Stewart Hill

Stewart Hill speaks from the heart as an honest, humble and engaging motivational speaker.

A respected military leader, his inspirational presentations document a profound personal journey, having overcome great adversity whilst in command as a Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army and afterwards during rehabilitation from a life-changing injury.

On the Fourth of July in 2009, Stewart led 160 men in a close combat fight against the Taliban in some of the fiercest fighting seen by UK forces in Afghanistan. Eight hours later, medics battled to save his life after shrapnel from an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) tore in to his brain.

Not surprisingly, he returned a different man, but, incredibly, he has converted his experiences into a catalyst for new possibilities and a fascination with how we can use our brains more effectively– whether as a senior manager in the workplace or in our personal lives.

Having reflected deeply upon leadership, Stewart shares the art of getting people to follow you by choice (rather than coercion) through trust, compassion and courage—lessons he learned while helping soldiers grow and reach their potential.

He also draws on studies of the brain to explain how its three levels—survival, emotional and thinking—can be harnessed to improve our executive decision-making.

‘To be a good leader’, Stewart explains, ‘we need to allow the brain to reach its top level, but we also need to let it preserve its energy when it gets too full’: to put it simply, like a ‘bucket’, the mind sometimes needs to let water out through its holes before it can take more in.

He suggests that living in the moment and exercising mindfulness—acknowledging, accepting and parking negative thoughts—is the most efficient way to do this.

Stewart’s candid discussion about his own post-injury issues with mental health has opened up conversations about depression as a very real and personal issue. He has also been involved in several charity events, including completing the 1000-mile Walk of Britain expedition with three other British and two American wounded veterans.

When he isn’t transporting audiences to Helmand on the speaking circuit, Stewart also dabbles in the arts – he has performed in a West End play entitled the The Two Worlds of Charlie F and, despite not drawing anything since school, has also discovered a passion for art as a way to create positive thoughts. He even donates paintings to families of the fallen.

- Why the brain is a bucket and how to use it to your advantage

- Work is people: compassion, trust and courage in leadership

- Living in the moment; mindfulness