Andrew Bannon
Most leadership problems are not caused by a shortage of frameworks or information. They are caused by the gap between what leaders know and what they actually do when pressure is high. Under load – change programmes, restructuring, relentless pace – experienced leaders revert to default patterns: reactive, avoidant, blame-driven. Most development programmes address the knowledge side. Very few reach the behaviour.
Andrew Bannon is the only trainer globally authorised by psychologist Jens Corssen to teach the Self-Developer philosophy – a four-tool framework that gives leaders practical methods for interrupting automatic behavioural patterns and acting with conscious intention under pressure.
Full Profile
Why organisations work with Andrew Bannon
- The Self-Developer philosophy is structurally unavailable elsewhere in English: Bannon holds sole authorisation from its creator, Jens Corssen, making this engagement genuinely exclusive rather than merely differentiated from comparable self-leadership speakers.
- He addresses the specific failure point that most leadership development misses – the gap between insight and habitual behaviour – using a named, four-tool framework that leaders can apply immediately and return to independently.
- His delivery in both English and German makes him one of very few speakers able to bring rigorous self-leadership content consistently to DACH and internationally operating European organisations without dilution across language boundaries.
- His position on the CAS Senior Management Programme at the University of St. Gallen signals that the methodology meets the expectations of senior executive audiences – not a motivation seminar, but a substantive leadership development intervention.
- Engagements leave teams with a shared internal language – the four Self-Developer tools – which makes individual behavioural development operational at team and leadership cohort level.
Biography highlights
- Sole globally authorised trainer to teach Jens Corssen’s Self-Developer philosophy; holds personal certification from Corssen active since 2013
- Lecturer on the CAS Senior Management Programme, University of St. Gallen (Institute of Business Administration, IFB-HSG)
- MSc in Coaching for Behavioural Change, Henley Business School / University of Reading
- BA in Economics, University of Surrey
- Corporate delivery for Siemens, Bosch, Hilti, Lufthansa, Roche, and Lilly
- Adapted and performed the English-language audiobook The Way of the Self-Developer (co-credited with Jens Corssen, ISBN 9783000435706)
- Delivers in English and German; Munich-based for over two decades
Biography
Leadership performance rarely breaks down because leaders lack knowledge. Under sustained pressure – restructuring, fast-paced change, complex stakeholder demands – it breaks down because default behaviour takes over. Reactive patterns replace intentional ones. Avoidance displaces accountability. The Self-Developer philosophy, developed by German psychologist Jens Corssen, was built to address exactly this: a structured four-tool framework for interrupting automatic behaviour and restoring conscious choice.
Andrew Bannon is the only trainer globally authorised by Corssen to teach this methodology in English. Since 2013, he has delivered the Self-Developer philosophy to management teams and executive cohorts across Europe – at organisations including Siemens, Bosch, Hilti, Lufthansa, Roche, and Lilly – and as a module lecturer on the CAS Senior Management Programme at the University of St. Gallen. His academic grounding combines economics at the University of Surrey with an MSc in Coaching for Behavioural Change from Henley Business School.
The four tools – Self-Awareness, Self-Responsibility, Self-Confidence, and Self-Conquest – give leaders a repeatable internal framework rather than a motivational prompt. Bannon’s specific contribution is making this framework operational for international audiences: he delivers in English and German, brings two decades of experience embedded in German-speaking corporate culture, and adapted the methodology for English-speaking audiences in the audiobook The Way of the Self-Developer, co-credited with Corssen.
The methodology has been tested across both open executive education at the University of St. Gallen and deep corporate programmes with global organisations – evidence that it holds across seniority, sector, and language. For leadership cohorts navigating high-pressure periods of change, the Self-Developer tools give behavioural development real operational traction.
Key speaking topics
- Self-leadership and behavioural change
- The Self-Developer philosophy and four-tool framework
- Personal accountability in leadership
- Mindset and inner dialogue under pressure
- Resilience and self-management
- Intercultural leadership in European and DACH contexts
- Growth mindset in organisations
Ideal for
- Senior leaders and C-suite executives navigating organisational change or cultural transformation
- Leadership development programme participants at upper-management and executive level
- CHROs and L&D leads seeking behavioural change frameworks that operate across language and cultural contexts
- Executive education audiences in DACH-region and internationally operating European organisations
Audience outcomes
- A shared language for self-leadership: the four Self-Developer tools (Self-Awareness, Self-Responsibility, Self-Confidence, Self-Conquest)
- Practical ability to distinguish between objective circumstance and subjective interpretation when under pressure
- Methods for interrupting reactive behavioural patterns and replacing them with conscious, intentional choice
- Clearer understanding of how avoidance and procrastination erode leadership confidence over time
- A repeatable inner framework that supports sustained performance during periods of change and uncertainty
Talks
This keynote shows how stress and paralysis are typically products of interpretation rather than circumstance – and how leaders can treat difficult situations as development triggers rather than obstacles.
Key takeaways:
- Distinguish between objective facts and subjective interpretation under conditions of pressure
- Replace complaint-driven thinking with proactive personal responsibility
- Use difficult workplace situations as active development catalysts rather than things to be managed or avoided
This session introduces the four core tools of the Self-Developer philosophy and demonstrates how internal dialogue shapes emotions, actions, and results at every level of the organisation.
Key takeaways:
- Recognise and interrupt automatic thinking patterns that limit performance
- Apply the four Self-Developer tools (Self-Awareness, Self-Responsibility, Self-Confidence, Self-Conquest) to immediate business challenges
- Build a stable inner framework that supports consistent, long-term performance rather than short-term motivation
This keynote examines the psychological cost of avoidance and reframes discomfort as a developmental stimulus, using the principle of Self-Conquest to build durable decisiveness.
Key takeaways:
- Understand how avoidance and procrastination undermine professional confidence over time
- Use discomfort deliberately as a stimulus for expanding personal and professional capability
- Build durable confidence through intentional Self-Conquest challenges rather than waiting for ideal conditions