Matt Lindley

LGBTQ+ diversity expert and former RAF pilot brings you the best Inclusive Leadership and Diversity keynotes to your next event.

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6 Client reviews

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It was brilliant - he was great, super engaging and people were hanging on his every word... EVEN ON ZOOM! We have had some great feedback already , so we are really pleased.

Charlotte, VP Operations Control Management

J P Morgan

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Why you should book speaker Matt Lindley

As one of the first openly gay pilots in the Armed Forces, Matt brings his unique and frank story of mental resilience, determination and self-motivation: he made it to the top in an incredibly hostile and oppressive environment – and now he can help you.
His keynotes and workshops feature real-life aviation examples and fascinating case studies: there is always a lot of useful ‘take-home’ advice for the audience.

Non-binding request for Matt Lindley

Unique Diversity & Leadership keynotes from the first openly gay RAF pilot

Speaker Matt Lindley is an LGBTQ+ diversity expert and former RAF pilot. As a royal pilot, Matt had to hide his true self: however, thanks to an inspirational leader in the Royal Squadron, Matt came out and found his professional and personal strength. Currently, Matt offers great workshops and keynotes based on aviation lessons to reduce human error and to inspire all people about Diversity and Inclusive Leadership.

While in the closet, speaker Matt Lindley had to shut out his inner feelings to fulfil his dreams and qualify as a Fast Jet Pilot: when he joined the Royal Air Force in 1995 it was against the law to be homosexual. For this reason, Matt took a huge mental toll and hid his real self in an intolerant and macho environment, only to find his stress levels unmanageably high a couple of years later.

Eventually, Matt moved to the Royal Squadron where he met an inspirational and inclusive leader who helped him both professionally and personally. As a result, when the law changed in the United Kingdom, speaker Matt Lindley eventually came out and became one of the first gay pilots in the service. Formerly, Matt Lindley has flown The Queen, The Royal Family and Government Ministers worldwide for over 10 years and he is currently a commercial long haul pilot.

In addition to flying, speaker Matt Lindley offers great workshops and keynotes based on aviation lessons to reduce human error in the workplace. His fascinating case studies of aircraft accidents and the valuable takeaways he offers make him a true crowd favourite. Moreover, his Inclusive Leadership and Diversity keynotes are all relevant to wider issues of marginalisation, not just for LGBTQ+ but for gender or ethnic minority audiences.

Customer Reviews

It was brilliant - he was great, super engaging and people were hanging on his every word... EVEN ON ZOOM! We have had some great feedback already , so we are really pleased.

Charlotte, VP Operations Control Management J P Morgan

Matt’s natural ability to connect with his audience along with his energy and positive vibe absolutely captivated our audience with his incredible story. His grit and determination really resonated with so many people in the audience. The presentation that Matt put together really enhanced his speech. It was one of most captivating talks I’ve ever been to.

Elliott Nice EA to CEO Hyperion X (Insurance)

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

Assessing and managing risk”. It was a great session, very interactive and managed to engage all the SME Managing Directors that were present. I would thoroughly recommend Matt to anyone looking for a keynote speaker on this area.

Lisa Lister The Yorkshire Leadership Group

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. A GREAT DAYS TRAINING.

Marc Donovan, Chief Pharmacist Walgreens Boots Alliance

I am very happy to write this recommendation for Matt Lindley, whom we had a pleasure of welcoming as one of the leading keynote speakers at the World Procurement Congress 2018 in London. Matt performed magnificently and engaged with the audience of over 700 extremely well, no doubt due to his approach, knowledge and experience on the topic, giving our delegates a deep insight into the human error topic and leadership skills. Matt’s session has received fantastic feedback from our delegates and scored a perfect NPS score! On the personal level, he is very affable and we look forward to the possibility of working with him in the future.

Katya Ushakova Director World Procurement Leaders

Keynotes

Keynote by speaker Matt Lindley:

Human Error, Performance & Leadership – Lessons from the Flight Deck

The weak link in flight safety? Human error. Many fatal accidents have occurred unnecessarily because of the pilots’ vulnerability to pilot error while operating under commercial pressure in stressful situations. These same pressures are evident in any business where humans are involved. For this reason, speaker Matt Lindley helps your organisation using his airline industry soft skills model to reduce costly human error and risk while improving the performance of your business.

Interactive audience participation

Learn how to flatten hierarchy gradients

Empower juniors at the organisation

Manage the dangers of egos

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Keynote by speaker Matt Lindley:

Diversity and Inclusion

As one of the first openly gay pilots of the Royal Air Force, speaker Matt Lindley describes how he suppressed his sexuality, knowing that coming out would have resulted in a prison sentence at the time he joined RAF. In this keynote, Matt uses his experience to show how to be an inclusive leader who leads positive culture change while also using his knowledge of psychology to find the links between performance and well-being. It’s not just another story of coming out but a remarkable story of determination, self-motivation and drive.

How to be an inclusive leader

Develop resilience and empathy

Mental resilience and its impact on employee performance

How to fulfil your dreams with self-motivation

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