Julia Middleton's Thoughts on Leadership

In the UK, trust in leaders has eroded. It is worth saying that maybe in some ways this is a good thing. If it means we do a double take and think for ourselves. And if it means that leaders don’t over promise.

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I have been doing work recently with people who have huge IQs. I don’t say this lightly. They are faster at all discussions and this is not just about numbers – where they see a sea of numbers and go straight to the wobbly one – it’s about spotting the weakness in a strategy – [...]

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Opening The Times this morning I saw an obituary for Admiral Sir Peter White. Reading it, I would love to say that I was thinking “He was a great man whom I was privileged to know” but in fact I was thinking “Another great man whom I had the privilege to know and whom I [...]

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I think I can adapt to most situations if I put my mind to it. Sometimes I fail.
I fly into Germany and do not take the time to sort out my head and remind myself that I am going to be speaking to a German audience, not a UK audience, so I must treat them [...]

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I am dyslexic. Can’t even spell dylexic (I bet someone who is not dyslexic came up with the name).
It has never got in my way since I left school. In fact it probably makes me a better speaker. But it has got the better of me now that Common Purpose is expanding in India. One [...]

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My daughter is doing her driving test in a couple of weeks. So I have been sitting by her for the last few weeks as she drives around and gets practice. She judged a messy roundabout very well yesterday and told me a secret that her driving instructor had told her. “Don’t look at the [...]

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Someone complained about me last week. I made a comment in a talk to a British audience (never mind the context) and what I said was “I have never met a superior man”. To me it was unnecessary to add: “neither have I ever met a superior woman”. I would not have added it because [...]

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Simon Singh won his court battle. I am glad. It was about his right to express his views freely. He didn’t make up facts he simply stated his views.
I never got close to the intricacies of the issues but I did watch a man stand up for what he believed in and fight on against [...]

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So the first of the great televised debates for the top political job in the UK takes place tonight, and I am wondering which lens we should all be watching it through…
Shall we focus on what these three men have to say on policy? Or the issues? Or will we scrutinise their competency? Or the [...]

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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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