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Creative CapesAuthor: Future London Academy
Listen to relaxed conversations with inspiring creatives and innovators from around the world. Hear their stories, mistakes they have made on the way and opinions on what's going on in the industry. Get inspired! Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Why self-limiting beliefs about leadership are the hidden barrier for most design leaders | Julia Whitney, Executive Coach
Wednesday, 10 June, 2026
How design leaders build influence, navigate conflict, and lead across cultures. In this episode, Ekaterina sits down with Julia Whitney, executive coach and former General Manager and Executive Creative Director at the BBC, where she led a 150-person UX and design team.Julia spent over 20 years as a design leader across the UK and US before turning her experience into a coaching practice that helps design leaders at companies like Condé Nast, AWS, the Financial Times, and IDEO perform at their best.Julia is also a teacher at our Executive programme for Design Leaders: https://fla.wiki/4fDlOirWhat you'll learn:► Why self-limiting beliefs about leadership are the hidden barrier for most design leaders► How to build sponsorship at the next level up — and why empathy is the first step► How cultural differences shape communication, hierarchy, and trust — and what to do about it► The four types of workplace conflict and why identifying them early changes everything👤 Who this episode is for:Design Leaders · Heads of Design · Creative Directors · UX Leaders · People Managers · Anyone going for a senior or C-level role · Anyone who's been passed over for promotion and wants to understand why00:00:00 Welcome, Julia Whitney, Executive Coach and former Executive Creative Director at BBC00:02:05 What design leaders most commonly struggle with00:04:20 Self-limiting beliefs and the leader you think you have to be00:07:25 How introverts can build influence without performing extroversion00:12:00 Levels of zoom: how leadership shifts at every career stage00:17:25 Why candidates get rejected for senior roles — and what to do instead00:20:00 How to build sponsorship at C-level using empathy00:27:25 Generational differences at work: what the research actually says00:36:20 Multi-hyphenate careers and the future of work00:40:25 Remote vs in-office: why it's more nuanced than you think00:46:55 The SCARF Model and why people resist change00:49:30 Leading multicultural teams and the Culture Map by Erin Meyer00:54:35 High-context vs low-context cultures and remote communication00:59:30 How to handle conflict: the broken record technique and four conflict types01:07:05 Centralising design in a broadcaster organisation01:13:45 Final thoughts and who Julia recommends we speak to next
