The Unlock Moment: find your purpose for leadership and life
My name’s Dr Gary Crotaz, I’m an international speaker, an executive coach, and I coined the term The Unlock Moment. An Unlock Moment is that flash of remarkable clarity when you suddenly know the right path ahead. Unlock Moments define us. They teach us about ourselves. And we remember them decades later. In exploring Unlock Moments on this podcast and in my speaking and coaching work, I’ve discovered how we can see ourselves through a new lens, how we can make new and powerful connections, and how we can get right to the heart of our deepest underl...
10
179 Arad Reisberg: The Clarity He Discovered on the Operating Table
<p>Some moments don’t arrive gently. They shake you awake and force you to see the world differently.</p><p> </p><p>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 the world as both insider and outsider.</p><p> </p><p>Years later, a quiet moment at home changed everything. His husband, a cardiologist, listened to his chest, paused...
178 Tim Lupinacci: Why Leadership Starts Long Before You Get the Title
<p>Some lessons in leadership come from success. Others come from failure ... and the courage to own it.</p><p> </p><p>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 mission to help others discover that leadership isn’t something you wait for … it’s something you choose.</p><p> </p><p>We talk about taking ownership, showing up...
177 James D. White and Krista White: How to Build Culture by Design, Not by Default
<p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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 blueprint for building organisations that are high-performing, human and intentional.</p><p> </p><p>We talk about leading across generations, the role of empathy as a tru...
176 David Homan: Orchestrating Connection in a World Built to Divide Us
<p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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 genuine impact.</p><p> </p><p>We talk about the experience of feeling like an outsider, the courage it takes to show up with generosity when you’re not sure anything will come back...
175 The Unlock Moment Box of Keys #33: Why Your Biggest Failure Might Be Your Best Move
<p>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?</p><p> </p><p>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 experienced a career-shaking setback that ultimately transformed his leadership. And I reflect on my own m...
174 Navid Nazemian: The Executive Transitions Expert Who Transformed Himself
<p>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.</p><p> </p><p>But then, life brought a transition of his own.</p><p> </p><p>In this powerful episode, Navid opens up about the personal and professional reckoning that led him to walk away from a high-flying corporate career and step into the unknown. He shares what it really takes to leave behind an id...
173 The Unlock Moment Box of Keys #32: If Not Now, When? The Cost Of Waiting For The ‘Right’ Time
<p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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 his treatment.</p><p> </p><p>Their courage is a reminder that the best time to begin isn’t someday...
172 Sue Holly-Rodway: When the System Crashes - A Tech Leader’s Battle With Long COVID
<p>What happens when the energy that’s always defined you simply vanishes?</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>In this deeply moving conversation, Sue opens up about the physical and emotional unravelling that followed, and the long process of rediscovery that came next. We tal...
171 The Unlock Moment Box of Keys #31: No One Else Can Lead Like You ... Here’s Why
<p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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 why self-awareness is the key to confident, effective leadership, and how to let go of comparison so you can i...
170 Greg Orme: Discovering The Human Edge – The Secret To Staying Relevant When Everything Changes
<p>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?</p><p> </p><p>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 rediscover your human edge in the age of AI.</p><p> </p><p>Greg...
