Frequently Asked Questions

Answers on Hidden Diamonds, keynote speaking, leadership workshops, mentoring and working with Matt.

01 Hidden Diamonds
What is Hidden Diamonds?

Hidden Diamonds is Matt Garman's approach to finding the leadership capability already inside an organisation: people whose real ability has been shaped by pressure and proven in the decisions they've made, but never shows up on a CV or in a job title. Most organisations only look at the polish, the credentials and the title, and miss the brilliance underneath.

Who is a Hidden Diamonds keynote for?

It's for any organisation that wants to grow its next leaders from within rather than keep paying premium rates to hire them from outside. That usually means CEOs and leadership teams, HR, talent and L&D leaders, and conferences focused on leadership, talent or the future of work. Matt speaks to organisations of every size, from a boardroom of twelve to a main stage of several hundred.

Why do organisations overlook leadership talent they already have?

Most talent systems are built to spot visible signals like seniority, confidence in meetings and formal qualifications. The people who quietly hold a team together under pressure, or who have handled far bigger challenges outside work than anything in their job description, often never get looked at. When nobody notices them, they stop offering ideas and eventually leave, taking with them the very capability the business was searching for.

How can HR and talent teams identify high-potential employees beyond the CV?

Start by asking different questions. Instead of what someone does and how long they've been there, ask about the hardest decision they've ever had to make, or the moment they realised they could actually do the job. Hidden Diamonds gives HR and talent teams a practical way to separate what's written on paper from what someone has proven about themselves when it really mattered.

Is it cheaper to promote from within than to hire leaders externally?

Almost always, and the cost of getting an external senior hire wrong is far higher than most boards realise. Hidden Diamonds helps organisations make a stronger internal case before they spend heavily outside the business.

I'm an aspiring leader and I feel overlooked. What can I do?

Start by recognising that the challenges you've already faced, at work and in life, count as leadership experience, even if nobody has labelled them that way. Then make that experience visible by talking about the decisions you've made and what you learned from them, not just your job title. Matt mentors aspiring leaders inside larger businesses, and much of his writing is aimed at people in exactly this position.

What happens in a Hidden Diamonds workshop?

Leadership teams work on the real people decisions in front of them, using Hidden Diamonds to look past credentials and recognise proven capability in their own organisation. They leave with a clear view of where their future leaders already are and a practical plan to back them.

Does Matt only work with owner-managed businesses?

No. Keynotes and workshops are for organisations of any size. Matt's founder mentoring is focused on owner-managed businesses with £2m-£50m revenue, and he also mentors aspiring leaders and leadership pipelines within larger businesses.

Where did Hidden Diamonds come from?

It grew out of Matt's own unconventional route. He left school at sixteen with no qualifications, and nobody would have picked him out on paper. He went on to build and sell two businesses, one to a private equity-backed acquirer, and to row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic. Along the way he kept seeing that the people worth backing are rarely the ones with the most impressive CV.

02 Speaking & Keynotes
What kind of leadership speaker is Matt Garman?

Matt is a practical leadership speaker for organisations that want people to leave with something they can apply immediately. He draws on real-world experience, building and selling businesses, rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic and mentoring leadership teams, to help audiences recognise leadership capability that conventional systems often miss.

What topics does Matt speak about?

Your event can be built around Hidden Diamonds, leadership under pressure, building internal leadership pipelines, founder dependency, and the commercial value of recognising capability before you lose it. Each talk is tailored to the audience, whether that's a room of CEOs, a corporate leadership team, an HR audience, or an emerging talent cohort.

Is Matt a motivational speaker?

No. Matt's talks do not rely on feel-good inspiration or platitudes. Delegates leave motivated because they have understood something practical about themselves, their teams and the capability already in the room.

What size audience does Matt speak to?

Matt is equally comfortable in an intimate boardroom setting of 10-20 senior leaders as he is on a main stage in front of 500+ delegates. His delivery adapts naturally to the room: more conversational in smaller groups, broader and more narrative-led in large conference settings.

03 Leadership Workshops
What happens in a Matt Garman leadership workshop?

Your leadership team works through real people and capability decisions facing your business, not hypothetical case studies. Using Hidden Diamonds, delegates recognise capability that has been proven through real pressure and build a practical action plan anchored to your commercial reality.

Can Matt run a workshop for our leadership team?

Yes. Matt's workshops are tailored to your business context. Many clients book a keynote for a wider event and follow it with a focused workshop for their leadership team, HR group or emerging talent cohort.

04 Mentoring
Does Matt offer one-to-one leadership mentoring?

Yes. Many clients book mentoring after a keynote or workshop. Matt's mentoring is focused on working with business owners, senior leaders, aspiring leaders and leadership teams to build capability from within rather than defaulting to external solutions.

Who does Matt work with as a mentor?

Matt's founder mentoring is focused on owner-managed businesses with £2m-£50m revenue. He also mentors aspiring leaders and leadership pipelines within larger businesses where the aim is to help overlooked people step up and be recognised.

05 Exit Readiness & PE Preparation
How does Matt help prepare a business for a PE exit?

PE buyers and trade acquirers scrutinise leadership teams as a core part of due diligence. This is one application of Hidden Diamonds: finding and developing the leadership capability that already exists so the business becomes less dependent on the founder.

How long does it take to build an exit-ready leadership team?

Typically 6-18 months, depending on the starting point. Matt recommends starting before a planned exit so the team has time to demonstrate independent capability to buyers.

06 Booking & Logistics
How do I book Matt for a keynote or workshop?

The easiest way is to use the contact form on this site. Tell Matt a little about your event, the date, format, audience size, and what you're hoping to achieve, and he'll get back to you to discuss whether there's a good fit.

Can Matt tailor his keynote to our specific industry or event theme?

Yes. Matt does not deliver an off-the-shelf talk. Before every engagement, he takes time to understand the event context, the specific audience, the challenges they're facing, and what a successful outcome looks like for the organiser.

Where is Matt based and does he travel for engagements?

Matt is based in Brighton, UK. He speaks at events across the UK and is available for international engagements.

07 Matt's Background
What is Matt Garman's background?

Matt left school at 16 with no qualifications and worked on a commercial fishing trawler in the English Channel. From there he moved into commission-only sales, built and sold technology businesses, rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic, swam the English Channel and completed an Ironman triathlon. These experiences are the foundation of Hidden Diamonds and everything he teaches about leadership.

What books has Matt written?

Matt has written three books: An Unconventional Journey Into Leadership, Learning the Ropes, and Why So Many Sales Hires Fail. All are available on Amazon and listed on the Author page of this site.