Brandon Williams
US Air Force Fighter Pilot, Lieutenant Colonel, Leadership Speaker & Coach, Human Factors Professor
Brandon Williams
US Air Force Fighter Pilot, Lieutenant Colonel, Leadership Speaker & Coach, Human Factors Professor
Biography
Brandon helps leaders transform their teams into high performing, high reliability organizations by harnessing the same tools used by US Air Force Fighter Pilots. Leveraging his work in Human Factors and human performance research, his methodology, Human Factors Leadership, equips leaders to organize, lead, and operate effectively in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environments where human error is prevalent.
Brandon Williams graduated from the US Air Force Academy, and is an accomplished leadership business speaker, business owner, and adjunct professor. As a decorated Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force, he led men and women from diverse backgrounds and managed millions of dollars in assets. As an F-15E Fighter Pilot, Brandon flew hundreds of combat hours and missions over the skies of Iraq and Afghanistan, operating in some of the most challenging and dynamic environments imaginable.
Over the past decade, Brandon has built his speaking and coaching business to become an accomplished keynote speaker. Having taught at several universities for almost 15 years as an expert in Human Factors, he leverages his in-depth knowledge of human performance analysis to equip leaders for uncertainty and change.
With hundreds of globally-delivered presentations, Brandon has shared battle-tested lessons from the cockpit to help organizations navigate change, excel in complexity and unlock high reliability teams. His results-driven approach fuses dynamic storytelling, actionable frameworks and customized workshops to drive better decisions, catalyze transformation and empower teams to thrive in disruptive environments.
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Brandon Williams | Leadership Keynote Speaker | Client Testimonials
Meet Brandon Williams | Leadership Keynote Speaker
Perception, Execution, Leadership
Developing Leaders
Resonating with Leadership
Speech Topics
Human Factors Leadership: Advancing Human Performance in High-Stakes Environments
Drawing from over 20 years of experience in aviation safety, human factors instruction, and his experience as a fighter pilot and airline Captain, Brandon unpacks how safety and human performance principles from aviation can transform your organization’s culture.
Learning Takeaways:
- The Human Factors driving error, miscommunication, and breakdowns
- How Situational Awareness is created, maintained, and lost
- Why Clear Intent enables safe, empowered execution
- Building trust through Mutual Support and Peer Accountability
- A simple Debrief process that builds learning without blame
Just Culture, Human Factors & the Future of Safety Leadership
This keynote explores Brandon’s experience leading safety efforts in military aviation, airline operations, and organizational human factors — showing how Human Factors science combined with Just Culture principles can radically improve safety outcomes. Brandon reveals how the world’s most complex and high-risk teams lead with Just Culture principles to reduce risk, learn from error, and drive operational excellence.
Learning Takeaways:
- Understand common Human Factors and how to mitigate them
- Reframe accountability through a Just Culture lens
- Move from “Blame & Train” to “Learn & Grow”
- Improve outcomes using Checklists, Mutual Support, and Clear Intent
- Create a psychologically safe reporting environment
Flight Plan for Safety: Strategic Planning with Human Factors Leadership
This interactive workshop helps teams develop plans that actually work in execution — not just look good on paper. Using Brandon’s “Flight Plan” framework, participants will learn how to align teams, identify vulnerabilities early, and execute with greater clarity and coordination.
Outcomes:
- Develop better and focused strategic and tactical plans.
- Ensure Clear Intent and alignment across stakeholders.
- Embed Mutual Support throughout the plan BEFORE execution.
- Identify "Areas of Vulnerability" before execution.
- Walk away with a real, actionable plan.
Debrief to Improve: Embedding a Culture of Accountability & Learning
This workshop teaches teams how to leverage a structured debrief process to uncover lessons, improve performance, and build a culture of continuous improvement.
Participants will practice analyzing real projects, tasks, or initiatives using Brandon’s Debrief Model to uncover Human Factors at play and identify concrete improvement actions.
Outcomes:
- Establish a psychologically safe environment for feedback.
- Practice “Respectful Truth” with a Tone of Accountability.
- Learn and practice a debriefing model applicable to any environment.
- Uncover human performance challenges before they create risk.
- Leave with actionable lessons learned for future execution.
The Human Factors Team Challenge: Experiential Learning for Safety & Performance
This highly engaging, team-based workshop puts Human Factors Leadership into practice through an experiential learning challenge. Participants will be forced to operate in dynamic, uncertain environments — practicing clear communication, planning, mutual support, and rapid decision-making.
Then, using Brandon’s Debrief Model, teams will extract lessons applicable to their real-world environment.
Outcomes:
- Improve team dynamics in high-pressure situations: communication and decision-making
- Practice skills like Clear Intent, Mutual Support, and Situational Awareness.
- Experience firsthand how Human Factors impact team performance.
- Walk away with practical tools for improving safety, communication, and execution.
Testimonials
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