Beyond Potential is an entertaining, informative, and immersive podcast about how individuals, teams, and organisations, can maximise their performance and be at their absolute best. If you’re a CEO, Chief HR Officer, senior leader, or just aspire to become more effective, and happier in your role, then this is the podcast for you.
Hosted by Tom Emery of HEX and Tom Mason of Potentia, we provide our own observations and expertise, and hear from diverse and interesting guests with great stories.
Hit subscribe and join us for insights, inspiration, and hopefully a few laughs along the way.
We have a website dedicated to Beyond Potential at www.beyond-potential.co.uk and you can email us at info@beyond-potential.co.uk. You can also find out more about HEX and Potentia at www.hex-development.com and www.potentia-leadership.com. However you’d like to contact us, we’d love to hear from you.
Ep 113: Collaboration and our best work - with guest Nilofer Merchant
In this episode of Beyond Potential, Tom Emery and Tom Mason are joined by Nilofer Merchant, author, keynote speaker and Co-Founder of The Intangible Labs, to explore why collaboration drives performance and what gets in the way of it.
Nilofer explains why it isn’t just the best work that happens through collaboration, but all work. She shares why leaders who say “collaboration” sometimes mean “follow me”, and why a model built for the industrial era, with jobs designed to make people interchangeable, no longer fits people who want to contribute what only they can bring.
She also tells the story of a budget battle she won at Autodesk, and the conversation with her CEO that followed, which set her on a career-long search for another way to lead. Drawing on examples from Gore and the US military, she explains why strategy and execution can no longer be treated as separate steps.
The conversation also explores the 24 invisible norms in Our Best Work, the difference between choice and control, the choice leaders face over AI, and her work measuring the intangibles that drive innovation.
A thought-provoking conversation for anyone who wants to bring out the best in their team.
Connect with Nilofer: Nilofer Merchant | LinkedIn
Visit Nilofer's website: Homepage - Nilofer MerchantVisit The Intangible Labs: The Intangible Labs
Get Our Best Work: Our Best Work - Nilofer Merchant
More from Beyond Potential:
Website: www.beyond-potential.co.uk
Email: info@beyond-potential.co.uk.
Connect with Tom Mason: www.linkedin.com/in/tomas-mason-coach
Connect with Tom Emery: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-emery-b8809818/
You can also find out more about HEX and Potentia at www.hex-development.com and www.potentia-leadership.com.
However you’d like to contact us, we’d love to hear from you.
23 Oct 2026
Ep 112: Human conversations in the age of AI - with guest Suzanne Hayes-Jones
In this episode of Beyond Potential, Tom Emery and Tom Mason are joined by Suzanne Hayes-Jones, Director of The Laid Bare Company, to explore why leaders need to keep having better, more meaningful conversations, especially as more people turn to AI.
Suzanne explains why genuine, curious conversation drives creativity, accountability and connection, and why relying on AI for the thinking can widen the gap between a leader and their team. She shares what she’s learned from coaching-skills work, from the gap between a leader’s intent and their impact to why time pressure is always the biggest barrier.
The conversation also covers the mindset work behind better conversations, why swapping judgement for curiosity is a good place to start, and small changes leaders can make, like inviting their team to shape the “how” in a meeting. Suzanne also shares that she’s writing a book on conversations that matter.
Connect with SuzanneVisit The Laid Bare Company
More from Beyond Potential:
Website: www.beyond-potential.co.uk
Email: info@beyond-potential.co.uk.
Connect with Tom Mason: www.linkedin.com/in/tomas-mason-coach
Connect with Tom Emery: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-emery-b8809818/
You can also find out more about HEX and Potentia at www.hex-development.com and www.potentia-leadership.com.
However you’d like to contact us, we’d love to hear from you.
16 Oct 2026
Ep 111: Can you see your own ego? - with guest Eric Kaufmann
In this episode of Beyond Potential, Tom Emery flies solo and is joined by Eric Kaufmann, author, executive coach, a thought leader and creator of the term “ego myopia”, to explore the number one barrier to executive effectiveness: not being able to see and regulate your ego patterns in real time.
Eric explains why ego isn’t the enemy, but an outdated ego model can hold even the most capable leaders back. He unpacks the three needs behind ego myopia, the need to be right, the need to be liked and the need to have might, and how each one shows up in leadership, from shutting down a room to people-pleasing and micromanagement.
The conversation also covers why feedback gets scarcer the more senior you become, the story of how Eric’s own micromanaging was finally called out, and why becoming more conscious takes courage. Eric shares a simple weekly journaling exercise leaders can try straight away.
Connect with Eric
Learn more about Sagatica
More from Beyond Potential:
Website: www.beyond-potential.co.uk
Email: info@beyond-potential.co.uk.
Connect with Tom Mason: www.linkedin.com/in/tomas-mason-coach
Connect with Tom Emery: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-emery-b8809818/
You can also find out more about HEX and Potentia at www.hex-development.com and www.potentia-leadership.com.
However you’d like to contact us, we’d love to hear from you.
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Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
8 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 26 / 100
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