In this episode, Julia speaks with Varsha, a WE Explorer, about discovering that her Essence of motherness is a powerful anchor for how she leads. She was part of the Women Emerging expedition for women leading in India, in partnership with Buzz Women.
Varsha shares how she had never thought intentionally about leading until she realised the models she had been exposed to didn’t match who she was. Growing up in a matrilineal family, she saw a form of leading that was shared, facilitative, caring but also clear and confident. The Expedition helped her name this Essence and understand that motherness is not a limitation, it is leadership.
She talks about Energy; how leaders generate it by checking in on teammates, reminding teams of purpose, celebrating small and big wins, and at times stepping in with her own raw Energy when everyone else is depleted. And she is honest about the boundaries needed to protect that Energy, including saying no and switching off.
Varsha also speaks of India’s many feminine archetypes- nurturing, fierce, strategic – and how dismissing motherness at work dismisses the very source of strength and Energy that she brings. Her leadership, she’s learned, lingers in the people she supports, the belief she builds, and the care she normalises.
This episode reminds us that when women lead from who they truly are, they sustain not just themselves, but everyone around them.
About the Guest
Varsha Pillai
Dr Varsha Pillai leads Gender Diversity and Advocacy for Women in Manufacturing at Tata Electronics, working to strengthen workplace cultures and progression pathways for women. With over two decades in communications, her passion for exploring how media shapes gender and social change led to a PhD in Gender Advocacy in Digital Media from Symbiosis International University. Recognised with fellowships in India, the Netherlands, and Geneva, and named a Changemaker by Change.org India, Varsha brings both lived insight and analytical rigour to advancing equality in organisations and beyond.
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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