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Episode Description

In this episode, Julia Middleton engages in a profound conversation with Abby Falik about the transformative journey of uncovering one’s purpose and achieving alignment in leadership. Abby shares her personal experiences of stepping away from conventional success metrics to pursue a path that resonates deeply with her core values. She discusses the challenges and rewards of aligning one’s work with personal convictions, offering insights into how this alignment fosters authentic and impactful leadership.

About the Guests

Abby Falik

Abby Falik is an award-winning social entrepreneur and the Founder & CEO of Global Citizen Year—a nonprofit dedicated to using the power of a global immersion between high school and college to unlock curiosity, conviction, and courage in the next generation of leaders. A recognized expert on social innovation, leadership, and the evolving landscape of education, Abby has been profiled by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. She is a frequent speaker at forums including the Aspen Ideas Festival, the Obama Foundation Summit, and the Fast Company Innovation Festival. Abby holds a B.A. in International Relations and an M.A. in International Comparative Education from Stanford University, as well as an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

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.