The Unlock Moment: The Inner Shift That Changes How You Lead

Some of the most powerful shifts in leadership come from seeing something that's been there all along, but never fully acted on.   On this episode of The Unlock Moment, I am joined by Christine Barnes, executive coach, UC Berkeley lecturer, and author of Inclusionable: Transform How You Lead and Elevate Your Team's Performance ... and her story is a brilliant example of exactly that.   Christine h...

Chris Whitaker has spent his life navigating systems that weren’t built with him in mind … and then choosing to change them.   Born six weeks prematurely with cerebral palsy, Chris grew up learning how to operate in a world that often underestimated him. That early experience only served to sharpen his ambition. From university rowing squads to national-level sport, and later into leadership roles...

What does it take to perform when there is no second take … and no margin for error?   In this episode, I speak with Luisa Baldini - former BBC correspondent and co-founder of Composure Media - about what it takes to communicate under pressure.   For over two decades, Luisa reported live from major global events, often with millions watching, producers speaking in her ear, and events unfolding in...

Some negotiations are lost long before a single word is agreed. They’re lost in the rush to fill silence … in the instinct to ease tension … in the urge to make the other person comfortable.   My guest in this episode understands this better than most. Mildred Yuan is a leading talent agent, negotiator and executive coach - and she also happens to be my partner in life. Years ago she was my dance...

What happens when a relationship doesn’t explode … it just disappears?   In this episode of The Unlock Moment, I’m joined by high-profile US psychologist Dr Josh Coleman to unpack why estrangement happens - and what actually helps when you want to rebuild a relationship that’s been lost to distance, conflict, or silence.   We explore the major pathways to estrangement (including cultural change, d...

What happens when success comes at the cost of authenticity?   In this episode of The Unlock Moment, I’m joined by Dr Michelle K. Johnston - Distinguished Professor of Management, executive coach, and co-author with Marshall Goldsmith - to explore the moment that reshaped her leadership, her research, and her life.   At just 28, Michelle was a rising academic star. But sitting alone in her office,...

What does it take to stay human in a system that rewards slogans over thinking?   In this conversation, Ryan Wain - Senior Director of Policy & Politics at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change - traces his path from Sainsbury’s checkouts in Liverpool to shaping ideas that influence governments in the UK and around the world.   We talk about the leadership lessons he learned from everyday peo...

What happens when you get everything you thought you wanted, and it still doesn’t feel like enough?   For Paul Ollinger, that question surfaced after leaving Facebook with financial freedom in his early forties. On paper, it was success. In reality, it sparked a deeper reckoning about identity, purpose, and what actually makes a life feel whole.   In this conversation, Paul reflects on the disorie...

Some leadership lessons arrive through strategy. Others arrive at 38,000 feet, reading a single sentence that reframes everything.   For Garry Ridge, former CEO and Chairman Emeritus of WD-40, that moment sparked a radical shift in how he thought about leadership, culture, and responsibility. In his second appearance on The Unlock Moment, Garry returns to reflect on what he’s learned since steppin...

Recorded live at Climb25 - The UK’s Festival of Business Growth & Innovation, this episode of The Unlock Moment features Dr Bob Gomersall: physicist, teacher, accidental entrepreneur and pioneer of global educational technology.   Bob traces his journey from teaching physics in the late 1970s to building a business delivering assessment platforms now used around the world, supporting awarding bodi...

Some unlock moments arrive quietly. Others come when life is in full conflict.   For executive coach and conflict mediator Adam Vane, clarity appeared only after he walked away from the family business and into years of intense Zen training. Alone on a mountaintop retreat, he realised a truth that changed everything: “Nobody’s going to help me figure this out… it’s just little me.”   That moment b...

Some moments don’t arrive gently. They shake you awake and force you to see the world differently.   For Professor Arad Reisberg, that clarity began in childhood, sitting on “whites only” benches in apartheid-era South Africa and feeling, long before he had language for it, that something was deeply wrong. Growing up openly gay, Jewish and a migrant, he learned early what it meant to move through...

Some lessons in leadership come from success. Others come from failure ... and the courage to own it.   For Tim Lupinacci, Chairman and CEO of Baker Donelson, one of America’s leading law firms, his Unlock Moment came early in his career - a late night in the office, a costly mistake, and a boss who unexpectedly saw potential instead of failure. That moment changed everything, sparking a lifelong...

In a time when companies talk about culture but struggle to live it, one truth stands out: culture doesn’t happen by accident … it happens by design.   Father and daughter James and Krista White have spent their careers on opposite ends of the leadership spectrum - James in the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies, Krista in the world of purpose-driven strategy and social impact. Together, they’ve...

In a world that celebrates networking, collecting contacts and trading favours, we often overlook a more meaningful truth: real connection isn’t built through transactions … it’s built through generosity, trust and shared purpose.   David Homan understands this deeply. A classical composer, CEO and author of Orchestrating Connection, he is known as a “connector of connectors”, bringing remarkable...

We all carry an inner fear of failure ... of getting it wrong, falling short, or not becoming who we thought we should be. But what if the moments you label as “failure” are actually the turning points that reveal who you truly are?   In this Box of Keys episode, I explore the quiet power of failure - not as the opposite of success, but as the path that shapes it. I share the story of Retail Trust...

For years, Navid Nazemian was the one guiding leaders through big changes ... C-suite appointments, career pivots, and organisational upheaval. As an executive in global HR and the author of Mastering Executive Transitions, he built a reputation for helping others navigate uncertainty with clarity.   But then, life brought a transition of his own.   In this powerful episode, Navid opens up about t...

We tell ourselves there’s always time ... time to start the dream project, make the change, take the leap. But when life throws us a wake-up call, we realise how fragile that assumption is.   In this Box of Keys episode, I reflect on the moving story of Hayley Thomas, who, after her husband’s cancer diagnosis at 40, chose to stop waiting for the “right” moment and launch their fashion business, El...

What happens when the energy that’s always defined you simply vanishes?   For decades, Sue Holly-Rodway was a powerhouse … a dynamic senior leader in the tech world, an executive coach, and a woman known for her drive, passion and light. Then long COVID struck, and that light dimmed overnight. The fatigue was relentless. The smallest tasks became impossible. Life as she knew it collapsed into stil...

Stepping into leadership can feel overwhelming ... especially when you’re looking around at how everyone else does it. But here’s the truth: no-one else leads like you, because no-one else is you.   In this Box of Keys episode, I discuss why the best leaders don’t copy someone else’s style - they lean into their own strengths and lead in a way that feels authentic. Drawing on Gallup research and y...

How do you stay human in a world that’s being redefined by technology? How do you keep your work creative, meaningful and alive ... when sameness and automation are all around us?   In this episode, we explore how curiosity, creativity and agency can transform the way you show up - at work and in life. Greg Orme and I talk about the moments that light you up, why it’s so easy to get stuck on the “...

What if disagreement is exactly what your team needs?   In this Box of Keys episode, I explore why pushing too hard for total agreement can actually hold your team back. When everyone feels pressured to nod along with the strategy, what you often get is hidden tension, quiet resentment, and a lack of true engagement.   But disagreement isn’t a problem to eliminate ... it’s an opportunity to explor...

In August 2025, I travelled to Kyiv, Ukraine, during a week that marked both the country’s Independence Day and one of the largest aerial attacks on the capital since the war began.   I wanted to understand, firsthand, what life is really like in a city at war. To walk its streets. To listen to its people. To witness what the headlines can’t capture.   What I found was a city of striking contrasts...

You can’t fix what no one feels safe to say out loud.   In this episode, I sit down with astronaut Dr Charles Camarda to explore the cultural roots of catastrophic failure ... and how even the most advanced organisations can lose their way. We talk about the moments that led to the Columbia tragedy, the silence that surrounded it, and what Charlie learned when he was removed from his role after sp...

How do you tell the difference between someone who’s a solid performer and someone who’s driven by something deeper ... by purpose, mission, and impact? In this Box of Keys episode, I reflect on a conversation with a senior leader who believed everyone in his organisation was motivated by money and promotion. But when you look more closely, the exceptional ones often signal something else entirely...