Lessons in Leadership: Dame Alison Rose & Major General Sarah Johansen

In this special episode of The Somerford Podcast, John Dee hosts a powerful conversation with Dame Alison Rose, former CEO of NatWest Group, and Major General Sarah Johansen, Deputy Chief of Defence Intelligence. Together, they explore the evolving nature of leadership across sectors — from banking to defence — and reflect on decision-making in crisis, building trust, leading with authenticity, and championing women in traditionally male-dominated fields.

They discuss their experiences with remote and hybrid leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasising the importance of consistent communication, clarity, and psychological safety. Both guests share how trust is built through transparency, vulnerability, and leading by example - particularly when handling failure or challenge.

Dame Alison highlights her work supporting female entrepreneurs through initiatives like the Rose Review and NatWest's free accelerator programme, which aimed to tackle systemic barriers in access to finance. She explains how breaking down misconceptions about banking helped diversify talent pipelines and align organisations more closely with their customers.

Major General Johansen reflects on the military's growing embrace of cognitive diversity and constructive challenge, shaped in part by learnings from history. She also describes how leadership has adapted to generational change, the increasing relevance of digital fluency, and the importance of combining technology and human judgement in decision-making.

Both leaders underscore the value of curiosity, measure risk-taking, and inclusive cultures that enable teams to experiment, learn, and grow. They share personal advice to their younger selves, such as to worry less, ask for help, take more risks and invest in themselves.

This insightful and inspiring conversation demonstrates how purpose-driven, inclusive leadership can drive transformation, competitiveness, and resilience in any organisation.