In this episode of the Leadership Insights I Wish I Had Known at the Start series, Alison Coburn shares nine fundamentals about leading. She says: don’t do it alone, build a support network. From building your own “survival kit” of support and stability, to learning the art of delegation, Alison’s insights are thoughtful, honest, and deeply grounded in real-life leadership.
She also unpacks hard-won lessons like the need for a “hard streak,” the importance of leading upwards, and why communication isn’t just a part of leading; it is the very act of leading. Her reflections reveal how moral courage, containing emotions, and picking the right team members shape a leader’s impact far more than any textbook theory.
Alison’s list will make you pause and ask, “What would be on mine?” Tune in, reflect, and perhaps even start your own list of what you wish you’d known at the start.
About the Guest
Alison Coburn
Alison Coburn is one of the founding team of Common Purpose which started in the UK in 1989 and now has over 130,000 alumni globally. She currently leads Common Purpose’s environmental programmes. In 2020 Alison founded Sky Blue, a campaign to support leaders around the world who are tackling the environmental crisis. She is passionate about inspiring and supporting leaders to work collaboratively for a sustainable future. She started her career in the arts, then joined the BBC Radio making programmes on social and environmental issues. She is 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.
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