192. When Trailblazing Chooses You: Isata on Leading Like a Quiet Storm

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In this episode, Julia speaks with Isata Kabia, about what it really means to be a trailblazer and why leading doesn’t always have to be loud.

Isata shares that being a trailblazer often isn’t a choice. It happens when you step forward out of necessity, conviction, or courage when you realise, as she puts it, “the hero you’ve been waiting for is you.”

She talks about her journey of learning to lead as a quiet storm: calm yet powerful, nurturing yet unyielding. The “quiet” stands for listening, reflection, and grace. The “storm” stands for courage, disruption, and truth. Together, they form a style of leading that combines humility and strength.

This episode is a reminder that trailblazing doesn’t always look like breaking walls; sometimes it’s about holding doors open quietly, until others can walk through.

About the Guest

Isata Kabia

Isata Kabia is the Founding Director of Voice of Women Africa, an organization focused on empowering women in Sierra Leone. She believes in building a strong community of women who support one another and encourages more women to take part in politics. This, she believes, will lead to better decisions that promote peace, prosperity, and rights for everyone.

Isata is also behind AFRiLOSOPHY, a program that started in 2015. It offers training in manufacturing and financial management to help women start and grow their own businesses. She understands that when women are economically strong, they can lead and make a real difference in their communities.

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.