from AICWA, Inter-Company Secretary, and systems manager from ICFAI.  

Ritu Verma is a Co-Founder and serves as Managing Partner at Ankur Capital. She also serves as Board Member at Daily Dump, BigHaat, String Bio and TESSOL. She has over a decade of investing and operational experience across various sectors. Prior to starting Ankur, Ritu was director at Truven, a boutique advisory company for venture funds looking at investments in India and SE Asia. She covered deal sourcing, due diligence, M&A target identification in renewable energy, health, agriculture, and materials. She also has over 10 yrs of industry experience working across different functional roles product development, supply chain, branding and marketing at Philips and Unilever. Her key focus as an intrapreneur was to take products from the bench to market. Ritu serves on the board of ICAAP (IKP Centre for Advancement of Agriculture), CropIn Technologies Pvt Ltd and PBK Waste Mangement Pvt Ltd. She holds an MBA from INSEAD with a focus on entrepreneurship and venture capital and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Pennsylvania. 

Dorothy brings a calm and reflective approach, while Deanna embodies direct and assertive approach to leading. Together, they balance their different approaches to managing high-pressure games with precision and poise. They share insights on how to maintain authority, navigate mistakes with grace, and support each other against external attempts to sow division. 

"On the court, it's me and you against the world," Deanna reflects, highlighting their unity. 

This episode has actionable advice on teamwork, communication, and overcoming stereotypes about how women lead. Listen to this one to discover how the two referees redefine leading with resilience in a challenging and competitive space. 

About the Guests:  

Dorothy Okatch is a FIBA International Referee for both traditional basketball and for 3 x 3 basketball. She got her traditional basketball license in 2014 and her 3x3 license in 2020. Dorothy has officiated various national, regional and international competitions such as the Olympics, World Cups, AfroBasket and the Basketball Africa League. 

Deanna Jackson is entering her 14th season as a basketball official. She currently officiates in the NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball. She has worked in multiple conference tournaments and two NCAA tournaments. She also represents the USA as a FIBA 3x3 official and officiated in the 2024 Paris Olympics.  

"There have been times when people have tried to divide us, and we're like a fierce lioness when that happens. We are each other's biggest defenders," says Iliana. 

Tune in to hear how two leaders with contrasting approach to leading work together to drive growth, support their team, and uphold shared values in a demanding geography. 

About the Guest:  

Iliana Montauk is the founder of Manara, a social impact startup dedicated to unlocking human potential by upskilling tech talent in emerging markets. With a focus on preparing computer scientists from the Middle East for global opportunities, Iliana has led Manara to achieve remarkable outcomes, including a 71% referral-to-hire rate at Google. Under her leadership, participants have experienced transformative career advancements, such as one individual increasing their salary from $16,000 to $100,000 in just four months, all while working remotely from Palestine. 

Iliana's commitment to making a difference is further highlighted by her previous accomplishments, including bootstrapping Gaza's first startup accelerator during wartime and managing talent at Upwork, the world’s largest talent marketplace. Her determination to create opportunities in challenging environments reflects her vision for a more inclusive and equitable future. 

She recounts her journey from the inception of the project to its successful completion, highlighting the incredible support she received along the way. Through the lens of Energy, Katya discusses the Law of Conservation of Energy, emphasising that Energy cannot be created or destroyed but is instead transferred. This concept is central to her project, prompting her to consider how she can pass on the energy she’s received. In her vision of purposeful leadership, she expresses a deep desire to share this Energy with others. This episode urges us to reflect on the importance of community and the ways in which we can nurture and share Energy in our own lives, building connections that uplift and inspire. 

About the Guest:  

Katya is an explorer, dreamer, cautious optimist, and recently has started to feel comfortable, also calling herself an ultrarunner after a few years discovering the sport. She was a member of the first Women Emerging expedition last year, and in her day job works on urban climate resilience at C40 Cities. Passionate about gender equity and the power of community to make change, she is also a 2024 Ambassador for Free to Run, an organisation that supports women in conflict areas to develop leadership skills through sport.  

About the Guest:  

Dr Ayesha Mian is the founder and CEO of Synapse, Pakistan Neuroscience Institute. She is the immediate past Chair, Department of Psychiatry (2013-2020), Aga Khan University and the Founding Dean of Students of the Office of Student Experience (2017-2020), AKU.  

Dr Mian created the first child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship training program in Pakistan. She has been internationally recognised for her work; key awards include the Jeanna Spurlock Award for Diversity and Culture by AACAP, the Laughlin Fellowship by American College of Psychiatrist (ACP), Presidential Award and Outstanding Mentor by AACAP, Robert Fellowship for Inspirational Mentorship (AAP), Fulbright and Jaworski Awards in Educational Leadership by BCM and a Lifetime Achievement Award by the University of Missouri, Department of Psychiatry. 

About the Guest: 

Isata Kabia is the Founding Director of Voice of Women Africa, an organization focused on empowering women in Sierra Leone. She believes in building a strong community of women who support one another and encourages more women to take part in politics. This, she believes, will lead to better decisions that promote peace, prosperity, and rights for everyone. 

Isata is also behind AFRiLOSOPHY, a program that started in 2015. It offers training in manufacturing and financial management to help women start and grow their own businesses. She understands that when women are economically strong, they can lead and make a real difference in their communities. 

Katrina shares her excitement about the expedition she is running, which began on October 21, 2024, where she will lead women with disabilities and chronic conditions. She wonders and wishes to explore whether disability emerges as a new Essence in leadership. Listen to this one for an inspiring conversation that bridges personal mastery, resilience and the power of inclusive leading.

About the Guest:

Katrina Webb is recognised and acknowledged for her success as a Paralympic athlete. She has won gold, silver and bronze medals in athletics at three Paralympic Games.

She was the first torch bearer to enter the Stadium for the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games and in 2006 Katrina was selected on behalf of the International Paralympic Committee to speak at the United Nations in New York.

Off the track Katrina is the Director of Silver 2 Gold High Performance Solutions which specializes in powering organisations, teams and individuals best.

Katrina is a global ambassador for the International Paralympic Committee and due to her own experience in dealing with a disability and a deep love of helping others, Katrina is the Founder and Director of Newday Leadership a platform to inspire leadership for the greater good.

Katrina Webb is an international speaker, leadership and personal mastery consultant, trainer in Wellbeing and Resilience and a physiotherapist.

For Jackie, sacredness is intertwined with her ancestors, culture, and the disruptive changes her community faces. She discusses how this knowledge and her grounded sense of calm influence her leadership style, which is closely connected to nature, her heritage, and the sense of community. Listen up to discover how she builds teams, draws wisdom from her ancestors, and generates energy in her work.

About the Guest:

As the Director of Climate Initiatives, Jackie brings over 20 years of experience in communications and business management. She facilitates stakeholder engagement and supports various projects focused on environmental health, climate, and sanitation across Alaska. Jackie served as the Lead Facilitator for the Holistic Approach to Northern Sustainable Communities project and co-authored several regional energy plans in collaboration with the Alaska Energy Authority and local leaders. Her current work includes addressing water security and sanitation for unserved homes in rural Alaska, climate adaptation, community engagement, and integrating Indigenous perspectives to bridge service gaps.

Jackie’s commitment to serving Indigenous populations allows her to merge culture and Indigenous knowledge with her professional endeavours, creating a powerful blend of Western and Indigenous perspectives.

About the Guest

Sara Gamal Elsharnouby is from Egypt. She graduated from Alexandria University as a Civil Engineer and is currently an International Basketball referee since 2016. She has refereed in many international competitions such as Tokyo Olympics (2020), FIBA Women World Cup Australia (2022) and many junior men and women World Cups. An inspiring fact about her: Sarah Gamal was the first Arab and African woman to referee 3-on-3 basketball games at the Tokyo Olympics (2020).

About the Guest

Dr. Florence Muindi  is the Founder President of Life in Abundance (LIA) International, a  faith based non-profit headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya and  comprised of work in 12 countries in Africa, 2 in the Caribbean, support offices in the US, UK and Europe, Blue Wings (an aviation company) and the LIA Global Institute.  A medical doctor specialized in public health who has led LIA for 30 years. Her efforts were recognized and awarded with a Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, conferred by the distinguished Daystar University where she now serves as their Chancellor.  She is married to Dr. Festus Muindi, is a mother of three adult children, a grandmother, an author and an ordained minister.  She regularly speaks on international forums and serves on several International Ministry Boards. She lives in Kenya and travels frequently internationally for work. 

About the guest:

Maria Eugenia estenssoro is an Argentine journalist, politician and social entrepreneur, who believes women can have a meaningful public career and a loving personal life. She was a prestigious Senator and legislator and prior to that she co-founded and lead Endeavor Argentina, IWF Argentina and Equidad, an NGO that promotes digital and social inclusion. She is the author of two books “Aregntina Innovadora” and “Laboratorio Uruguay”, published by Random House.She is mother of three and has a long lasting relationship with her partner of 27 years.

About the guest:

Isabel Kumwembe is Special project manager at alx africa, an organisation on a mission to identify, develop and equip Africa’s next 3 million leaders. She is also the founder of Amazon Women's Football Club.

About the Guest:

Tracey Woon has had over 35 years of experience of working in investment banking experience and has worked on corporate finance and is currently 'journeying' in her next chapter.

While young people are invited to have a seat at the table, it is often to serve a visual. They still struggle for their voices to be heard. Selin shares with us what this kind of partonising does to young people, how it creates a sense of doubt. She speaks of the power of venting but the dilemma of that moment living on the internet for enternity in the age of social media. How do you make your voice heard as a young person? How does one navigate being silenced in a public forum? Where do you derive your inner strength from to keep going?

About the Guest:

Selin Ozunaldim is a global gender equality activist from Istanbul, Turkey, serving as a National Gender Youth Activist, representing Turkey worldwide for UN Women and advocating for the HeForShe initiative of UN Women. She is a member of the editorial team for the YOUth Newsletter published by UN Women. Selin is a member of the Global Feminist Coalition for Gender Transformative Education, hosted by UNGEI in collaboration with Unicef. She also holds the role of Ambassador for WAVE Organization, co-funded by the European Union. Selin holds a position on the Gen Z Advisory Board of Fast Company Turkey and is a Board Member at Être Girls, a mentorship organization designed to empower young girls by connecting them with accomplished female leaders from diverse sectors.

This episode is Meena's farewell to her time at Women Emerging as she moves back to the studio to pursue her love for acting.

The following episodes are featured in order of appearance:

121. Find the bathroom with Chmba Ellen Chilemba

108. How to Release Energy with Valérie Lucq

106. How to Lead Disruptors with Veerle Simoens

123. How Trauma Shapes Leading with Chadia El Meouchi

125. How Energy Unblocks Leading with Puri Canals

102. How to Build a Fluid Team with Jeta Bejtullahu

107. How to Delegate with Katy Barrow-Grint

98. How to Reverse a Decision with Stefanie McCollum

117. Insights from the Pakistan expedition with Simi Kamal

About the Guest:

Anna-Lena von Hodenberg is a professional journalist, having worked, among others, for media companies RTL and NDR. In 2018, she founded HateAid together with Campact e. V., Fearless Democracy e. V. as well as a lawyer committed to combatting right-wing violence. The non-profit organisation advocates for human rights in the digital space. Its goal: to make the internet a positive space where democratic values apply for everyone. HateAid is a non-profit organisation that promotes human rights in digital space and stands up against digital violence and its consequences at both social and political levels.

About the Guest: Sunita Dubey is the Country Representative for the GEAPP in Vietnam and leads battery energy storage system work in the region. She has 25+ years of combined experience in the energy sector in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. She has double master’s in environmental science and energy policy and is a Chevening fellow. 

About the Guest: Purificació Canals has a BSc and a PhD in Biological Sciences from Barcelona University and works on marine and coastal conservation. She’s deeply involved in connecting people around the world to protect the ocean; first as President of MedPAN (2009-2024) and currently, as coordinator of the Global Network of MPA Manager Networks (The Ocean Foundation & Blue Nature Alliance). She’s also the Institutional Relations Director at Underwater Gardens International S.L. a company focused on marine restoration.

About the Guest: An entrepreneur and tech leader with a Master's degree from the US, Karvika has international experience in education, healthcare, retail, and government sectors. She founded Kimbu Tech in Nepal to boost women's participation in tech and create local jobs while promoting Nepali products and services globally. She is also the chairperson of Simjung, a BPO serving clients from around the world and the Director of V.S. International College, aiming to enhance the quality of tech resources. Additionally, she also runs the "Women in Tech" Facebook group.

Julia is joined by Chadia who generously shares her journey beginning with her Childhood in Lebanon, where the war resulted in her being shipped off to boarding school in the UK, a place she did not know the language and was far way from all things familiar. She talks about the lesson of adaptability and resilience she learnt early on. She speaks of the need to lead with flexibility and empathy as most people are fighting agaist a number of challeges that are beyond their control, such as economic collapse, a pandemic and and absent State. Growing up, being exposed to both eastern and western traditions, she says, has allowed her to be able to see different perspectives and has enabled her to act as a bridge between different kinds of people, ideas and perspectives. Chadia emphasises on the need to learn how to find a middle ground and meet people half way. To do so she shares some of the tools she uses, such as stepping into the shoes of someone on the opposite side, or learning to wear different masks to make the people around you comfortable and easier for them to relate to you, allowing for effective leading. But how does one remain authentic? How does one balance empathy and yet ensure goals and deliverable are met? What does it mean to find a middle ground and yet not compromise on what you believe in?

About the guest: Chadia El Meouchi is Managing Partner at Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm. She is a dedicated and passionate business and transactional lawyer, managing partner, entrepreneur, and community activist with a proven track record of excellence in Middle East and beyond. She is also a board member in various international and regional companies and NGOs.

In the final episode of this series of how young people deal with being patronised, we are reminded loud and clear that the fire that burns within Sophie, Priya, Chmba, and Shulammite is here to stay and it is an invitation for us to get on board and join in!

About the Guest: Shulammite Ajayi is an award winning STEM Teacher, Public Speaker, and Fashion Entrepreneur. She is a Teach For Nigeria Alumnus and is the Founder of Vocational Stars Founder.

About the Guest: Chmba Ellen Chilemba, a Malawian a community organizer, activist singer-songwriter, DJ and producer-artist from Malawi.

About the Guest: Priya Ananthanathan is the Director of Development Services for Denham Wolf Real Estate Services. She is curious about ways to improve connections between the public sector and private organizations to create healthier and happier communities.

About the Guest: Sophie Handford is an Activist and Politician in New Zealand, aspiring to be a good ancestor and create positive change.

About the Guest: Naz Khan is the Principal Country Officer in Pakistan for the International Finance Corporation.

About the Guest:

Simi Kamal is Chairperson of the Hisaar Foundation, Pakistan. Educated at the University of Cambridge, she has 37 years of experience in the water sector, environment, climate change, food security, women’s empowerment, gender equality, inclusive development and poverty alleviation.

Landscape photography has taught her the importance of capturing the moment and turning up fully present - lessons she applies to leadership. Cynthia shared a wonderful phrase - 'do it afraid', reminding us that as a leader it is important to act and instil confidence and courage in your team. This episode urges us to pause our busy lives and be present with our whole selves as individuals and as leaders.

About the Guest:  Cynthia is a professional contemplative photographer. She is a former editor of Hearst and Conde Nast publications. Cynthia has worked with some of the most world-renowned photographers. A global traveler, she has explored numerous spiritual sites with curiosity and interest. Her work reflects the intersection of the spiritual and the natural worlds. 

About the Guest: Dorothy Okatch is an International Basketball Referee and the National Coordinator of Palms for Life Fund, an organization that aims to take developmental projects to the Remote Area Communities in Botswana in the fields of health and education.

As a sportsperson and a leader she shares how she consciously worked to maintain a balanced understanding of winning and losing, reminding herself to never go too high with the highs or too low with the lows. Not only has this allowed her to be a reliable teammate and leader, but it has also enabled her to bounce back from each loss and learn from them. She reminds us to keep our eye on the ball - to focus on the lessons learnt, rather than getting lost in the outcome itself.

About the Guest: Polly Bancroft is the Head of Women's Football at Manchester United. She oversees the strategic direction, operations, and performance of the women's first team and academy. Polly has over 10 years of experience in executive roles in five distinct high-profile UK and European football organisations. She also serves as a Technical Committee member at the Association of Sporting Directors and a former Trustee at Albion in the Community.

In this episode Kate discusses the importance of compartmentalising and the power of authenticity in order to build what she calls a 'truthful' team.

When dealing with a chronic illness as a leader, how do you know when to listen to your body, and when do you ignore it and push ahead? She reminds us that there are many ways to lead. Tune in to know more.

About the Guest: Kate Middleton is Founder and CEO of the Wren Project, an organisation that provides one-on-one listening support for people living with an auto-immune disease.

About the Guest: Nandita Das is a critically acclaimed Actor, Director Writer and Activist from India.

About the Guest: Heather Shea is an intuitive coach and animal communicator with over 30 years of executive leadership experience coaching throughout six continents delivering effective results for Fortune 100 CEOs, world leaders, executive teams, and household names in politics and entertainment.

About the Guest: Bhagyashri Dengle is an experienced leader who works in the non-profit sector with extensive experience in institution building, strategy development, program design, advocacy, corporate social responsibility, governance and building strong teams.

About the Guest: Unjela Kaleem has 20+ years of experience as a senior leader across Oceania, Europe, Africa, MENA, and Asia in strategic communications, stakeholder engagement and public affairs with diverse organizations such as Nestle, UN Office of Project Services (UNOPS), The World Bank, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association (IFPMA), SITA aero, Overseas Investors Chamber (OICCI), Dow Jones newswires, and the BBC. She was also the first female CEO of an international chamber of commerce in Asia. 

About the Speaker: Valérie Lucq is an engineer by education, medtech scale-up leader by experience and life explorer by heart. She loves to combine philosophy, physics and day-to-day observations to lead teams to sustainable success.

About the Guest: Katy Barrow-Grint is the Assistant Chief Constable at Thames Valley Police, Greater Oxford Area. She is the founder of Thames Valley Police Academic Journal and Editor in Chief of Going Equipped publication from the College of Policing. Katy is Runner Up in the 2024 World Police summit for the 'Inspirational Female Police Officer' award!

About the Guest: Veerle Simoens is the General and Artistic Director of Flanders Festival Ghent.

About the Speaker:

Rebecca Crook is an educator and entrepreneur committed to supporting communities of leaders to reimagine education. She is the Co-Founder of Metis and is currently facilitating, coaching, running, and reflecting.

About the Speaker: Smahane Lamassab is the Founder and Managing Director of Mahalo a Beauty Store specialized in Clean Beauty.

About the speaker: Aparna Uppaluri is the COO of Tata Trusts.

About the Guest: Jeta Bejtullahu builds narratives to communicate for impact.

In this episode we bring to you some good old fashioned storytelling. Uthara Narayanan shares the stories most children in India have grown up listening to. Using the folk tales from the medieval courts of India - Akbar and Birbal, and Krishnadevaraya and Tenali Rama - Uthara presents a way out of the darkness and a path to free ourselves from that awful feeling of being stuck.

Tune in to learn how to find the wisdom in wit.

About the Guest: Uthara Narayanan is the Chief Changemaker, Co-founder and Managing Trustee of Buzz Women.

Speakers:

Isata Kabia - Founding Director, Voice of Women Africa

Katya Guryeva - Climate Solutions & Networks Officer at C40 Cities

Fatima Zibouh -Expert/Analyst on Diversity, Inclusion and Discrimination Researcher in Social and Political Science (PhD Candidate)

Erica Su - Head of Strategy and Transactions Practice, EY

In the mean time, listen to our podcast as we bring to you more episodes with practical advice so that you can say - "If that's leading, I'm in!"

#Combine #Inclusive #boundaries #womenemerging #leading

Head to the episode for many more glorious insights

She emphasizes that age and experience shouldn't limit one's ability to contribute. Collaboration accelerates progress by learning from diverse experiences and ideas.

This conversation presses us to think that when women from all walks of life join forces, their unique perspectives and experiences become a powerful force for making the world better.

When was the last time you were in an intergenerational conversation, and what was your biggest take away?

Because leadership has generally been defined by men (and is mainly done by men), we also know that most of the women who do lead think that, in order to succeed, they have to do it like men. But what if they don't? What if the problem isn't with women – it's with leadership? And, in a world that needs all the good leaders it can get right now, what will it take for more women to feel that leading is for them?

That's the provocative starting point for Julia Middleton's latest book. With 24 women from all over the world, she set out to explore these questions.

This book reveals what they discovered. It shares the thoughts, experiences and voices of 101 women they met on the way; and is full of clear, practical advice on how to develop your own leadership, in your own way.

What was the most powerful lesson you learnt in your early motherhood era? We would love to know. Tell us in the comments below.

In times that are dominated with hate, Arpen talks about the power of strength, community and vulnerability. How she still shows up for her students and hopes that the importance of courage, resilience, and the ability to review decisions is what will shape the lives of these children. And through their experiences, they will emerge as strong leaders, ready to face any obstacles and build a better tomorrow for Armenia and its people.

How to live through such adverse times, ways to show up for your people, and how to lead when others are looking up to you, are a few things we discover in this conversation.

The Women Emerging Community sends love and strength to everyone who needs it right now. In times like these we’re reminded of how powerful kindness and compassion is.

Share with us and Arpen what you thought of the episode in the comments below.

From being an 8 year old who’s yellow torn dress taught her the first lesson in leading, to all the wisdom her father’s leadership taught her, to cultivating the right mindset for leading. She shares this and much more in the latest episode. One of my favourite lines from the podcast was “As a leader, don’t just look through the window, look through the mirror.” What does that truly mean? Listen to the episode to find out!

One of my favourite lines from the episode were “Leadership is about identifying what you need help with and being brave enough to ask for it. We cannot do this alone. It will take all of us to make change.” Tell us your favourite part from the episode in the comments below. Cant wait for you to hear it.

Handling the times when someone patronizes you for being too young or too old, or for just being a woman, to understanding how to accept mentorship and also be a mentor for those you believe in, to finding the right ways to contemplate what you’re doing right, and how to change the wrong, she shares it all. The episode awaits you.

In this week’s episode, I ponder over the things that have had the biggest impact on my leading journey – fears and the complexity that comes with expressing them, the importance of female friendships in leadership, knowing when to listen to the body, and when to just get things done beyond all odds, and above all, faith. Faith in the fact that this journey is not only about learning new things, it’s also about realising all that we’ve been doing right all this while.

Also, a closer glimpse into the birthing of the book ‘If that’s Leading, I’m In’ – all that is happening behind the scenes to bring to you the stories of the many woman who are emerging into the new and powerful world where women lead the way that feels right to them.

Oh and in the podcast hides a very interesting story of how Manisha walked her way through receiving her first complaint letter as a first time CEO. You wouldn’t want to miss that!

In this new episode, we navigate through anger, resilience, grace, vulnerability and empathy as we discuss the things Nina experienced in her journey at Warner Bros, Stanford, the very many medical rooms and her leading life.

Catch the latest podcast episode as we discuss the role of sportsmanship in leadership, along with the role of the integral process that we go through each day to become a better leader for those around us and ourselves.

If you’ve showed up to meetings not wanting to wear makeup, if you’ve swapped your heels for a comfortable pair of shoes, or if you’ve been called too ‘crazy’ to be a leader, this podcast episode will resonate deeply with you.

In conversation with Lulu Raghavan, the brand evangelist and Vice President APAC, Landor and Fitch, one of the world’s largest design firms, as she remembers her school blazer and the first time she felt her leadership. Discussing the pros and cons of the Zoom life, letting people grow in your leadership instead of overshadowing them, and much more, as we uncover her story and learn how to build yourself and your brand from scratch.

‘If That’s Leading, I’m In’ - Book up for Pre-Order. Drop us an email at info@womenemerging.org saying ‘If that’s Leading, I’m In,’ and you’ll be the first one to know when it’s out.

Alia Whitney Johnson uncovers all these answers in this week's #podcast Episode.

Isata challenges leaders to think long and hard about their own education. Whether they been encouraged to question and whether they have got used to being questioned themselves, because if the answer to either is ‘no’ it will have had a huge influence on how they lead.

This is the final in the series of episodes about what is in women’s essence that deeply influences how they lead. Isata talks about formal education. And Julia talks about informal education and the impact on young girls of years of being told to be quiet. And the habits that as women leaders they have to dig out of themselves to be heard.

It can be your own trauma and no one escapes trauma, after all the greatest trauma as a child is the result of neglect. And it can be inherited trauma or secondary trauma.

I spoke to Ana Luz Porzecanski about how nature has formed her essence as a leader for over twenty years. And as we spoke the expression infinite game became more and more compelling.

And Katrina adds that a strong relationship with our bodies is a starting point for having a strong relationship with others, it helps us to judge as leaders  “when to come in and out”.

In this episode Aparna tells us why the sacred is part of her essence as a leader and how this shapes how she leads in her daily life

Looking back this ‘accidental leader’ reflects on how much easier it would have been, how more confident she would have been, how she could have channelled her energies better, if there had been an ‘approach to leadership that resonated for her’ available. Then she could have “taken the blindfolds off”

Why? Surely we were there for the serious business of capturing - as our #expedition drew to a close - an ‘approach to leadership that resonates with women’.

We did. And it called for music to bring us together, lift our eyes, reveal our inferences, land our thoughts, dance to new tunes, combine our ideas and create our poetry.

This hastily put together episode as we leave will give you more of a sense things.

There is so much learning in this episode for leaders.

I also pull out Samia’s words about communication skills and making sure that you are constantly upskilling them as a leader. Things change, generations are different, how we communicate has to evolve. And if we don't, Samia says we develop “cataracts” and don't see things.

I wanted to both celebrate them and learn leadership from them. Leaders have to spot the moment and do something spectacular in it.

Enaya Noor Mian says its “very very hard”, Olivia Grobocopatel that its “about being clear and optimistic, even in a complex and frightening world”, Temilade Salami joyfully urges us to “just get on with it, because we don’t seek validation any more”, Sara Khan asks how to “balance empathy with getting the job done”, Karimot Odebode calls for “sisterhood” and Meenaksi Arundhati Banerjee unpicks the intricacies and complexities of “privilege”.

Different views held by different women across the Global South. Meena urges Women Emerging to ‘normalise’ leadership. Noor says “no don’t do that, it is something to aspire to and take pride in. But EMPATHY and PRIVILEGE are words used commonly by all.

What have I myself learnt about #leadership while leading an expedition about leadership? Of the joy of working with other women. About creating the right culture. Of listening ferociously. About digging myself out when I got lost. About leading real diversity. About holding to the task. And if keeping agile and playful.

What have the big personal insights been so far from the Expedition? There are so many. I chose four.

1 The language of leadership is not only framed by men but also by the English language and the commercial world. It badly needs to break out.

2 We must bring mothering and spirituality into the frame.

3 However much I don’t want to admit it, I am a product of my own generation and need to consciously reframe. Be this about #artificialintelligence or #transissues, #privilege or #internationalmoneyflows

4 We are going reframe our perceived weaknesses as women leaders and recognise that they are really our strengths. We will Embrace and claim the #impostersydrome #emotionalleadership and #irrationalthinking as the sources of #humility #empathy and #innovation.

What does 2023 look like for #WomenEmerging? Ah! now for this you will need to listen to episode 41.

Happy New Year to all, lots and lots of love, Julia

12 members of the expedition translate the definition of leadership we have adopted for the expedition into their mother tongues. Or rather they try to. Selvie Jusman admits her translation doesn’t really mean anything and falls back in love with her own #bahai. Uma Chatterjee reveals that none of us will ever really know her unless they speak #bengali. Isata Kabia just has fun in #creole. Hinemoa Elder introduces us to #personification in # Māori. Katya Guryeva avoids the problems of a gendered language in #russian. Maria Karageorgou reveals that catalyse (the first word in the #english definition) has two polar opposite means in its original #greek. Ana Luz Porzecanski gets back to scientific basics on catalysing with #spanish. Fatima Zibouh comes round to the word catalyse in #french. Rouba Mhaissen has adopted catalyse big time in #arabic. Anna Kuk has to decide whether to go for the faithful or the beautiful in #polish.  And Erica Su makes an extraordinary and beautiful breakthrough in #chinese.

Those of you who think translation is simple, listen to this episode. It illustrates the opposite and the source of many misunderstandings.

English is so helpful as a common language but has huge limitations which many are blind to. This episode is an advanced class in #culturalintelligence #cq

We then speak to Paula Langton, Partner, Campbell Lutyens who discusses the current world financial order and actually just how little it would take to shift it a little and what a vast and rapid impact this would have.

Another episode filled with incredible leadership insights from female leaders.

First we speak to Francesca Cavallo, an Italian bestselling author, entrepreneur and activist and Twila Moons a scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center about climate change and how they are managing to lead within it and the difficulties they face.

Then we speak to Claire York PhD an author, academic and advisor specialising in the role and limitations of empathy and emotions in security, international affairs, politics, leadership, and society about the new international order and the wars taking place around the world and the impact they will have.

And finally Sheila Paylan, an international criminal lawyer and human rights expert looks at the legal framework we are faced with and how that impacts us all.

DEEPALI KHANNA, Vice President, The Rockefeller Foundation who has been instrumental in bringing the 24 women together.

THEO SOWA, Writer/Human Right Activist/ Consultant/ Television presenter who has been a Guide on the Expedition, speaking to and supporting members.

MARIANNE SCHNALL, Journalist/Interviewer/Author, Forbes Contributor who wrote an incredible article about the Expedition for Forbes.

STEPHANIE KHURANA, Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation & Faculty Dean Emeritus, Cabot House; Social Impact Fellowship Fund Judge, Harvard Innovation Labs, Harvard University who has the role of the 'Enabler' on the Expedition.

Anna Afeyan Governor, Board of Trustees UWC Dilijan College, Alfonsina Penaloza, Director, Programs, Global & Latin America, Co-Impact, Anila Dehart, Managing, Director, Global Talent, Deloitte & Selvie Jusman, Finance Professional all of whom have moved from a different country to the US explain how their own experiences and cultures have shaped them and what being a woman looks like in their home country vs the US.

This week we dive into how we have those tough conversations, especially around performance. We speak to Dr Monica Medina, Literacy Consultant, International & US schools and Karen Lord, Entrepreneurial Publisher, KADELO GROUP LIMITED/Author, St. Martin's Press, who discuss how we can make those hard conversations more comfortable, how to prepare for them and more...

On this weeks episode we speak to Erin Robinson, Head of Secondary, Atlanda International School and Elsa Donohue, Head of School, Vientiane International School.

They discuss the traumatic situations that occurred in their relative schools, how they dealt with it, and give us some wonderful leadership insights for how we too can lead through trauma situations.

Both share a number of tips and insights they have learnt along their journeys as women in the Arts and how to lead as a Director.

Story telling and setting the pace stand out as two essential skills for leaders of movements in this episode and as usual there is learning for us all. Be it for Leaders of great movements, ambitious organisations or small teams.

In this weeks episode we sit down with two incredible women who lead important movements.

Latanya Mapp Frett, President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women and Helena Ann Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, a Scottish barrister, broadcaster, and Labour member of the House of Lords, discuss what they believe to be the key leadership tips and traits that we need to succeed in both leading a movement and effectively creating change.

About how they lead when they are “ in the room”. How they use (or choose not to use) their power, listen hard, build trust,  cope with stress.

And about how their voice disappears when they step out of the room and into the wider world. They may well have perfected listening themselves “in the room” but out of it no one listens to them. And yet the voices of many still break through.

Through the @ICM and the glorious ICM team Liselotte Kweekel, Charlotte Renard, Shree Mandke, Molly Karp and Ann Yates, I have met many midwives and interviewed for this podcast Olajumoke Adebayo, Nayiga Harriet, Luseshelo Simwinga, Neha Mankani and Sylvia Hamata. .

I have loved every minute spent on this episode and learnt a huge amount. I think everyone can.

One of our expedition members, Yvette Hopkins, thought that the insight of what trans women have experienced as being both male and female in the workplace would be fascinating and she was right!

Antonia Belcher speaks about transitioning into being her authentic self how that authenticity is powerful in both herself and her leadership.

Jackie Gavin speaks on how as a man you have to prove yourself to be strong, the ruler of the roost but in being a female you are able to have a more honest and open conversation.

A powerful episode that gives a truly unique perspective on leadership. Enjoy.

This episode gives you a sense of what three members of the expedition are thinking, where their thinking is going, what they are discovering and what remains opaque or clouded for them. And they share some of their hunches. And it’s only 3 members speaking of the 24 members! So the expedition is alive and well!

Note, I shared the other day that Erin Robinson and I are going to do a podcast episode on education and specifically speculate why if a school hits a major traumatic incident, you better hope that the head is a woman. Immediately Elsa Donohue got in touch and offered her amazing insights. So she is now part of the episode. It’s fabulous when we hear from you, please shout out whenever.

Thank you ….

It will be interested testing this with Folawe Omikunle Teach for Nigeria on Friday in the live. My questions for Folawe start with: how different is Nigeria? Do you boil frogs in Nigeria too? How long will the boiling take? Would an updated  school curriculum speed up the process?

Give us your questions too. It will be a fascinating live. This Friday at 12pm BST/WAT we will host our 3rd Expedition Live, Folawe and I will be live on from my LinkedIn profile @JuliaMiddleton, from our twitter @weconnect and our facebook page @WomenEmerging to discuss the expedition, leadership and answer your questions. Please do join us - it is going to be an exciting conversation!

They told me about #botu and about #botswana where women are strong powerful and brave leaders not unlike the #corybustard the national bird of Botswana. It’s not really surprising in a country where 83% of families are lead by single mothers and they don’t just lead at home.

The approach to leadership that resonates with women must shout their stories and insights, loud and clear. They are an inspiration to us all.

Here Meera Baindur talks to us about the ‘woman of the Forrest’ who said NO. And of #gargi who asked questions. And Terri Hord Owens talks about #deborah the judge who ‘sat under own tree’ and #mary the single mother who never wavered.

Perhaps most helpfully Meera and Terri tell us how these women have influenced their leadership and decisions right through their careers.

Some think that listening was their generations super power, they will listen to hear and not to give orders. Others that their generation needs to learn to listen to understand and not just to reply. All agreed that either way they would be better listeners than their mothers.

We also covered the difference between a boss and a

leader. How the expedition must not only teach them to collaborate but also to fight. How life of young women in Karachi is locked up. And we spoke of their rage.

If cultural intelligence comes from listening to people in very different geographies, it also comes big time from people who are a third of your age .

For the first two months they have been speaking to women the world over. In villages and in boardrooms. In Nigeria and in Canada. In their teens and in their eighties.

It has caused Katya to think about ‘inner work’ and Alia about ‘leadership perspectives anchored in the global north’. It has prompted Ana Luz’s awe of women in politics and Isata has tried to answer some of the resulting questions. It has brought many doubts about motherhood to the fore for Anna Kuk and even more for Vidya whose conversations have held up a mirror up to her own approach to leadership. Yvette has been speaking to women who have been senior leaders both as men and as women as they have transitioned.

For Yvette it has confirmed one of her core beliefs that “leadership is leadership is leadership” but it has also raised some unsettling questions about leadership. And for Laura, she has been putting everything into practice immediately as she has started a new job.

This is a messy episode. It should be. We are at the early messy phase of the expedition. Have a listen.

Alison covers yoga (and also draws on 35 years of working with me, I have always thought that without yoga Alison would have abandoned me long ago). She covers the groundwork, prioritising, pushing yourself while knowing your limits. She also talks about really “thinking about leadership” before you jump in. Fascinating.

Kelly covers rugby, as she should after captaining so many international teams. She talks about the threads you have to weave between you and every member of the team individually. And about the role of the leader in nurturing and protecting the “positive energy”

She agrees with Alison about thinking about your leadership before and after the game. But adds during the game don't overthink, because while you do they other side will score.

This is a fascinating insight into leadership from women drawing from their activities outside work.

gives people deep faith. And Ani is also deeply thoughtful about leadership too.

Katrina has only ever talked about faith with Ani but here she talks about leadership. About the need to lead yourself first, to make yourself happy by making someone else happy (including buying pretty, sparkly shoes), about not just crying, and for using your motherly qualities for all. And about “a beautiful, deep and infectious smile”.i would like Ani to meet Harriet one day.

Because they both smile deeply wholehearted and easily. The essence of leadership. Is this my favourite podcast episode? Yes.

This is the third podcast episode on the zeitgeist as the 24 women on the expedition begin their exploring. Sarah and Paula draw the parallels between the hunger games and the systems that we are either operating within or just observing, but either way that we are part of. Then they give their advice on how to survive  or change them.

Sharing that anger will be crucial to leading the new generation.

Not for them the usual patronising put down, women shouldn't be angry, dont be so emotional.

But they are being strategic with their anger.

This is the second episode capturing the zeitgeist as the 24 women set off on the expedition to “find an approach to leadership that resonates with women” all women of all ages.

Two women, old friends, fiercely intelligent women, each side of the world, women who looking back admit they didn’t spot the very blowing up. These two women share what they hear rumbling now, on its way to thunder.

This is the first of four episodes on the zeitgeist as the 24 women on the expedition set off. By the time the expedition is complete let us hope the rumblings have not turned to thunder.

Guides are generous women leaders who will take calls from exploration members. They are generous, wise, informed, committed, thoughtful, inspiring. Above all they are totally honest with the replies they give members. Whether the questions are about collaboration or survival, decision making or dressing, balancing or prioritising.

Normal service is resumed for episode 14, far more interesting people to talk to!

Without it many of the other pieces will not achieve their potential. Because we need a mass of women the world over say ping “if that’s leadership, I’m in”.

When the expedition members meet together to work on the expedition collection - books, poems, music, film, talks,essays, paintings of every sort - we will be at Bellagio, guests of the Rockerfeller foundation on the shores of lake compo in northern Italy. What a glorious place to be together, thank you Deepali Khanna for your passion for the expedition and for making this happen.

In this podcast I also interview Jude Kelly who with WOW is one of the biggest jigsaw pieces, my first question is why will the success of our tiny jigsaw piece be so crucial. I also interview Jude because she is one of my oldest and most inspiring friends. I could not possibly launch and lead and expedition without Jude’s input

The expression renaissance leader might just stick. For women who reject the pressure to choose one or the other of binary options. Whether that’s what they do with their lives, or who they chose to be or how they choose to lead. Ann chose arts and science at school and inventing and filming in her career. Fatima is Moroccan and Belgian, and she is both a professor and an activist. And the advantage is that Ann and Fatima both connect up worlds by bridging the binary. Ann is convinced it’s going to be the super power of her generation. I hope it is.

Pictures and profiles identifying key people? Lines and Arrows analysing systems?

I am intuitively the first. My white board is full of people.

Sarah Henry has been thinking a lot about being a member of

the expedition. And she took me on  “the way you think Julia sort of implies the problem is women, when actually its the systems that don't work. Or rather they do, because they were designed to work for men”.

So this podcast is devoted to systems thinking.

And then I spoke to Alia Whitney-Johnson and Melissa Kwee who have achieved so much in Sri Lanka, California and Singapore through smart systems thinking .

Their white boards seem to be a mixture of pictures and arrows. People and systems. They say the sweat spot is where the two meet. Sarah is right.

Uma Chatterjee covers hard, linking  it to the source of good leadership being self awareness. And that self awareness is wonderful and terrifying at the same time.

Liz Bloomfield covers simple, she links this to the source of good leadership being listening. Hard intense committed listening.

But Selvie Jusman sets the podcast off on the right tone as she describes the enormous impact that bad and good leadership has had on her. She reminds us just how crucial leadership is.

My answer to the question? It’s hard. Simple things often are.

Interested in what you think?

leadership.

I believe that it’s no use talking about being disruptor

if you are not prepared to be disrupted yourself.  This is why we have appointed an ‘Expedition

Disruptor’ and very deliberately built diversity into the Expedition Team.

Our expedition disruptor is Lissa Young, who makes the

case for disrupting from the inside, something she has a long track record of

doing in the US army. She illustrates her case with the story of how gay and

lesbians became accepted in the military. An issue she was at the centre of.

Lissa also speaks on the topic of gender and describes

herself as a ‘gender outlaw’.

Diversity is built into our group of expedition members.

Here Camilla Pontual from Brazil makes it very clear that in her eyes

leadership is not what white western CEO women do, it’s what women in the favelas

do. And Katyan Guryeva  illustrates just

why diversity of age is so crucial and central.

They say “but Women have made progress”. Of course we have, but at a glacial pace. Think of the speed of change in everything else around us.

In the episode, Maria Anker Andersen, tells us Denmark is not the shining light we are told it is. Helene Wolf, in Germany shares what it’s like to be marginalised at meeting after meeting. And Faith Legendre in the US paints a picture of thin innovation when women are not part of it.

We also hear from Isata Kabia in Sierra Leone, who describes the tough life of a female politician and Dr Ayesha Mian, lists the expressions she would love to never ever hear again.

We would love to hear your vents too, please join the Women Emerging LinkedIn group and join the discussion. Send us your thoughts in written form or even better as voice messages. Tell us what makes you howl with anger and frustration. We feel the same!

Yvette Hopkins has spoken to every one of the 20 members of the expedition and says

“if these women can’t land an approach to leadership that resonates with women, none can!” I can hear the cries already ”If that’s what leadership is….I’m in”

And with this podcast you meet yet another expedition member Anna Kuk, who tells us what she saw at Warsaw station this week.

Find out more about how the expedition will actually work and Meet two more members of the expedition.

On today's episode we tell you a little about us, the expedition. Meet our founder, Julia Middleton, as well as two of the incredible women who will be taking part on this virtual expedition. Dr Hinemoa Elder, a Maori Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and author Vidya Shah, Executive Chairperson of Edelgive Foundation.