191. Combining Ego and Empathy in Leading

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In this episode, Julia speaks with Ragini Das co-founder of Leap Club, a community of over 25,000 women — about how to combine ego and empathy in leading.

Ragini shares why she refuses to see ego as a “dirty word.” For her, ego is self-belief — the conviction that fuels courage, creativity, and resilience. It’s what helps you dream big and keep going when the odds are against you. But she also insists that ego alone isn’t enough. Without empathy, you lose connection, trust, and perspective.

The conversation explores how empathy keeps people with you — as team members, collaborators, or community members — by listening, responding, and leading with honesty. Ragini reflects on moments of building and eventually pausing Leap Club, and how trust, transparency, and care shaped every decision along the way.

Together, Julia and Ragini unpack what it means to lead online communities, balance ambition with compassion, and make tough calls with integrity. Ragini leaves us with a striking reminder: “Ego pushes you forward. Empathy keeps people with you.”

And perhaps most powerfully — that real leading is about being ambitious not just for yourself, but for others too.

About the Guest

Ragini Das

Ragini Das is the Head of Google for Startups in India and the co-founder of Leap.club, a women-first professional network that grew to over 25,000 members. She previously spent six years at Zomato leading growth and international market launches. Recognised as a LinkedIn Top Voice and Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur, Ragini is known for building communities that balance ambition with authenticity and for championing women who do the same.

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.