Matthew Syed
Matthew Syed is an author, journalist and broadcaster who helps organisations and leaders understand performance, learning and organisational culture through insights from sport, psychology and complex problem solving.
- Author of seven published books including Bounce, Black Box Thinking, Rebel Ideas, The Greatest, What Do You Think?, You Are Awesome and Dare to Be You.
- Columnist for The Times and The Sunday Times.
- Presenter of the BBC Radio 4 programme Sideways.
- Former top-ranked table tennis player in England for nearly a decade and Olympic competitor for Great Britain.
- Three-time Commonwealth Championships men’s singles title winner.
- Co-founder of Matthew Syed Consulting, which works with organisations on mindset, culture and performance.
Full Profile
Key speaking topics
- Performance and high performance culture
- Growth mindset and learning from failure
- Cognitive diversity and decision-making
- Organisational culture and continuous improvement
- Innovation and problem solving
- Lessons from elite sport for business performance
- Leadership and team learning
Ideal for
- Senior leaders responsible for organisational culture and performance
- Executive teams managing complex decision-making environments
- Organisations focused on innovation and continuous improvement
- Education and learning-focused organisations
Audience outcomes
- Understanding of how learning cultures improve performance
- Insight into the role of cognitive diversity in solving complex problems
- Practical perspectives on learning from mistakes and failure
- Frameworks for strengthening organisational mindset and culture
- Lessons from elite sport applied to leadership and teamwork
Why organisations work with Matthew Syed
- Combines experience from elite sport, journalism and organisational consulting to examine performance and learning.
- Provides evidence-based perspectives on mindset, culture and decision-making.
- Explores how cognitive diversity improves problem solving in complex organisations.
- Connects insights from sport, psychology and organisational practice to leadership and team performance.
Biography
Matthew Syed is widely recognised for his work on performance, learning and organisational culture, helping organisations understand how mindset, decision-making and collaboration influence results. Through his writing, broadcasting and consulting work, he explores how teams and institutions can improve performance by embracing learning, diversity of thinking and continuous improvement.
He is the author of seven published books spanning both adult and younger audiences, including Bounce, Black Box Thinking, Rebel Ideas, The Greatest, What Do You Think?, You Are Awesome and Dare to Be You. His work examines how individuals and organisations develop high-performance cultures, learn from failure and apply cognitive diversity to solve complex problems.
Alongside his writing, Matthew is a columnist for The Times and The Sunday Times and presents the BBC Radio 4 programme Sideways. Through his journalism and broadcasting, he explores how ideas from psychology, sport and organisational practice can inform better decision-making and leadership in complex environments.
Before his career in journalism and authorship, Matthew was a professional table tennis player. He was the top-ranked player in England for nearly a decade, represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games and won the men’s singles title at the Commonwealth Championships three times.
He is also the co-founder of Matthew Syed Consulting, which works with organisations on mindset, culture and performance. In addition to his work with businesses and institutions, he has supported the education sector and is a co-founder and trustee of Greenhouse Sports, and an ambassador for the PiXL educational foundation.