In this episode of the Women Emerging Podcast, Julia Middleton sits down with Fatou to explore one of the most profound influences on how we lead: growing up with poverty as part of our essence.

For Fatou, poverty is far more than a lack of money. It is a way of seeing the world that can shape generations, convincing people that scarcity is inevitable and possibility is out of reach. Drawing on her own journey—from growing up in poverty in Africa to studying at Harvard and teaching at MIT—she reflects on what it has taken to challenge those deeply embedded beliefs and discover a different way of leading.

Together, Julia and Fatou explore how experiences of scarcity can lead to overachievement, burnout and an overwhelming need for control. They discuss the difference between leading from fear and leading as a steward, why personal transformation must come before public influence, and how confronting our deepest fears can become the foundation for wiser leadership.

This is a deeply personal conversation about identity, resilience, responsibility and the courage to imagine possibilities beyond the circumstances we inherit.

About the Guest:

Fatoumata (Fatou) Fall is an entrepreneur, a business coach, and strategist who helps top scientists and executives in tech overcome fear and self-sabotage at the moments that matter most in industry: the negotiation table, the public stage, and high-stakes business trips.

As co-founder of Teamrora, she facilitated over 400 negotiation coaching sessions co-creating a cumulative $5 million USD in wealth transfer to candidates. She also trained more than 1,000 professionals, opening doors for underrepresented talent in tech and business along the way.

A Harvard-trained mathematician and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, she blends analytical rigor with a deeply human approach to coaching. Fluent in five languages and shaped by her work across Africa, LatAm, and the U.S., she helps professionals walk into these rites of passage with clarity, confidence, and cultural intelligence.