Beyond Authority:
Q&A with Julia Middleton
What inspired you to write this book?
I felt frustrated at the number of leaders I met who had tried to produce change outside their organizations but then had reverted back to their usual territories, muttering "nothing will ever change" and "it’s impossible to make anything happen in the messy and misguided world out there". This book is to show them, and others, that it can be done and that they should get back out there and do it!
In your own words, what’s the book about?
Leading when you can’t tell anyone what to do. I call this Leading Beyond Authority.
Who do you hope will read your book?
It’s for people who want to know how to produce change within their organizations or in society, and in situations where authority has to be earned rather than given. It's also for all people who want to change the world, or their part of it. It’s for bureaucracy-bashers and silo-slayers the world over. In other words, it’s for anybody who doesn't want to “stick to their knitting” and instinctively “butts in” rather than “butts out”.
How is the leadership style you describe relevant to leaders of the future?
Across every sector, boundaries are blurring. Authority is becoming less and less clear-cut. Partnership is proliferating. Leaders need to lead not only organizations effectively – more and more, they find themselves having to lead diverse networks too. The traditional leadership tools work – but nothing like as well, or as often, as they used to. Increasingly, you need to supplement them with others. That’s what my book is about.
Tell us about a leader you admire.
There is no one – just lots of bits of lots of people. Most of them are in the book. All of them share a willingness to share successes and failures, have the potent combination of self-belief and humility and have a deep interest in other people.
Tell us about a time when you have had to Lead Beyond Authority.
When I founded Common Purpose back in 1989, everyone I met responded by saying “By what right…?”. It was difficult, but nearly twenty years later Common Purpose is an international leadership organisation in 47 towns and cities in the UK and in 12 countries worldwide.
How would you describe yourself?
I’m energetic and thoughtful. Positive and difficult. Demanding and loving. Creative and structured. All of these simultaneously, I hope.
Who inspires you?
People who stand up and don’t grovel. Whether they are swanky or not. Whether they change the world or just their streets. People who take a step forward rather than back when faced with a challenge.
