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Episode Description

In this episode, Julia speaks with Alison and Kelly. Alison, a long-time yoga practitioner, shares how yoga fosters the self-awareness and mindfulness essential for effective leading. She explains how its principles help build foundational skills like prioritisation, self-reflection, and balance, which are critical for both personal and professional growth.

Kelly, a seasoned rugby leader and former international team captain, focuses on the relational aspects of leadership. She discusses how communication, connection, and trust play pivotal roles in fostering synergy and resilience within teams, especially in high-pressure environments.
This episode invites listeners to reflect on their own leadership journeys and consider how practices outside of work can shape their approach. Experience this conversation to discover how to build sustainable leadership by leaning into self-awareness, relationships and community.

About the Guests

Kelly McCallum

Kelly McCallum is a former Canadian rugby player and coach with a distinguished international career. She earned over 30 caps for Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team, captaining the squad 16 times, and played in two Rugby World Cups. McCallum has also coached teams in England, Australia, and Japan, and was involved in the development of rugby in New Zealand. She is a lecturer at Auckland University of Technology and a doctoral candidate in Emotional Intelligence and Inclusive Practices in Sport Governance. McCallum was the first woman inducted into the BC Rugby Hall of Fame and the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

Alison Coburn

Alison Coburn is the Chief Executive of Common Purpose International, a global leadership organization she co-founded. With a focus on supporting leaders addressing climate, waste, and biodiversity challenges, Alison launched Sky Blue, a program dedicated to environmental leadership. She has worked in diverse, often challenging environments, establishing Common Purpose in countries including France, India, and South Africa, and leading initiatives such as an EU-supported capacity-building program in post-conflict Libya. Alison has partnered with organizations like Deutsche Bank and the Vodafone Foundation. She is also an Ambassador for the Tutu Foundation UK and a Trustee of Well Grounded.

About the Host

Julia Middleton

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 2020, Julia launched Women Emerging and in 2022 she lead an expedition of 24 women to find ‘an approach to leading that resonates with women’. She now leads expeditions with women all over the world based on 4Es methodology, discovered in 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.