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Episode Description

In this episode, Julia is joined by Uma Chatterjee to delve into the transformative concept of leading from the margins. Uma unpacks the energy of leadership, an empowering force rooted in authenticity and connection, rather than control or hierarchy.

Uma redefines power as the courage to embrace your true self, fostering an inner stability that inspires confidence and purpose beyond titles or roles. Drawing from her experiences on the margins of traditional power structures, she highlights how solitude nurtures creativity and broader perspectives while cautioning against the trap of outsider identity. For Uma, true leadership lies in breaking boundaries, amplifying unheard voices, and leading with purpose.

This conversation between Julia and Uma invites us to reconsider leadership as more than positional authority, it’s about finding our essence, embracing our true self, and harnessing the energy to lead courageously from the outside edge.

About the Guests

Uma Chatterjee

Uma Chatterjee is a passionate social justice advocate and the founder of several organizations, including Sanjog, which focuses on the emancipation of survivors of sexual violence and slavery, and Change Mantras, a leadership development firm exploring the essence of leadership and followership. She has spent over a decade working with young survivors of gender violence, human trafficking, and caste exploitation in India, empowering them to heal and mobilise for change.

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.