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Episode Description:

In the fourth episode of the Cultural Intelligence series, Julia Middleton explores what happens when two people meet, and both are in their Core. Through metaphors and real stories, Julia dives into how seemingly aligned values can still lead to tension, and how clashing cores if not carefully navigated can result in misunderstandings, resistance, or even breakdowns in communication.
“The stronger your core, the more you need to think carefully before dismissing someone else’s,” says Julia.

She offers practical guidance on how to avoid misreading moments of cultural collision, and how to recognise the difference between disagreement and disrespect. Drawing on her own experience from facing difficult conversations to moments when she chose to stand by her Core at great cost, Julia illustrates how courage, clarity, and the language of Core and Flex can transform confrontation into productive disagreement.

The episode also explores what happens when cultures collide within a person. Listen to this episode to understand how to manage cultural collisions between people and within yourself with empathy, strength, and a grounded sense of your core and flex.

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.