Every week, we produce a new episode that explores women and leadership from a different perspective.
In a series of lively, wide-ranging discussions, we talk to women all over the world who are dealing with tough leadership challenges in their daily lives. We find out the barriers they face and how they are overcoming them; they share their experiences, insights and advice. (the series also informs and illustrates the expedition while it is underway and gives updates on the members’ progress.)
Episodes come out every Wednesday and once a month, we do a live q&a.
242. How Vulnerable Should You Be in a Competitive Environment?
In this Sports Expedition conversation, Julia speaks with Mary about what years in competitive, male-dominated sport have taught her about vulnerability, criticism and self-worth.
Mary argues that not every space is safe enough for vulnerability. She has learnt to hear criticism, take it away, think about it carefully and change when she knows she has got something wrong — without necessarily processing that uncertainty publicly. She calls this having “a meeting with myself”.
Julia pushes back. Vulnerability can create trust and connection, so should it really be hidden? Their conversation becomes less about whether vulnerability is good or bad and more about judgement: knowing where it is useful, who has earned it, and when showing it can leave you exposed.
They also explore the pressure to continually prove your worth in a competitive environment. Mary reflects on pushing herself to satisfy other people until she realised that working hard and proving your worth are not the same thing.
A conversation about being vulnerable and strong, protecting yourself without closing yourself off, and deciding whose judgement really matters.
28 Oct 2026
241. Winning, Losing and Self-Worth in a Competitive Environment
What happens when winning becomes tied to your sense of worth?
In this episode from the Sports Expedition series, Julia speaks with Explorer Suvi Mikkonen about one thing she has had to jettison and one thing she has had to reframe.
Suvi’s jettison is the idea that winning proves your worth. As an athlete, winning and losing became deeply personal. Winning meant she was good enough. Losing could feel like losing part of herself.
Her reframe is losing as learning.
Through coaching, Suvi has begun to shift the focus away from treating each result as a verdict and towards asking what can be learned from it. The result still matters, but it becomes part of a longer process: what happened, what can change, and how can we be more ready next time?
Julia and Suvi also explore how deeply competition can become part of a person’s way of operating. Suvi recognises that competition can motivate her powerfully, but that it does not motivate everyone in the same way. That means learning to understand what gets each person moving rather than assuming that what works for you will work for them.
The conversation also touches on comparison, confidence and self-doubt, and Suvi’s own practice of saying yes to opportunities even when part of her still wonders whether she is the right person.
A conversation about separating identity from results, learning how to lose, and discovering what sport can teach us when we are willing to jettison one assumption and reframe another.
About the Guest -
Suvi Mikkonen is a two-time Olympic taekwondo athlete and now a high-performance coach working with Olympic and world-class athletes. She is President of Hankuk International School, a globally recognised elite training environment based in Spain. Suvi is part of the IOC Women in Sport High Performance pathway and the Women Emerging leadership expedition, where she continues to develop her approach to human-centred leadership in sport.
21 Oct 2026
240. What Do You Need to Unlearn to Lead Differently?
We often think becoming better at leading means learning more. But what if some of the biggest changes come from what we are willing to unlearn?
Julia speaks with Janet Motah about the qualities and habits she began to question during her Women Emerging Expedition.
Janet reflects on the mask exercise that asked her to look at two sides of her leading: how she wanted to lead, and what might be holding her back. It led her to reconsider qualities she had long seen as strengths, including bluntness and perfectionism. She began to see how those same qualities could sometimes make people less likely to approach her or leave too little room for others to develop.
Their conversation explores the difference between learning, unlearning and relearning, and why approaches that worked in one context or generation may need to change in another.
They also explore how this shift has affected Janet’s day-to-day leading: becoming more conscious of the Energy she brings into a room, resisting the need to provide every answer, and giving other people more opportunities to step forward and lead.
A conversation about the habits we carry, the strengths that can become limitations, and the courage it takes to change how we lead.
Who has been a guest on Women Emerging Podcast
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Maria
Ebisan Akisanya
Ebisan
Geetanjali Sampemane
Geeta
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
15,727
Score snapshot 26 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
8 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
20 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 74 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
88
Social presence
0
YouTube
76
Engagement
77
Contact Women Emerging Podcast
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Questions about Women Emerging Podcast
Who hosts Women Emerging Podcast?
Julia host the show. Published by Women Emerging.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes weekly, based on its RSS feed.
Does Women Emerging Podcast take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
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