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Matt Lindley is an Airline and ex RAF Royal Squadron Pilot, and one of the first openly gay pilots in the RAF.
Matt Lindley was an RAF pilot who specialised in flying The Queen, The Royal Family and Government Ministers world wide for over 10 years. He currently is a commercial long haul pilot. In addition to flying Matt has two distinct areas of expertise:
Firstly, Matt runs keynotes based on lessons learnt from aviation, aimed at maximising performance and reducing human error in the work place. He uses fascinating case studies of aircraft accidents, applied basic psychology and offers plenty of business ‘take homes’ for the audience. Matt advocates flight deck management techniques to encourage a speak up culture, flattening authority gradients and linking stress, performance with decision making under pressure.
Secondly, Matt delivers talks on Diversity, Inclusive Leadership and Resilience. 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 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 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.
From the very first briefing call, Matt was just a pleasure to work with – warm and charismatic and more importantly took the time to understand what it was we were trying to achieve and was very open to tailoring his talk where he could to really fit the content and purpose of the day. We have been inundated with feedback from our employees who were blown away by the bravery of Matt’s story. He has certainly left an impression and it’s a talk that I’m sure they will remember for some time.
US Bank, Diversity & Inclusion Lead
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.
Engagement & Inclusion Manager, RPC Law
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Inspirational Speakers has been providing high profile keynote speakers and entertainers for over 25 years.
Sporting Champions introduces world class Inspired Athletes for the Schools and the education sector.
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