207. Energy is a Responsibility We Carry When We Lead

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In this episode, Julia speaks with Aisha about Energy — how it shapes the way we lead, and the responsibility we carry for the energy we create in a room.

Aisha reflects on leading intuitively. Before logic or structure, she reads emotion, atmosphere, and the unspoken dynamics between people. Working with young people affected by trauma, she explains why energy is often felt before it can be explained — and why creating safety begins long before the first question is asked.

The conversation explores what it means to be a “good mirror” — matching energy thoughtfully rather than overwhelming it, and guiding people toward safety rather than shutting them down. Aisha shares how culture, language, and context shape what feels safe, and why energy that works in one place may not translate in another.

Julia and Aisha also discuss the extremes: generating so much energy that others feel muted or unsafe, or shrinking so much that no energy is created at all. Both can destabilise a group. Leading, they conclude, is about balance — being aware of the force you bring, without overwhelming or disappearing.

This episode is a reminder that energy is not accidental. It is something we generate, adjust, and take responsibility for — especially when others are looking to us for safety and direction.

About the Guest:

Aisha Zannah Mustapha

Aisha Zannah Mustapha is a writer, speaker, and social entrepreneur exploring new models of leadership rooted in emotional intelligence, storytelling, and community. She is the author of The Girl Who Carried Fire and works across education, climate resilience, and women’s leadership. Her work focuses on reframing leadership for a new generation, creating spaces where people can lead authentically and build meaningful impact. She is committed to amplifying African voices in global leadership conversations.

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.