In 1995, Matt Lindley was selected to be a pilot in the RAF. Bear in mind that it was illegal to be homosexual whilst in the Armed Forces up until the year 2000, and so he hid his sexuality, not wanting it to become a barrier to fulfilling his childhood dream. During his military career, he flew many aircraft including the Hawk fighter jet, became a qualified flying instructor and VIP-qualified captain.
Matt Lindley RAF Pilot
Whilst in the RAF, Matt Lindley felt he had no-one to turn to. This meant his performance faltered, his stress levels were off the chart and he failed his RAF ‘Top Gun’ course. Matt believes that because his mental wellbeing had been affected, so had his performance and productivity. He ultimately moved to the Royal Squadron where he had a leader who was inspirational when it came to trust and inclusion.
So, when the law changed and Matt Lindley could finally come out and live as his true s elf, his leader supported him and changed his life, both personally and professionally. After spending seven years in the RAF, he transitioned to commercial airlines and now flies a Boeing 747.
Matt Lindley Leadership & Teamwork Speaker
Matt also specialised in non-technical training, combing lessons learned in aviation and applying them to healthcare. Matt is the founder and CEO of Propel Performance; he draws on lessons learnt from the flight deck to understand the limitations and strengths of human performance, predominately using ‘Human Factors’. This is a science which analysis why we all make mistakes in the workplace and suggests ways to improve teamwork, leadership and team cooperation to mitigate this risk. Matt Lindley then developed life-saving courses to help healthcare professionals minimise mistakes, and understand their own vulnerabilities, thus reducing error rates in the hospital.
Matt Lindley Public Speaking
Armed with his years of experience, Matt Lindley has worked with a number of small and large organisations to improve diversity and acceptable. Matt shares implementable strategies to improve leadership, performance and human error. In 2019, Matt presented a TEDx talk titled Fear: Fight or Flight, which explored his experience in the RAF, how the RAD adapted its culture from one of hostility towards gay personnel to one of acceptance, and how he can use his experience to encourage positive chance in the workplace. In 2015, Matt contributed to a BBC Radio 4 programme called From the Cockpit to the Operating Theatre which aimed to explore how lessons learnt in a cockpit could influence how medics work in a hospital setting.
Matt Lindley Speaking Topics
– Bullying in the Workplace
– Communication and Assertiveness
– Conflict Management
– Culture/Transformational Change
– Decision-Making Under Stress
– Emotional Intelligence and Empathy
– Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
– Goal Setting
– Human Performance and Error
– Importance of Allies
– Inclusive Leaders
– Leadership and Behaviour
– Management Lessons from the Flight Desk
– Mental Health
– Resilience – How to Weather the Storm
– Stress Fatigue and Human Performance
– Teamwork
– Trust
– Workplace Performance
– The Pros and Cons of Workplace Banter
– Personal and Business Resilience
Matt Lindley uses his experience to illustrate how the aviation industry has been transformed to discuss leadership, human error, performance and stress in the industry. This wide-ranging subject appeals to many sectors trying to move away from traditional structures and adapt to modern challenges. Although Matt’s talks have an LGBTQ+ theme, they hold relevance to wider issues of marginalisation such as gender, working parents, or ethnic minorities.
See highlights of the Human Performance and Error talk from Matt Lindley below:
