This Beyond Potential podcast episode explores Elev-8’s central argument that the meaningful levers for change live at team level: while culture is an organisation’s broad personality, team climate is the day-to-day experience that determines whether people stay, perform and innovate.

Miranda Cain, Rob Clarke and Sean Spurgin draw on consulting work and the ideas in their book 'Dropping the C-Bomb: Why Team Climate Crushes Culture' to show how leaders can shape climate through proximity, consistent behaviours, early conversations and by removing everyday friction points.

They set out pragmatic tools from “illuminating awesome” (catching people doing things right) to shrinking change into tiny, repeatable actions and show how these simple habits produce measurable gains in engagement, customer outcomes and retention.

The episode makes a practical case: policies and big initiatives won’t stick unless leaders change what they do each day.

In this episode of Beyond Potential, Tom Emery and Tomas Mason sit down with Christina Lewis, founder of Herizon, and an expert in emotional intelligence and gender-balanced leadership in high-growth tech.

Christina’s career has been anything but linear. From widening access to higher education, to representing rider and driver communities across global tech platforms, to scaling operations impacting over a million drivers across 54 countries, her journey has shaped a unique perspective on how organisations grow, and how people thrive within them.

Together, they explore the pressures of high-growth environments, why emotional intelligence is a commercial advantage, and the truth behind gender representation in tech, including why thousands of women leave the sector each year, and why it’s not for the reasons most people assume.

The conversation dives into:

• Why “high growth” shouldn’t mean low emotional intelligence
• The hidden cost of losing women in tech and why the real issue isn’t childcare
• The structural and behavioural barriers stopping women from progressing
• Why leadership stereotypes create narrow definitions of success
• How culture, systems, and emotional intelligence work together not in isolation
• The role leaders play in shaping environments where diverse thinkers can thrive
• Why organisations must stop trying to “fix the individual” and start redesigning the system

Christina brings honesty, clarity and nuance, sharing personal stories, sharp insights, and a reminder that leadership and inclusion are not add-ons. They’re business-critical.

In this episode of Beyond Potential, Tom Emery and Tom Mason dive deep into the concept of personal agency, the ability to take ownership of your choices, behaviour, and direction.

They explore why so many leaders and teams get stuck waiting for circumstances to change, and how the most effective ones instead take deliberate, consistent action to shape their outcomes.

From breaking limiting beliefs and reframing self-talk, to the importance of routines, boundaries, and consistency, this episode offers practical ways to reclaim your sense of control, both at work and in life.

If you’ve ever felt like things are “happening to you” instead of “through you”, this conversation will help you reset, refocus, and act with intent.

🎧 Tune in for insights as Tom & Tom unpack what it really means to lead and live with agency.