Julia Middleton's thoughts on leadership

Common Purpose has always been about getting leaders to look beyond their own space and to take responsibility for what happens around them. It’s interesting, as cities become the driving – leading force – in the world – they need to do the same. I visit city after city and they seem to have no [...]

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I am very interested in the expression “earned leadership”. Leaders earn the right to lead because they do or are – what? Of course the expression “earn” implies something important. That people do not become leaders (other than in title) simply by being appointed – whatever the method of appointment. They have to earn it [...]

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I was in a meeting with some leaders from Ireland during which the national debt went from 38 billion to 50 billion. It was interesting talking about the sense in Ireland amongst leaders in such times. They said two things: Everyone just wants to know what the final figure is. They don’t much care what [...]

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Yesterday we had the first Advisory Group meeting of Dishaa: a new initiative for future leaders in the UK and India. The Advisory Group for this initiative includes senior leaders from both countries who, throughout the careers and outside their areas of work, have achieved extraordinary things. They set the challenge which will be met [...]

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So when should a leader grow up? And what does growing up look like? I pose this question because, when I sign off letters and emails to people I care about, I do so with a ‘love Julia’. I always have. People I care about are people I know well and some that I know [...]

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The 360 Day approaches. For so many leaders, Common Purpose provides an opportunity to see the world through other people’s eyes so it’s great that the Common Purpose 360 Day should challenge people to do something along these lines. Common Purpose extends to every leader an invitation to do one thing, big or small, to [...]

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Back from holidays, people ask me if I have a new sailing story. I have to report that this summer the episode was not caused by me…. We found a lovely cove in the sun and out of the wind. We got to this location in two parties – one  sailing and the other motoring. [...]

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It’s been a pretty big week at Common Purpose, with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom paying our emerging leaders course a visit in Bangalore. The occasion has me thinking about what is emerging for leaders in India – and Hinglish leaps to mind. It’s the language of the future I am told – [...]

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When UK Prime Minister David Cameron asked a participant in Bangalore what had shifted in his thinking by being on a Common Purpose course, the participant said: “I knew I was a leader at work but not for a minute had I thought of myself as a leader of Bangalore” This says it all. What [...]

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I regularly misjudge situations because of pride. Especially situations when I am working with people from many countries. Partly because I don’t have much pride. I reckon I did once. But that over the years I have made so many mistakes – sometimes bad judgements, sometimes because I was over-stretched and didn’t make a judgement [...]

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