Julia Middleton's thoughts on leadership

There is a lot of discussion and commentary at the moment in the UK about boards and governance following the Financial Reporting Council’s publication of the UK Corporate Governance Code (formerly the Combined Code). It’s all about how you ensure that the boards of the future protect us from the disasters over the last couple [...]

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I was at a Common Purpose Quest last week. Participants from the UK and Germany went to Essen in the Ruhr to have their prejudices undermined. They expected grim dirty polluted industrial decay and instead – found green regeneration. We were at Zeche Zollverein all day. It used to be the biggest coal refinery in [...]

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When I was 29 and full of ideas for Common Purpose I met Anita Roddick for tea at the Meridian Hotel in Piccadilly, London. She had no idea who I was. I had begged a friend of a friend to introduce us. Over tea I told her my ideas and asked her to chair Common [...]

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Making Good Society is the final report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society in the UK and Ireland, published by the Carnegie UK Trust this month. I think the report speaks to some strong points, but I do take issue with some of the content. Alarm bells go off for [...]

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Last week Common Purpose held an event called Leaders’ Questions in the UK. We asked around 40 leaders to discuss with some great speakers what the leadership challenges were in 2009, what they’ve learned, and how they will now face the challenges and the opportunities in 2010. By the end of the day we were [...]

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