The Unlock Moment: find your purpose for leadership and life

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 written Culture by Design, a blueprin...

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 people together in ways that create g...

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 CEO Chris Brook-Carter, who experien...

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 the personal and professional reckoning ...

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, Eleven Loves, right in the middle of hi...

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 stillness.

In this deeply moving conversa...

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 years of coaching experience, I share ...

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 “rails” of your career, and how to red...

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 explore. When we create space for dissent and...

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. Playgrounds beside burned-out tanks. ...

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 speaking out.

This is a conversation ab...

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.

This is a conversation about lear...

This is a conversation about what happens when the data you’ve trusted your whole career turns out to be pointing you in the wrong direction. It’s about the moment when logic starts to unravel, and real clarity begins ... not in more numbers, but in understanding what the customer truly sees. Michael Ross brings a deep humility to his insight: that the story behind the numbers can be more powerful than the numbers themselves.

Micha...

Leadership isn’t about being liked, though most great leaders are likeable. The difference is that their likeability comes from credibility and respect, not from chasing approval. In this Box of Keys episode, I explore why trying to lead by being liked almost always backfires, and why boundaries are essential for both children and teams.

Leaders need to separate tough decisions from personal feelings, resisting the pull to be manip...

One of the world’s leading executive coaches and an accredited business psychologist, Alex Lazarus has worked with CEOs and leaders around the world to navigate change and build high-performance cultures. And as the founder of Lazarus & Maverick, she and her team help leaders navigate complexity and deal with that unique sense of isolation that you get when you’re sitting in the big chair at the head of the boardroom table. Her own...

You tell your team your door is always open, but still … nobody walks through. I’ve been thinking about why that is. Why people don’t always feel comfortable stepping forward, even when you genuinely want to hear from them.

It reminded me of a conversation I had with the brilliant leadership coach Dr Francoise Orlov. She talked about what it means to really create psychological safety. Not just saying the right words, but stepping ...

So many people I’m speaking to at the moment are describing themselves as stuck in their careers – often they’ve built a very successful career in one area of specialism and now face into a very big question – “now I have different choices, is this what I really want to do?”

You might know today’s guest Tanya Arnold from her TV career – a BBC sports journalist covering two Olympics, the Commonwealth Games and the Rugby League World ...

In this powerful episode, legendary BBC journalist Rory Cellan-Jones tells the story of the day he discovered a box of letters from his mother that changed everything he knew about his upbringing. Recorded live in London, this powerful and moving testimony from a master storyteller will stay with you for a long time.

Today he is as famous for his rescue dog 'Sophie from Romania' as he is for his 40 year BBC career. He is also an adv...

When I first met Rajeev I was struck his clarity, his humility. A perspective on leadership that is seductive and compelling. To find something bigger than yourself. To find meaning. To find purpose. As he says, leadership is about creating a better future. A hugely successful leader himself, now he's helping others to discover their own Steward Leadership.

Rajeev Peshawaria is the CEO of the Stewardship Asia Centre, a prolific spea...