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

In this episode I interview charity sector CEO Steve Woolcock, who became a first-time CEO last year when taking on the top job at educational charity First Rung, an organisation that exists to provide learning and employment opportunities to support young people in the UK to achieve success and fulfil their potential. Steve talks eloquently about how he worked on unlocking his natural talents and...

In this bonus ten-minute extract, executive coach, transformation specialist and international speaker Chris Tibbetts talks about his Unlock Moment, when his doctor gave him the news that he had to change his lifestyle immediately or he could drop dead at any time. He talks about how he changed his mindset in order to transform his physical health and ultimately lose over 100kg in weight - ten yea...

In this episode I meet Amit Patel, former breast and endocrine surgeon who left the NHS to pursue a career in business and entrepreneurship. After six years in Director roles for the £12bn international healthcare group BUPA, Amit decided to strike out on his own and found Peachy, the UK's first truly digital health insurance platform targeting millenials and small to medium-sized enterprises. He...

In this bonus nine-minute extract, Patrick J. McGinnis, investor, author, podcaster and the inventor of FOMO talks about his Unlock Moment when he found perspective after a highly challenging period of his career through the 2008 financial crash and started to rebuild for the future. Patrick's unique take on the Easter Bunny helps to expose the difference between myth and reality in discerning wha...

In this episode I meet Adwoa Akoto, British-Ghanaian actor, writer, model and entrepreneur who appeared in HBO/BBC's hit series 'I May Destroy You'. She talks about her unusual route from economics and finance into acting and how her experience working with NGOs shaped her desire to create impact in this world. Reflecting on the conversation, she says, "I didn't even realise a lot of the answers t...

In this episode I meet celebrated healthy food inventor, entrepreneur and CEO, Anthony Fletcher, whose experience at Innocent Drinks followed by 8 years as the CEO of Graze snacks inspired his mission to remove the junk from junk food and reinvent the doughnut through his latest Willy Wonka creation, Urban Legend. He describes with great honesty and authenticity both the highlights and the tough m...

In this episode I meet executive coach and team facilitator Dolly Waddell, whose upbringing in the orbit of a highly successful family luxury jewellery business honed her natural instinct for entrepreneurship. A moment of tough self-reflection made clear how her life as a vicar's wife and mother of four was defined and constrained by societal expectations, running contrary to her vibrant natural s...

In this exclusive long-form interview I talk to World Ballroom Showdance Champion, Strictly Come Dancing Champion, musical theatre star and someone I’m proud to call a close friend, Joanne Clifton. She describes in compelling and sometimes shocking detail the journey she took to becoming world champion - the intense training regime, the extreme physical and psychological pressure she endured and t...

In this episode I meet Amanda Britton, the inspirational Chief Executive, Principal and Artistic Director of the world-renowned Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. Her powerful story, from leaving home at the age of 12 to pursue her passion for dance, through being one of the youngest new hires at Ballet Rambert and eventually taking on leadership of the iconic Rambert School, reflect...

In this episode I interview Brett Sammels who worked his way up through the family business LAW Creative, helping to build it into one of the leading European independent full-service marketing agencies. He talks about managing the weight of the family name, building a distinctive culture and eventually taking the hot seat as Managing Director. I do a significant amount of coaching work with famil...

In this episode I interview charismatic Canadian retail leader Normand Ciarlo who ran the leading luxury department store in Montreal - Holt Renfrew Ogilvy. With a background in dance and performing arts, Normand brings his love of theatre to the retail stage. Passionate about creating a culture in which everyone feels that they belong, Normand talks with conviction and brings to life his leadersh...

In this episode I interview New York-based Tayo Rockson, an inspiring thought leader in diversity, inclusion and anti-racism. A self-styled polymath-in-progress, Tayo has established himself as an authority in communicating effectively across cultures and personal branding. He has graced various stages including TEDx, the Chautauqua Institution in New York, and the United Nations. Tayo hosts 'As T...

In this episode I interview executive coach, transformation specialist and international speaker Chris Tibbetts. Massively overweight and faced with the prospect of just six months to live, he turned his life around and went on to lose over 100kg - transforming his life expectancy in the process. Ten years on, he now helps others to be in the best shape both physically and mentally. This is a raw...

In this episode I interview social impact entrepreneur, investor and EdTech pioneer Nick Novak, who spent years working intensively in high profile and high-growth EdTech platforms including Schoolnet and Arbor Education Partners.  Nick had figured out his personal values some years before, but his Unlock Moment was the realisation that knowing was not enough - he had to take action in order to co...

Tony Walmsley has coached at some of the biggest football clubs in the world. It shaped his thinking on how to inspire world-class leaders who influence performance. His Unlock Moment came when thrust into a live TV interview after a tough defeat - how he handled the provocative questioning helped him to understand the kind of leader he was at his best. The vivid stories Tony tells of both the hig...

In this episode, I interview the inventor of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), Patrick J. McGinnis.  He talks with honesty and humour about the experience of being in the wrong place at the wrong time in the 2008 financial crash and the journey he went on to discover a path where he could make a difference to millions through his books, podcast and speaking work.  Patrick's hit FOMO Sapiens podcast has...

In this episode, I interview Dr Gauri Seth, psychiatrist, coach and mother of three, whose background in psychiatry, family therapy and academia formed the basis of her powerful work in helping parents build stronger family connections with their children. Her Unlock Moment was a realisation that she had to adjust her priorities in favour of her children in their most formative years, which led he...

In this very special episode, I interview TV personality, star of Strictly Come Dancing, actor, author and astrologer Russell Grant, for whom a life-changing call to join the cast of Strictly reconnected him with a long-lost passion for performing and brought out his natural spontaneity. Strictly helped Russell recover from a dark time in his life and to rewrite the public's perception of him. It...

In this episode, I interview author, speaker, and coach Simon Alexander Ong, whose Unlock Moment was sitting in the crowd at a Tony Robbins event, realising he was more fascinated by how Robbins created that incredible impact on his audience than he was in the content of Robbins’ talk. From a background working at Lehman Brothers in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis, over the course of a deca...

My interview with US strengths expert and executive coach Micah Lorenc is the most downloaded episode of The Unlock Moment to date. His blend of authentic self-reflection and beautiful storytelling has resonated strongly with you, my listeners. So here's a short and snappy seven-minute extract from our conversation talking about how he figured out that he should change his priorities and career pa...

In this episode, I interview global style icon Alexis Knox, who has worked alongside the biggest names in popular music as an in-demand international fashion stylist, working with music’s most edgy personalities including Miley Cyrus, M.I.A, Charli XCX, Little Mix, Bruno Mars, Craig David, Rita Ora, Jessie J, Grimes, and more. She talks honestly and candidly about the personal toll her 24/7 globet...

Can you give me just ten minutes of your time to learn something that might change your life?  In this bite-sized extract from my conversation with actor and talent manager Samuel Haughton, he talks about how he chose between pursuing success or pursuing happiness, and about the extraordinary impact on his mindset and his life choices that followed. I have received incredible feedback from many pe...

In this episode, I interview performance specialist and elite football coach Tony Walmsley, whose experience with Manchester United, Sheffield United, and Central Coast Mariners shaped his thinking on how to inspire world-class leaders who influence performance. His Unlock Moment came when thrust into a live TV interview after a tough defeat - how he handled the provocative questioning helped him...

In this episode, I interview New Zealand-based wellbeing specialist and TEDx speaker Lauren Parsons, whose Unlock Moment was to transform the shy, unsporty persona from school into a confident and outgoing fitness instructor, educator, and public speaker. Listen in if you want to learn how to turn your negative labels into positive ones and unlock your confident self. Feel free to connect with Lau...

In this episode, I interview online fashion founder Hayley Thomas, whose husband's diagnosis of Stage 3 Bowel Cancer completely changed her perspective on life and triggered her to get on and turn her entrepreneurial dream into reality. Five years on, Ben is cancer-free and her sustainable fashion brand Eleven Loves is growing from strength to strength, now with 35,000 Instagram followers. This is...