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.

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.

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.