Lindley

Matt Lindley was an RAF pilot who specialised in flying The Queen, The Royal Family and Government Ministers worldwide for over 10 years. He currently is a commercial long haul pilot.

In addition to flying, Matt runs workshops and keynotes based on lessons learnt from aviation, aimed at reducing human error in the workplace. He uses fascinating case studies of aircraft accidents, applies basic psychology and offers lots of 'take homes' for any audience. Matt tries to explain why people make mistakes and suggests plenty of 'take homes' to mitigate human error in the workplace.

More About Matt

In addition, Matt delivers talks on Diversity and Inclusive Leadership. He was one of the first gay pilots in the service. When he joined the Royal Air Force in 1995 it was against the law to be homosexual, but he had a passion for flying and desperately didn't want his sexuality to be a barrier to fulfilling his ambition to become a Fast Jet Pilot.

Whilst In the closet, Matt shut out his inner feelings, but he fulfilled his ambi...

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Whilst In the closet, Matt shut out his inner feelings, but he fulfilled his ambition and finally qualified as a Fast Jet Pilot. Matt describes his journey and the impact on his mental health whilst hiding his true self and operating in a macho, intolerant work environment.

During this journey Matt had no one to turn to, his performance faltered, his stress levels became unmanageable and he failed his RAF 'Top Gun' course. Matt links his mental wellbeing, stress, reliance to performance and productively.

He eventually moved to the Royal Squadron and met an inspirational leader who developed trust and inclusion. As a result when the law changed he eventually came out. His leader’s exemplary inclusive style changed his life, both personally and professionally.

Although Matt’s diversity talk has an LGBTQ+ theme, it holds relevance to wider issues of marginalisation, be it gender, working parents, or ethnic minorities.

Keynote topics.

Diversity and inclusion.

As one of the first 'out' RAF pilots when the ban on serving members of the Armed Forces was lifted. His talk covers life in the forces, being in a hostile environment as a closeted gay man, to be being accepted in a culture that was transformed. This delves into mental health, stress and performance, resilience and how to be an inclusive leader.

Includes-

How to be an inclusive leader?
Resilience explained
Stress performance and well being
Mental strength

Human performance and error.

Lessons from the flight deck. These series of talks use the starting point that the aviation sector killed thousands of passengers in the 1980s and 90s by having out-dated leadership and cultural models. Egos, hierarchies and a lack of soft skills led to many avoidable crashes.

Matt uses these lessons and illustrates how the aviation industry has been transformed to discuss leadership, human error, performance and stress in the industry. This wide-ranging subject matter appeals to many sectors trying to move away from traditional structures and adapt to modern challenges.

Includes-

Human Error
Ego
Risk
Just Culture
Assertiveness
AI / Automation Risk
Stress & Performance
Decision Making
Leadership
Resilience
Mental Strength
EQ

Clients:

NHS, Mars Petcare, Home Office, Boots, Citywire, Roche, New York Times Citywire, Co-Op Bank and Walgreens

See highlights of the Human Performance and Error talk from Matt below:

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Testimonials

Matt’s ability to use his extensive experience in the airline industry, to clearly articulate lessons and solutions to the vitally important topic of patient safety, is refreshing and insightful. Human factors, attitude to risk and creating a just culture are key areas to focus and continually improve on, whatever the industry – but particularly relevant to pharmacy.

- Marc Donovan, Chief Pharmacist. Walgreens Boots Alliance

I was fortunate enough to listen to Matt speak at a recent LGBT diversity and inclusion event. Matt shared his own journey as a gay man growing up and achieving his dream to be a pilot which took him the macho world of the RAF and how throughout this time he kept his sexuality bottled. He was able to thread into this the impact that sustained stress and stressful events can have on your performance and if left unchecked the catastrophic outcomes that can result. He sincerely described how having to hide one’s sexuality is a significant source of sustained stress in one’s life providing a compelling reason why being inclusive is so essential to avoid this unnecessary situation. It also served as a reminder that each and everyone one of us faces stress and stressful situations everyday wh

- Brad Rutledge. Royal Bank of Canada

Matt came in to speak to our law firm about the impact a manager can have on someone’s life when they just listen. His talk was hugely powerful and emotional, but more importantly, it was based on real-life practicalities that we can all take forward into the legal workplace to help make a difference to those people around us.

- Emma Maksimovic Engagement & Inclusion Manager RPC Law

You were incredibly genuine and honest which meant I felt I was going on your journey. It helped me think about people I know personally and question how their leaders and work culture may have impacted them. I left feeling a real responsibility to ensure I looked out for any obstacles, so people to feel secure, valued and respected for being themselves.”
“Throughout your story, the link was made back to the business environment. Especially the impact we can have as leaders. Having belief in our colleagues was particularly pertinent to me. It showed the importance that a little faith in someone, can impact the rest of their life and therefore what they give back in the work place. It helps you get the most out of your team.”
“It wasn’t just a lovely talk, I got a lot from it, whic

- The Co-Operative bank

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