In this episode, Julia speaks with Anna Kalmer, a social entrepreneur who founded a yoga-based organisation supporting refugees, children in state care, mothers raising children with disabilities, and others facing adversity.

Anna shares how stepping into leading wasn’t a grand decision it happened when the organisation she created began to truly form, and people started looking to her for direction. Suddenly, she realised she wasn’t becoming the leader. She already was one, long before she felt ready for the title.

She talks about seeking coaching in the early years because she couldn’t even say out loud, “I am a social entrepreneur.” She thought she needed to adopt a louder, more traditionally “masculine” style of leading to be taken seriously. But as she describes beautifully, that didn’t fit. The journey wasn’t about changing herself rather it was about authorising herself. And about discovering an approach to leading that is both caring and fierce, collaborative and boundaried.

This episode is a reminder that great leading doesn’t come from reshaping yourself into someone else’s mould. It comes from being anchored in who you are and being brave enough to stand firm in it.

About the Guest:

Anna Kalmár is a social entrepreneur and mental health professional, the founder of the Budapest based mental health initiative, AdniJóga.

She holds a Master’s degree in Social Innovation from the University of Cambridge and currently serves on the board of the Hungarian Coalition of Social Enterprises.

She has been recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in Hungary and named one of the Top 100 European Women in Social Enterprise in 2023. She is passionate about understanding how systemic change happens and how we can shape more just and equitable societies.

In this episode, Julia speaks with Maryam Pasha, Executive Director & Curator of TEDxLondon, about the power of owning your narrative and why clarity about who you are changes how you lead.

Maryam shares that narrative isn’t just about telling your story. It’s about deciding the foundation on which you stand. When you don’t define your narrative, she says, you end up living someone else’s. She talks about the moment she realised she had been shrinking herself; to be agreeable, to be easy, to take up less space and how everything changed when she chose to show up with certainty and self-respect.

She describes the shift from being shaped by the expectations of others to shaping her own direction: a shift that gave her confidence, presence, and the ability to speak and act with conviction. When you know what you’re trying to do in the world, she says, you stop asking for permission and start owning your place in the room.

This episode is a reminder that leading doesn’t begin when others believe in you. It begins when you do.

About the Guest:

Maryam Pasha is a Storytelling strategist, producer and curator. She is co-founder of XEQUALS Studio, a creative studio dedicated to telling stories that can create a just, sustainable and joyful future. Projects include TEDxLondon, the Climate Curious Podcast and THE HERDS London. As a storyteller and coach she has worked with hundreds of speakers, including philanthropists, Nobel-prize-winning academics, business leaders, technical experts, activists and students. She has helped organisations to raise over a $1.5 billion to fight climate change, worked on talks that have been viewed over 25 million times and supported activists who’ve successfully changed the law in England to protect girls from child marriage. Earlier this year she joined the Palestine Comedy Club as an Exec Producer, is on the board on Climate Spring and a visiting Fellow at Oxford University.

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:

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.

In this episode, Julia speaks with Vijaya, a WE Explorer about her powerful reframing of vulnerability from weakness to strength. She was part of the Women Emerging expedition for women leading in India, in partnership with Buzz Women.

Vijaya begins by reflecting on how she grew up believing that showing vulnerability made you unreliable, less capable, and easier to dismiss. As a founder and leader, this belief pushed her into toughness, especially during the crisis year of 2020, when her organisation hit zero revenue and she carried the weight of answers she didn’t have.

Through the Expedition’s conversations, she realised that vulnerability is not the opposite of strength it is a form of strength. But it comes with boundaries. Her biggest insight: vulnerability should build trust, not become confession.

She talks about how leaders can reveal enough to be relatable, human, and accessible without destabilising teams or exposing themselves in ways that create long-lasting, unhelpful impressions. She also shares what she’s learned about leading across generations, and how every age group brings its own version of vulnerability to the workplace.

This episode is a reminder that leading is not about having all the answers. It’s about creating the space where honest conversations grounded, thoughtful, and human can happen.

About the Guest:

Vijaya Balaji – CEO and Managing Director, Toolbox India Foundation and Principal Founder at Social Lens Consulting is amongst the pioneers in advising Nonprofit organizations on organization development and strengthening requirements. In her diverse experience working in the Social Impact Sector, Vijaya has worked as an Impact and Capacity building and Organization development practitioner, she has coached organizations over 750 + organizations, designed diagnostic and assessment tools and toolkits, and technology enabled platforms for organizations. Her experience built over the last 14 years includes the conceptualization of the capacity enhancement and organization development at The GROW fund, The Better World Initiative, Parivartan, the Social Impact Optimization Program, Forbes Fellowship and the Value Circle at toolbox INDIA. Vijaya serves on the boards of 2 nonprofit organizations as part of steering them in the fulfillment of their strategic vision and goals. She is an evaluator at the Echoing Green fellowship, a past Advisory member of the India @75 – a CII Initiative and her podcast ‘covering ground ‘spotlights ground realities of social change making organizations. The Founder’s Table hosted by her brings the stories and journeys of founders and their motivations and challenges in navigating driving social impact.

In this episode, Julia speaks with Nayonika Roy, a WE Explorer from the India Group Expedition, about discovering her Essence and how that understanding has influenced the way she leads.

Nayonika shares how she initially rejected Motherness. It felt like a stereotype. But through reflection and the Expedition, she realised that Motherness captures what she naturally brings: care, emotional awareness, organisation, and creating spaces where people feel comfortable and seen.

She talks about how ancestors not just family but every woman she has learned from influence her leading. She reflects on the role of her education, which gave her the tools to question, to rebel, and to bring lived experience into leadership and team-building.

She also speaks about reading the body noticing cues in herself and others and how witnessing trauma in others shaped her commitment to staying in difficult conversations instead of avoiding them. And she also opens up about what she wants to jettison- letting go of the “good girl” expectation and learning to lead from her own standards, not others’.

A thoughtful, grounded conversation about Essence, identity, and the quiet transformations that change the way we lead.

About the guest:

Nayonika is a development sector professional, holding an expertise in working towards girl child education, social justice, gender equality and women leadership. Her ardour and rigour towards unveiling the stories of women and girls belonging to the marginalised communities goes beyond any defined ambit. She believes in reaching to the crevices of these communities and creating safe spaces to hear the unheard voices of women and girls through her work. She continuously strives to broaden her horizons and cater to girls and women in various capacities. An alumnus of Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Indian School of Business (ISB), Nayonika has worked with various respectable institutions of the sector, including Ministry of Women and Child Development, Delhi and M.V. Foundation, Hyderabad. She is currently leading the Curriculum and Communications Team and Leadership Programs at VOICE 4 Girls. She is also a part of the founding cohort of Sehyogi Fellowship, having gained a certification to provide psycho-socio support focused on adolescents’ mental health. Over the time, she has excelled in designing programs tailored to meet the needs of adolescents and delivering effective training and mentorship. Moreover, she has a keen appreciation for art, is a professional dancer and an avid reader.

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 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.

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 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.

In this episode, Julia speaks with Mai Chen, constitutional lawyer, author, and change-maker, about one of the most overlooked challenges of leading finding the energy to keep going when you feel stuck.

Mai reflects on what she calls “transcending worlds” - the process of shifting from one phase of life or leadership into another, especially after exhaustion or disappointment. She shares how energy, not time, is the true currency of leading, and how we often drain it trying to meet expectations, fit into old definitions of success, or push through without rest.

The conversation explores how to pause without guilt, rebuild momentum after burnout, and reconnect with a sense of purpose that feels alive again. Mai’s reflections remind us that the real work of leading isn’t just about direction, it’s about the Energy that sustains it.

Listen to this episode to learn how to regenerate Energy when you’re stuck, and how to transcend the worlds that no longer serve your growth.

About the Guest:

Dr Mai Chen (LLB(Hons)(Otago), (LLM(Harvard),HonLLD(Otago), CMInstD), is a top barrister in NZ and President of NZ Asian Lawyers. She was previously Managing Partner, Chen Palmer Public and Employment law Specialists, independent non-executive Director, Bank of New Zealand Board, New Zealand, a member of the New Zealand Securities Commission member, Adjunct Professor at the University of Auckland Business School and School of Government, the Inaugural Chair, NZ Global Women, and a top 10 finalist, 2014 and 2016 New Zealander of the Year