Andrew McNeill
Andrew McNeill spent 20 years in senior leadership, most recently as a Director in the UK Civil Service. He is also an accredited mindfulness teacher and speaker on mindfulness and brought these two worlds together in his book Organisational Mindfulness a How-to Guide in 2019, which has sold in 4 continents. Currently Andrew offers leadership training to a wide range of organisations, helping individuals and teams improve their performance and their wellbeing.
Andrew McNeill believes leadership needs to change. With the multiple pressures our teams face, from climate change to emerging from the Pandemic, he sees that organisations will only thrive if their leaders can guide with inclusion, compassion and awareness. Andrew specialises in working with teams to help them connect, hear each other and develop their empathy. His techniques have helped individuals and teams navigate very real challenges and communicate with honesty and kindness.
His speaking topics are as follows:
Ethical Leadership – Andrew believes in the need for leadership to be more fully human and uninhibited. With his business partner Karen Liebenguth he has developed a Programme to support leaders with a mindfulness practice on a shared exploration of their leadership journeys and of their mindfulness practice. In this talk, Andrew explains why this is so urgently needed now, how the programme emerged and why he feels that the attitudes explored in the Programme like non-judgment and kindness are so essential to modern day leadership.
Organisational Mindfulness – When he was a Director in the UK Civil Service, Andrew was frustrated by a lack of guidance for those trying to embed mindfulness at an organisational level. So drawing on his own leadership experience and understanding of mindfulness practice he wrote his own guidebook; which has now sold in 4 continents. In this talk Andrew explores how you can introduce mindfulness to processes and products as well as your people.
How to Lead under Pressure – Andrew has faced numerous high intensity leadership situations, from heading up the UK Government’s assurance of the Olympic and Paralympic torches for London 2012 to being a Director on the Building Safety Programme immediately after the Grenfell Fire tragedy. Here Andrew talks about his own personal journey with pressure. What has worked and what didn’t. In this honest account, Andrew shares numerous suggestions that could make a significant difference to the way you lead and the way you can thrive under pressure.
What’s Kindness Got to do with It? – Andrew compares some of the traditional archetypes of leadership with the evidence base of what is needed in today’s organisations. He refers to studies about the value of kindness in the workplace and how it can help your organisation succeed.
Mindfulness and Me – Andrew shares his experience of approaching mindfulness as a sceptic and how it transformed his life, his leadership and his career. In this very personal account, Andrew explains how he has found mindfulness to be transformational and invites participants to experience mindful practice themselves. He also invites questions for people who may want to explore this further and may be sceptical themselves.
“Andrew McNeill had been highly recommended to me at Liberty HR Recruitment as a potential guest-speaker for our monthly HR Leaders’ Forums. After chatting to Andrew and hearing what he had to say, it became apparent that our HR Leaders network really needed to hear from him! He spoke on the subject of ‘Compassion in Leadership’ and he really didn’t disappoint. Andrew delivered his session with an easy style and it was full of engaging subject material. Kindness and compassion are always relevant, perhaps never more so than in our current situation whilst emerging from the Covid pandemic. Andrew ably demonstrated that there is nothing ‘soft’ about kindness.
— Jane Barry, Managing Director of Liberty HR Recruitment.
"Andrew McNeill gave a powerful and inspiring keynote address alongside a panel of business leaders at the launch of the MWC at HSBC's Canary Wharf headquarters in February 2020. This launched the creation of a paid member community. Andrew's keynote left the audience wanting to hear and learn more with many of them signing up to join the Community. Andrew’s incredibly rich knowledge and expertise leaves members inspired, energised and calm. He conducts the flow of webinars effortlessly and his facilitation management allows for a safe space for learning and reflection to take place”
— Theresa Dzendrowskyj, Community Director of The Mindful Workplace Community
