An Evolving Man Podcast
An Evolving Man Podcast explores leadership, emotional intelligence, trauma, healing and peak performance.
Hosted by Piers Cross, the show features conversations with leading psychologists, psychiatrists, executive coaches, authors, researchers and high-performance leaders, alongside solo episodes on leadership, resilience, relationships and personal transformation.
Drawing on the latest research in psychology, neuroscience, attachment, trauma and human performance, the podcast helps leaders develop greater self-awareness, emotional intelligence and the capacity to lead with clarity, compassion and courage.
Whether you are a CEO, founder, entrepreneur or aspiring leader, each episode offers practical insights to help you thrive professionally while creating a more meaningful and connected life.
Episodes
322 episodes
Why Change Feels So Uncomfortable After Boarding School | Piers Cross
Why can transitions feel disproportionately difficult for former boarders?In this short episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers Cross reflects on his own nervousness before leaving for a workshop and retreat—and explores how app...
Attachment Wounds, Codependency and Rupture Repair | Nima Rahmany AEM #167
In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I speak with Nima Rahmany, nervous system and attachment specialist, transformational coach and founder of the Trigger Proof methodology.Nima works with high-achieving individuals...
Why High Achieving Leaders Can’t Switch Off | Burnout, Rest and Leadership
Why do so many successful leaders struggle to switch off?In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I explore why high-achieving leaders often find it difficult to rest, sleep, stop working, put the phone down or be fully present...
Why Conflict Can Deepen Love | Dr. Judith Wright on Emotional Intelligence and Relationships | AEM #166
In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I speak with Dr. Judith Wright, relationship expert, author and co-founder of the Wright Foundation for the Realization of Human Potential.Judith has spent more than 40 years help...
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I’m Not a Leader? Why We Are All Leaders | Compassionate Leadership
What if you are already a leader, even if you do not have the title?In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I explore the belief many people hold: “I’m not a leader.”This often comes up in conversations about the Com...
Birthdays and Boarding School
What were birthdays like in boarding school?Were they celebrated or ignored?Or did you get hazed or bullied on your birthday.Take care,Piers
Why Do the Same People Keep Triggering Me? Leadership, Shadow Work and Boundaries
Why do the same people keep triggering us?Why do certain relationships, colleagues, family members or situations seem to provoke the same reaction again and again?In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I explore emotio...
Kindness in Schools: Creating Emotional Safety for Children | Masha Kastner & David Moss | AEM #165
In this deeply moving episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I speak with Masha Castner and David Moss, founders and directors of Kind Waves.Kind Waves is a UK charity created to help schools build deeper cultures of kindness, emotional saf...
5 Reasons We Need to Stop Sending Future Leaders to Boarding School
Prince George is set to attend Eton College, continuing a long tradition of future leaders being educated in elite boarding schools.But is this really the best way to prepare someone for leadership in the 21st century?In this epis...
Porn Addiction, Shame & Mindfulness | Jeremy Lipkowitz on Breaking Free from Destructive Habits | AEM #164
In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, I speak with Jeremy Lipkowitz, executive coach, meditation teacher, leadership facilitator and founder of Unhooked Academy.Jeremy works with high-achieving men who want to break free from destr...
Keir Starmer Resigns: What Britain’s Leadership Crisis Reveals About Emotional Intelligence
For Thursday's leadership workshop: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1991361811785?aff=oddtdtcreatorKeir Starmer’s resignation marks another major moment in British political leadership.If the UK is now heading towards its seventh P...
Boarding School Syndrome, Power & Politics | Dominic Waterson on Boris Johnson, Tony Blair & Elite Leadership |AEM #163
Why do so many politicians, business leaders and influential public figures come from boarding schools?In this fascinating conversation, I sit down with researcher, author and podcaster Dominic Waterson to explore the hidden influence of...
The Conversations You're Not Having | Piers Cross
For the workshop: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-conversations-youre-not-having-tickets-1991361811785?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true Many leaders, entrepreneurs and former boarders avoid the conversations that matter ...
Lessons from Training 90,000 People | Why High Achievers Still Feel Empty | AEM #162 Will Steel
What if the thing holding you back isn't your circumstances, your team, your strategy, or even your mindset?What if it's the story you've been unconsciously living for decades?In this powerful conversation, leadership coach and au...
Boarding School Syndrome: The Grief We Were Never Allowed to Feel | Piers Cross
When my wife Michelle died in 2025, I expected grief.What I did not expect was that her death would reconnect me with another loss that had remained hidden for decades.The loss of my mother.The loss of my family.The ...
Police Chief: From Ego to Emotional Intelligence: Dr. Ron Camacho on Leadership & Trauma | AEM #161
What happens when a leader confronts their own trauma?In this fascinating conversation, Piers Cross sits down with Dr. Ron Kamacho, police chief, leadership consultant and author, to explore how emotional intelligence transformed his lif...
Prep School vs Public School: Which Was Harder?
One of the questions I hear most often from former boarders is:"Why did I hate prep school but love public school?"Or sometimes:"Why was public school much harder than prep school?"In this solo episode, I explore the...
Why Ex-Boarders Struggle With Boundaries | Boarding School Trauma, People Pleasing & Leadership
Why do so many boarding school survivors struggle with boundaries?In this episode, Piers Cross explores how boarding school conditioning can shape people pleasing, emotional suppression and difficulty saying no later in life.Drawi...
Why Do We Self Sabotage As Ex-Boarders?
To register for the webinar: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/why-smart-leaders-still-self-sabotage-identify-and-break-hidden-patterns-tickets-1988408152310Why do we sabotage the very things we say we want?In this episode, Pi...
Polyvagal Theory, Vagus Nerve & Boarding School Trauma
Here is the link to this Friday's podcast with Sara Warner about the vagus nerve and wearables: https://youtu.be/HpxcTW0oKI8 In this episode, I explore polyvagal theory, the vagus nerve, childhood trauma and boarding school sy...
Why Criticism Feels So Painful for Ex-Boarders
In this episode, I explore why criticism can feel so painful for those of us who went to boarding school.For many ex-boarders, criticism does not simply feel like feedback. It can feel like danger. It can activate old patterns of shame, ...
Music Therapy, Boarding School Trauma & Healing Through Connection | Helen Odell-Miller | AEM #159
In Episode 159 of An Evolving Man Podcast, I’m joined by Professor Helen Odell-Miller OBE, one of the UK’s leading pioneers in music therapy.Helen has spent decades working with trauma, attachment, mental health and emoti...
Does Boarding School Create Resilience… or Dissociation?
Many boarding schools claim they build resilience.But what if what they often create is something else entirely?In this episode, I explore the difference between true resilience and dissociation, and why so many ex-b...
Crowds & Power at Boarding School | Why We Joined In (And How to Forgive Ourselves) | Piers Cross
In this episode, I explore the powerful influence of crowds and group behaviour, particularly within boarding school environments.Why do people join in when someone is being shamed or targeted? Why does it happen so quick...
Third Culture Kid, Boarding School Survivor, Humanitarian | Peter Sykes’ Powerful Story | AEM #158
In Episode 158 of An Evolving Man Podcast, I’m joined by Peter Sykes — humanitarian, strategist, writer and author of Somewhere Never Home.Peter has led major humanitarian responses across the world, but in this convers...
