"I didn't set out to study identity under pressure.
I just kept surviving situations that made the question unavoidable"
Matthew Addison-Black
Executive Coach (PCC), Keynote Speaker,
Associate Professor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Where This Work Comes From
In 2012, twelve months into my military career, I was diagnosed with cancer. I was offered a medical discharge. I declined.
That decision wasn't heroic. It was clarifying. When everything peripheral falls away — rank, ambition, the performance of competence — what remains is either something real or nothing at all. I needed to know which it was.
What followed was fifteen years of finding out. Royal Gurkha Rifles. Operational deployments. Jungle warfare. Five years in a discreet counter-terrorism and hostage rescue unit. Three surgeries. A doctoral research programme in moral psychology at the University of Liverpool, examining how identity holds — or fractures — under pressure.
I am currently an Associate Professor at Sandhurst, where I train the British Army's future leaders and support UK Special Forces selection on moral and ethical decision-making.
Veritas High Performance exists at the intersection of all of it. Not theory illustrated by experience, and not experience dressed up as theory. The two are inseparable here, because the work demands it.
(© 2023, M.Q. Addison-Black)
Identity Under Pressure
Identity is the foundation of leadership, resilience, and performance under pressure.
Through my work, I help individuals and teams clarify what drives them at their core, develop personal mastery, and align actions with values that truly matter. This creates a compass for decision-making, behaviour, and choices that is both authentic and consistent.
Without a clear identity, people risk fusing with external expectations — whether organisational, societal, or inherited — leading to a life and career that feels unsatisfying and misaligned.
When identity is clear, individuals operate with confidence, congruence, and purpose, making decisions that reflect who they are, what they stand for, and the standards they choose to uphold.
Approach
My work focuses on developing clarity, judgment, and stability under pressure. It is direct and grounded in both experience and research, drawing on leadership, philosophy, and moral psychology. The emphasis is not on quick fixes, but on building the capacity to think clearly and act deliberately when it matters.
Radical candour is central. We address problems directly, without avoidance or performance.
Discretion is absolute.
This is demanding work. It requires honesty, accountability, and a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths. But it produces leaders who are consistent, self-aware, and capable of operating effectively in high-stakes environments.
The Work
Brigadier Shaun Chandler,
British Army
"His journey through cancer didn't just test his resilience — it redefined it. If you need someone who truly gets what growth through adversity means: Matt's your man."
Adam Dikker,
Global Lead Events & Communications, S&P Global
"It is not every day that you find a speaker quite like Matthew. Our employees were so impressed with his ability to translate rigorous academic concepts in a way that is palatable for a wide audience."
Current Thinking
