The Unlock Moment: find your purpose for leadership and life

My wife and I are huge fans of the highly successful Traitors TV show. And if you’ve watched it then in Season 2 of the UK series you’ll remember the big-hearted Welshman Andrew Jenkins, playing a Traitor and whose banishment at the last round table set the series up for a memorable finale.

But the story of Andrew’s journey starts long before he was on TV. Two decades ago, at the age of 21, he was in a horrendous car accident and was thought to be dead at the side of the road. In a coma for 4...

This raw, unflinching account of burnout and recovery from leading psychotherapist Anna Mathur is one of the most emotionally-charged conversations I've had to date here on The Unlock Moment.

Anna is widely celebrated for her accessible mental health advice she offers across her platforms – including her Instagram page, incredibly popular podcast ‘The Therapy Edit’ and five-star rated online courses on Reframing Anxiety, People Pleasing and Self-Worth. With an audience of over 210,000 on Instagram, Anna regularly features in titles including the Telegraph, Grazia, Marie Claire, The Sun, Closer, Stylist and Mother and Baby.

Anna’s books include...

Recorded LIVE at the Climb24 Investor Summit in Leeds, UK.

Dominic McGregor is today a successful investor with Fearless Adventures, investing and driving growth in entrepreneur-led e-commerce businesses. But he's most famous for co-founding Social Chain with Dragon's Den star Steven Bartlett in 2013, and after six years selling that business and eventually taking the combined business public.

The Unlock Moment though is about the personal more than it is about the job. And Dominic has spoken publicly and we'll be talking today about some of the personal struggles that he experienced on his journey of...

I’m sure most of us can think of an inspirational teacher who helped to guide us in our journey from childhood to adulthood. Mine was Mr Rutland, my enigmatic physics teacher who revelled in turning complex concepts into memorable moments. He also started me on my journey in public speaking, teaching me and my friends the skills required to be impactful speakers and driving us up to London in the rickety school minibus to hear thought leaders of the day debating at the English Speaking Union in Mayfair.

But we also heard glimpses of another life. Tu...

Here in summer 2024, the world is more uncertain and unstable than it has been for many years. And I have always believed in the power of the arts to transcend politics, to transcend conflict, to show us a light and to give us hope for a better future.

Today it is my privilege to welcome to the podcast an incredibly talented young dancer who epitomises that vision of hope. I met her late last year and was immediately captivated by her quiet power and her belief in exploration and growth. I’ve been watching her dance on he...

In these most volatile of times, it feels as though the only certainty in business and life is that change is the new normal. So today I’m delighted to welcome a world-leading thinker and author on transformation and change to The Unlock Moment.

Faisal Hoque is an accomplished entrepreneur, a noted thought leader, technology innovator and advisor to CEOs and the US federal government. He is the founder of SHADOKA and NextChapter, and he serves as a strategic partner and an innovation leader for CACI whose technology and expertise plays a vital role in US national se...

I met today’s guest last year, a world-leading coach and the kind of deep thinker that I love to spend time in conversation with. I know you will enjoy hearing from her too.

Dr Francoise Orlov, who holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Strasbourg in France, is an accredited Master Coach, Mentor, and Coaching Supervisor. She is a published author and a member of Marshall Goldsmith's 100 Coaches. As an advocate of the professionalisation of coaching, she actively contributes to the advancement of best practices through her collaborations with major coaching bodies.

Pr...

Today we are meeting a top marketing executive, a leadership and branding coach and a top business school professor – the many-hatted Jenny Fernandez.

Jenny is an award-winning executive and team coach, Columbia and NYU faculty, and brand strategist. She works with senior leaders and their teams to maximise their impact by becoming more curious, collaborative, and resilient. Her work spans Fortune 500 companies, startups, and higher education. Jenny has been recognized by Thinkers50 Radar as one of the Top 30 Management Thinkers to Watch, and a Top 30 Global Guru.

Like me she is a member of Marshall Go...

The Post Office Horizon IT Scandal represents the biggest single series of wrongful convictions in British legal history. Brought to life in the hit ITV series "Mr Bates vs. The Post Office", the story hit the headlines in early 2024 and at the time of publication is the subject of a major public inquiry.

Faulty equipment and computer software made it look as though money was missing from post office branch accounts and the sub-postmasters’ contracts held them personally liable. More than 900 were prosecuted, many went to prison and many others were financially ruined.

In this ve...

The other day it was my huge honour to deliver the commencement address at the University College London (UCL) MBA Graduation.

Sitting in the front row and wearing my university robes for the first time in 20 years, I was humbled to hear from the graduating students how much they had sacrificed to complete their studies over four years alongside busy day jobs. And the common threads in each person's story were the human connections that they had made through the programme.

I talked about how my deepest underlying sense of purpose is about finding freedom...