Julia Middleton's Thoughts on Leadership

This week I read an article by Robert Bruce in Financial Director that highlighted the need for some plain speaking honesty from financial directors. It really hit the nail on the head for me when I think how arrogant and self-important ‘closed shop’ speak can be, and how flawed the communications skills of many leaders [...]

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In amongst all the noise from Davos – and I’m only concerned that there is so much to listen to that people will switch off – but it is lovely to hear from a banker in this film who actually did do a great job in 2009.
What comes across when he speaks about the World [...]

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“Dialogue without difference is pointless.”
I wrote that down fast when the chair of a Strategic Health Authority in the UK said it to me the other day. What’s the point in talking things through with people who agree with you? So why do we spend our time doing it? And why do we get so [...]

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I am on holiday now. My main challenge has become producing daily picnics for large numbers of teenagers in Scotland!
 There was a feature on BBC breakfast this morning about what your holiday reading choice says about you. As it happens, I made the terrible mistake last week of sending lots of friends  a text asking [...]

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It is interesting that the word brave is so often watered down. “No, no”, they say, “you don’t mean brave, you mean take calculated risks.” Well I don’t really – I mean be brave. Things are moving fast, and by the time most things are fully calculated the opportunity is likely to be gone. I [...]

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I was brought up to have no respect for any position, age, background or title. My father told me that no one was better than me other than as a result of their ability, experience, achievements or character. At best people like this in me, and at worst they think my lack of deference is [...]

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A couple of weeks ago, I spent the day with several Egyptians. None of them saw Obama in person – they had been told not to go out on their balcony or even look out of their window as his motorcade went past – but they heard his speech and told me with delight, “It’s [...]

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Strange how the world suddenly stops. Someone needs you totally; someone you care for dies. Suddenly, the vast action list of the morning becomes irrelevant.
Nothing like this has happened, but I am in quarantine – my son has swine flu! So people with masks over their faces come and check us out at home, and [...]

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A whole host of Common Purpose graduates send me information about their mad ideas, but the maddest probably arrived this morning – it was great!
At first, I wasn’t sure I was really up for today and thought it would be better to sleep through it. Common Purpose is, just occasionally, really hard work, and two [...]

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I hit 50 today.
That’s 50 people I have met in the last seven days who have told me that they plan to “sit tight” through the recession. And they call themselves leaders!
Their assumption is:

it will get back to where it was
it’s just a question of waiting
that they have no role to play
that all will be [...]

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