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

Hosted by Dr Gary Crotaz PhD

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212

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Great leaders aren't defined by their title. They're defined by a moment. A moment when clarity cuts through the noise. A moment when a difficult decision becomes unavoidable. A moment that changes not just what they do, but how they lead. This is The Unlock Moment. Downloaded in more than 140 countries, The Unlock Moment is the leadership podcast that goes beyond success stories, strategies, and polished narratives to uncover the moments that shaped the people behind them. In each episode, master interviewer, executive coach, and author Dr Gary Crotaz sits down with world-class leaders, entrepreneurs, athletes, thinkers, and change-makers to explore the turning points that transformed their perspective, their performance, and their lives. These are not conversations about what happened. They're conversations about what changed. From boardrooms to Olympic podiums, from start-ups to global institutions, every guest reveals the insight, challenge, setback, or breakthrough that unlocked a new level of leadership. Because when you understand someone's Unlock Moment, you understand what really matters. And you might discover one of your own.

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60 recent

September 7, 202648 min

194 Rita McGrath, Professor, Author and Strategy Advisor: Stop Defending The Past - How Leaders Build What Comes Next

Some leaders sense change early. Far fewer know what to do with it. Rita McGrath has spent her career studying the moment the ground shifts under a business ... and why so many brilliant, well-resourced companies miss it completely. She's a professor at Columbia Business School, ranked among the world's top ten management thinkers by Thinkers50 and winner of their number one award in strategy, and the author of The End of Competitive Advantage and Seeing Around Corners. In this episode, Rita takes me inside her "flops file" ... a collection of corporate disasters so expensive you have to lose fifty million dollars to make the list. We talk about why the old rules of strategy have stopped working, why treating failure as learning is so hard for experienced operators, and how the best leaders manage the one resource they can never get back: their own time and attention. She shares the idea of strategic centering ... working out what your organisation is truly grounded on ... and why a scientist running a science company, or a technologist running a technology company, now has an advantage the generalist CEO does not. And she makes the case that we are living through a genuine turning point, where the old world is fighting to hold its place and the new one is already taking shape for those with the courage to see it. It began with a teenager from Rochester stepping off a plane into a New York City she'd been warned was dangerous ... and choosing curiosity over fear. That instinct became a whole way of thinking about strategy. This is a conversation about paying attention to the future before it arrives. The Unlock Moment is hosted by Dr Gary Crotaz, PhD — master interviewer, executive coach and author. Downloaded in over 140 countries. Sign up to The Unlock Moment newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/ywhdaazp Find out more at https://garycrotaz.com and https://theunlockmoment.com Also discover his other podcasts, The Box of Keys and Unlock Your Leadership . Follow, subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts — and connect with Dr Gary on LinkedIn for more leadership insights. Part of The Unlock Moment podcast family.

August 28, 202657 min

193 Mohan Nair, Author, Speaker and Transformation Leader: How Not To Lose Your Mind In An AI-Obsessed Era

Every day, most of us drive around the car park of our own brain looking for the closest possible space ... the easiest answer, the fastest shortcut, the machine that will do the thinking for us. Mohan Nair thinks that habit is costing us something we haven't begun to measure. Mohan is a speaker, author and transformation leader who has spent decades working at the intersection of business, innovation and human experience, as CEO of Emerge, former Chief Innovation Officer at Cambia Health Solutions, and an adjunct professor at Kellogg. He is also a musician, a former TV talk show host, and, by his own description, the first healthcare executive to audition and lose at America's Got Talent. In this episode, Mohan takes me inside his new book Unreachable, and his argument that insight is biological, not technological ... something a machine can describe but never feel. We talk about the three signs you have become AI-obsessed, why editing your work is a different act from creating it, what "inconvenient learning" is and why the best leaders are forged by it, and the story of a ninety million dollar contract that turned on his refusing to hear a demand literally, which is exactly what AI would have done. It started with a teacher telling a sixteen-year-old boy he was a disgrace to his family. What Mohan did with that moment ... and what he thinks all of us must now do to stay human in an age of intelligent machines ... is the heart of this conversation. The Unlock Moment is hosted by Dr Gary Crotaz, PhD — master interviewer, executive coach and author. Downloaded in over 140 countries. Sign up to The Unlock Moment newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/ywhdaazp Find out more at https://garycrotaz.com and https://theunlockmoment.com Also discover his other podcasts, The Box of Keys and Unlock Your Leadership . Follow, subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts — and connect with Dr Gary on LinkedIn for more leadership insights. Part of The Unlock Moment podcast family.

August 3, 202649 min

192 Neri Karra Sillaman, Author, Professor and Entrepreneur: What Immigrant-Founded Businesses Can Teach Us About Resilience In Leadership

Close to half of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants. Eighty per cent of billion-dollar startups have an immigrant founder or executive. And businesses founded by immigrants statistically outlast the ones founded by everybody else. Nobody had properly asked why ... until Dr Neri Karra Sillaman did. Neri stood at a border at the age of eleven with her nine-year-old brother and her parents, who carried two suitcases and nothing else. She is now a professor at Oxford, the founder of a global luxury brand, and the winner of the Thinkers50 Radar award for the world's most promising emerging management thinker. In this episode, Neri takes me inside the research behind her book Pioneers ... eight principles she found in the founders of Chobani, Moderna and Calendly, none of whom put profit first. We talk about why the usual paths are often closed to outsiders and what they build instead, why raising money too early can kill a company before it starts, and what happened when the war in Ukraine hit her own business ... and Prada picked up the phone. Twenty years ago, in a seminar room in London, Neri was told that altruism is not real in business. This is what she found out. The Unlock Moment is hosted by Dr Gary Crotaz, PhD — master interviewer, executive coach and author. Downloaded in over 140 countries. Sign up to The Unlock Moment newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/ywhdaazp Find out more at https://garycrotaz.com and https://theunlockmoment.com Also discover his other podcasts, The Box of Keys and Unlock Your Leadership . Follow, subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts — and connect with Dr Gary on LinkedIn for more leadership insights. Part of The Unlock Moment podcast family.

July 20, 202641 min

191 Stephanie Millward, Paralympic Gold Medallist: All The Nasty Things Are Wonderful - Reframing Overwhelming Odds To Find Purpose And Fulfilment

What do you do when the life you've spent everything building is suddenly taken away from you overnight? Stephanie Millward MBE was 16, a British record-breaking swimmer heading for the Sydney Olympics, when she went blind, lost the ability to walk and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Doctors gave her 10 years to live. She's now 44. In this episode, Stephanie takes me through one of the most extraordinary stories of reinvention I've ever heard ... how she learned to hold a funeral for her old self, get back in the pool, and go on to compete at four Paralympic Games, winning gold medals that nobody ... including her ... ever thought she'd live long enough to win. We talk about silencing the voice that tells you you're not enough, why every single bad thing that has ever happened to you might just be the best thing that ever happened to you, and how to write the ending of your story before you've even begun to live it. If you've ever faced a moment where everything felt lost ... this one is for you. The Unlock Moment is hosted by Dr Gary Crotaz, PhD — master interviewer, executive coach and author. Downloaded in over 140 countries. Sign up to The Unlock Moment newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/ywhdaazp Find out more at https://garycrotaz.com and https://theunlockmoment.com Also discover his other podcasts, The Box of Keys and Unlock Your Leadership . Follow, subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts — and connect with Dr Gary on LinkedIn for more leadership insights. Part of The Unlock Moment podcast family.

May 26, 202644 min

190 Christine Barnes, Coach and Author: The Inclusion Trap - Why Leaders Are Getting It Wrong Without Knowing It

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 has spent her career inside some of the world's most complex organisations, from IBM to Oracle, Roche to Genentech, helping leaders navigate change and build capability. But it was her doctoral research - begun at an age when most of her peers were thinking about retirement - that crystallised what she had been observing for decades: that despite billions spent on diversity hiring, too many people still look up in their organisations and see nobody like them. In this conversation, we explore why most leaders can't actually distinguish between diversity and inclusion, how Christine's own biases showed up in the middle of a research interview, and why outsourcing inclusion to DEI experts, however essential they are, lets leaders off the hook. This is a conversation about self-awareness, accountability, and the simple but transformative idea that inclusion isn't a nice-to-have. It's your most underused leadership strategy. The Unlock Moment is hosted by Dr Gary Crotaz, PhD — master interviewer, executive coach and author. Downloaded in over 140 countries. Sign up to The Unlock Moment newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/ywhdaazp Find out more at https://garycrotaz.com and https://theunlockmoment.com Also discover his other podcasts, The Box of Keys and Unlock Your Leadership . Follow, subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts — and connect with Dr Gary on LinkedIn for more leadership insights. Part of The Unlock Moment podcast family.

April 27, 202657 min

189 Chris Whitaker, Disability Advocate and Coach: Rethinking Disability, Talent, and Potential Through Coaching

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 across the charity and disability sectors, he developed a perspective grounded in both lived experience and performance. Today, as founder of Purple Advantage, Chris works with organisations to rethink how they approach disability, employment, and inclusion. His focus is on closing the disability employment gap, unlocking overlooked talent, and helping leaders move beyond uncertainty into confident, human conversations. We explore the moments that shaped Chris’s identity, his competitive drive, and his approach to leadership … including the role his wife, a Paralympian, played in helping him fully embrace his own story. This is a perspective formed through experience, challenge, and reflection, and it invites a different way of seeing the people around us. The Unlock Moment is hosted by Dr Gary Crotaz, PhD — master interviewer, executive coach and author. Downloaded in over 140 countries. Sign up to The Unlock Moment newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/ywhdaazp Find out more at https://garycrotaz.com and https://theunlockmoment.com Also discover his other podcasts, The Box of Keys and Unlock Your Leadership . Follow, subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts — and connect with Dr Gary on LinkedIn for more leadership insights. Part of The Unlock Moment podcast family.

April 1, 202657 min

188 Luisa Baldini, Broadcast Journalist: Composure Under Fire - What Leaders Get Wrong About Handling The Pressure

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 real time around her. She shares what those moments taught her about composure, confidence and clarity … and why pressure doesn’t disappear as you progress in your career - it simply changes shape. We explore how leaders can think more clearly, communicate more simply, and stay steady when the stakes are high. Because composure isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you learn … when it matters most. The Unlock Moment is hosted by Dr Gary Crotaz, PhD — master interviewer, executive coach and author. Downloaded in over 140 countries. Sign up to The Unlock Moment newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/ywhdaazp Find out more at https://garycrotaz.com and https://theunlockmoment.com Also discover his other podcasts, The Box of Keys and Unlock Your Leadership . Follow, subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts — and connect with Dr Gary on LinkedIn for more leadership insights. Part of The Unlock Moment podcast family.

March 9, 202640 min

187 Mildred Yuan, Talent Agent and Coach: How to Play the Discomfort Olympics - A Masterclass in Negotiation

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 partner too, back when competitive ballroom dancing played a big role in our lives. Her approach to negotiation traces back to a moment when she was just sixteen, staring down her formidable Tiger Mom across the kitchen table … and discovering a lesson she still uses today. Influence often belongs to the person willing to stay in discomfort a little longer. In this conversation we explore negotiation, self-advocacy, and the moment you realise that no one is coming to rescue you. At some point, you have to decide to stand your ground … and put on your own superhero cape. The Unlock Moment is hosted by Dr Gary Crotaz, PhD — master interviewer, executive coach and author. Downloaded in over 140 countries. Sign up to The Unlock Moment newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/ywhdaazp Find out more at https://garycrotaz.com and https://theunlockmoment.com Also discover his other podcasts, The Box of Keys and Unlock Your Leadership . Follow, subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts — and connect with Dr Gary on LinkedIn for more leadership insights. Part of The Unlock Moment podcast family.

February 23, 202637 min

186 Dr Joshua Coleman, Psychologist and Media Personality: Why Estrangement Happens - and How Repair Begins

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, divorce, political differences, and therapy narratives), why the “old rules” of hierarchy and obligation no longer land the way they once did, and what repair really requires when guilt, logic, and authority fail. Josh shares a practical, compassionate framework for reconciliation: easing off the armour, learning a new language for hard conversations, and understanding a counterintuitive truth - the person who wants the relationship most often has to lead the repair. This is a conversation about humility without collapse, warmth with strength, and how trust is rebuilt one honest conversation at a time - in families, in teams, and in any relationship that matters. More from Dr Josh Coleman: Website: DrJoshuaColeman.com Substack: joshuacolemanphd.substack.com The Unlock Moment is hosted by Dr Gary Crotaz, PhD — master interviewer, executive coach and author. Downloaded in over 140 countries. Sign up to The Unlock Moment newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/ywhdaazp Find out more at https://garycrotaz.com and https://theunlockmoment.com Also discover his other podcasts, The Box of Keys and Unlock Your Leadership . Follow, subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts — and connect with Dr Gary on LinkedIn for more leadership insights. Part of The Unlock Moment podcast family.

February 9, 202645 min

185 Dr Michelle K. Johnston, Professor, Author and Coach: The Seismic Shift, How Connection Unlocks Purpose

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, reading student feedback she found hurtful, she realised something profound: she was succeeding by pretending to be someone she wasn’t. In trying to fit a command-and-control mould, she had silenced the very strengths that made her exceptional … her warmth, enthusiasm, and humanity. That moment sparked a seismic internal shift. One that led Michelle to a lifelong exploration of connection: with self, with others, and with the courage required to show up authentically in environments where you feel different or alone. We talk about growing up constantly adapting, why connection always begins within, the loneliness that often accompanies deep personal change, and why productivity without connection ultimately leads to emptiness. Michelle also shares the core ideas behind her new book The Seismic Shift in You, including why leaders must move from task to people, from control to connection, and why your calendar reveals your true priorities. This conversation is a powerful reminder that leadership transformation doesn’t start in the boardroom … it starts inside us. If you’ve ever felt like you were performing instead of belonging, this episode will meet you exactly where you are. The Unlock Moment is hosted by Dr Gary Crotaz, PhD — master interviewer, executive coach and author. Downloaded in over 140 countries. Sign up to The Unlock Moment newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/ywhdaazp Find out more at https://garycrotaz.com and https://theunlockmoment.com Also discover his other podcasts, The Box of Keys and Unlock Your Leadership . Follow, subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts — and connect with Dr Gary on LinkedIn for more leadership insights. Part of The Unlock Moment podcast family.