Sulha Edge - Rethinking Leadership
Najla Elmangoush 5 episodes Nov 11, 2026
Sulha Edge - Rethinking Leadership examines how conflict, negotiation, and human dynamics influence leadership decisions, particularly in complex and cross-cultural environments. Hosted by Najla Elmangoush, Libya's first female Foreign Minister, it translates real-world diplomacy and conflict resolution into practical insights for business leaders. The show is aimed at leaders who must make decisions in unfamiliar contexts. More information and consultation booking are available at sulhaedge.co.uk.
Episodes
Doing Business in Fragile Markets: What Diplomats Know That CEOs Don't | Peter Millet
What can decades of diplomatic experience teach business leaders about operating in fragile and complex markets?BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL https://sulhaedge.co.uk/discovery-callIn this episode of Sulha Edge, Najla El Mangoush sits down with Peter Millett, former British Ambassador to Libya and Jordan, former High Commissioner to Cyprus, and current Chair of the Libyan British Business Council.Drawing o
Beyond the Deal: The Human Side of Negotiation and Conflict Resolution | Asiyan Süleymanoğlu
What lies beneath the surface of a negotiation? And why do so many leaders focus on reaching a deal without understanding the people behind it?In this episode of Sulha Edge, we speak with Asiyan Süleymanoğlu, one of Turkey's first professional mediators, a member of the UN Global Mediation Panel and a conflict resolution expert for the FAO.Drawing on more than 15 years of experience across T
7 Hostage Negotiation Lessons Every Leader Should Know | Martin Richards
What can hostage negotiation teach us about leadership, trust and handling conflict?In this episode of Sulha Edge, Najla El Mangoush speaks with Martin Richards, former Metropolitan Police hostage negotiator and international kidnap response consultant, about what it takes to navigate high-stakes crises where one wrong word can have serious consequences.Drawing on decades of experience, Martin exp
Restorative Justice: How to Repair Harm and Rebuild Trust | Sulha Edge
What if justice wasn’t about assigning blame, but repairing harm?In this episode of Sulha Edge, Najla Mangoush explores restorative justice through the work of Howard Zehr and the tradition of Sulha, a community-based approach to resolving conflict practiced in Libya and other Arab regions.How can businesses respond when trust is broken between partners, managers, teams, or customers? Rather than
What Great Leaders Do When Things Go Wrong
What do you do when things go wrong — protect the people who trust you, or protect yourself?In this episode of Sulha Edge, Najla El Mangoush introduces The Shield Test: the moment that reveals who a leader really is. Through personal experiences and leadership research, she explores the difference between mentorship and sponsorship, the double standards women face in positions of authority, and wh
Your Organization May Not Be Dysfunctional. It May Be Traumatized. | Political Trauma & Leadership
In this episode of Sulha Edge, Najla El Mangoush reflects on her experience leading Libya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the moment she realized that the institution she had entered was carrying years of violence, dysfunction, fear, and survival behavior.She initially approached her team through listening and collaboration. But the response was silence and hesitation. She eventually understood
Leading Through Crisis: When Everyone Says “You’re Crazy” | Burcu Geriş
What does calm leadership look like when everything is uncertain?In this episode of Sulha Edge, Najla El Mangoush speaks with Burcu Geriş, a senior finance executive and current CFO of Petrol Ofisi, about making difficult decisions when the stakes are high and the future is unclear.Burcu spent more than 20 years at TAV Airports and was part of the leadership team navigating the aviation industry t
The Choke Point: How Middle East Geopolitics Can Impact Your Business
Our business doesn’t need to operate in the Middle East to be affected by what happens there.In this episode of Sulha Edge, Najla El Mangoush explores "The Choke Point” — the hidden geopolitical connections that can affect businesses through shipping routes, energy costs, supply chains, and capital.Drawing on her experience as Libya’s Foreign Minister, Najla explains why geopolitical developm
Why Trust Becomes Expensive After Conflict | The Trust Tax
What happens to trust after conflict ends?Need strategic guidance? BOOK A CALL HERE - https://sulhaedge.co.uk/discovery-callIn this episode of Sulha Edge, Najla El Mangoush explores the hidden cost of conflict: the trust tax.Conflict changes how people make decisions long after the fighting stops. Contracts take longer. Hiring becomes more cautious. Every handshake may require more proof.For busin
Why Trust Is the Most Important Leadership Skill | Prof. Emre Alkin on AI, Economy & Power
Need strategic guidance? BOOK A CALL HERE --> https://sulhaedge.co.uk/discovery-callWhat happens when leaders mistake more data for better decisions — or money for value?In this episode of Sulha Edge, Najla El Mangoush speaks with Professor Emre Alkin, economist, author of more than 37 books, university president, advisor to major institutions and companies, and musician.They explore why trust
How to Hold Your Line When You Have No Leverage | Najla El Mangoush
Need strategic guidance? BOOK A CALL HERE - https://sulhaedge.co.uk/discovery-callWhat do you do when you’re negotiating with someone who appears to have more power than you?In this episode of Sulha Edge, Najla El Mangoush draws on her experience as Libya’s former Foreign Minister to explore one of the most important lessons she learned in diplomacy: the standards you accept in small moments becom
What Being the First Really Costs | Najla El Mangoush
What does it really mean to be the first?In this episode of Sulha Edge, Najla El Mangoush reflects on her experience as Libya’s first female Foreign Minister and the unexpected weight that comes with being the person who enters a room for the first time.Need strategic guidance? BOOK A CALL HERE - https://sulhaedge.co.uk/discovery-callBeing first can mean being judged before you are heard, having y
Trailer
Najla Elmangoush is Libya’s first female Foreign Minister and founder of Sulha Edge, a podcast that translates real-world diplomacy, negotiation, and conflict resolution into practical insight for business leaders navigating complex environments. Drawing on her advisory work across Libya, Iraq, Lebanon, and Sudan, and her scholarship on Sulha, a Libyan tradition of restorative diplomacy, she surfa
