About me

I’m Julie Phillips, an author, learning designer and manager who likes asking questions.

I write books about the things we care about at work, the things that sometimes go wrong, and the things we keep doing simply because that’s how we’ve always done them.

My books cover leadership, learning and development, and coaching for women in midlife. They’re honest, practical and slightly irreverent, with a bit of humour and a lot of real life thrown in.

I’m not particularly interested in having all the answers. I’m much more interested in asking better questions.

Topics I talk about 

There’s a fairly wide range, because I don’t like sticking to one subject.

Leadership

• What happens when leadership goes wrong
• Team spirit, culture, motivation and trust
• The uncomfortable questions leaders sometimes avoid

Learning & Development

• Why organisations keep doing things because “we’ve always done it this way”
• Learning design that actually helps people
• The good, bad and slightly ridiculous side of workplace learning
• Challenging some of the assumptions we make about learning at work

Writing & books

• Why I started writing
• Turning questions into books
• Self-publishing and becoming an author
• Writing alongside a career and a life
• The stories and ideas behind my books

Midlife & coaching

• Making different choices in midlife
• The things women are expected to want, do and put up with
• Stopping automatically choosing what happens next
• The reality of figuring out what you actually want

And, of course, asking better questions, because often the question is more useful than the answer.

Available for…

Podcasts
Short, honest conversations about work, books, leadership, learning, midlife and whatever interesting question happens to come up.

Interviews
For blogs, websites, newsletters, magazines or other publications.

Guest articles
I’m happy to share thoughts, stories and ideas around leadership, L&D, learning design, writing and midlife.

Speaking and conversations
From informal conversations to panels, events and workplace discussions.

Book features
Conversations about my books, the ideas behind them and why I keep asking awkward questions.

If you’re looking for someone who can talk about serious subjects without taking themselves too seriously, we’ll probably get on.

My books

I write across three areas:

Leadership
The Does It Die? series asks what happens when some of the things we care about at work start to disappear. There’s a question, an uncomfortable truth, a bit of humour — and a dog in every book.

Learning & Development
Books about learning at work, the things we keep doing because we’ve always done them, and the assumptions that perhaps deserve another look.

Coaching
Books for women in midlife who are ready to stop automatically choosing what happens next and start creating a life that fits. Expect swearing - it’s in the title.

You can explore all of my books on the Books page.