SELFISH LEADERSHIP™
Prioritising yourself isn’t selfish – it’s strategic!
Gary Parsons is the creator of Selfish Leadership™, a leadership methodology redefining how organisations build healthier, more effective leaders.
What if the story we’ve been taught about leadership is holding organisations back?
For decades, we’ve celebrated the leaders who sacrifice the most, work the longest hours, and put themselves last.
This sacrifice culture is breaking leadership. It exhausts senior teams, damages decision-making, and quietly burns out some of the most talented people in the organisation.
When leaders neglect themselves, performance suffers BUT when leaders thrive – teams thrive, culture thrives, and organisations thrive too.
That’s why I created Selfish Leadership™. It’s not ego, indulgence, or self-importance – It’s a strategic shift in how leaders sustain their performance, protect their energy, and model the behaviours that build healthier, more effective leadership cultures. Selfish Leadership™ is a mindset, a framework, and a movement that empowers leaders to prioritise themselves so they can lead with clarity, capacity, and impact.
Because prioritising yourself isn’t selfish… it’s strategic!
The SELF Framework ™
Built around the SELF Framework, Selfish Leadership™ challenges the outdated hustle mentality and reframes self-prioritisation as a practical performance strategy.
It gives leaders the structure and discipline to protect their capacity, strengthen their decision-making, and create healthier, more effective leadership cultures.
Why Selfish Leaders Make the Best Leaders
A powerful talk that’s challenging leadership culture, and changing it.
Keynote – Leadership Wellbeing, The Strategy.
Too many leaders are running on empty, hiding behind a mask of capability. I know, because I wore that mask for years.
This bold, honest keynote reveals how sacrificing yourself for success isn’t leadership – it’s a fast track to poor decisions, exhausted cultures, and preventable burnout. Through my story and the Selfish Leadership™ framework, I show leaders how putting themselves first becomes a strategic advantage, not a weakness.
Based on insights from my book Why Selfish Leaders Make the Best Leaders, this keynote gives senior leaders practical tools to protect their energy, sharpen their focus, and lead with clarity.
Audiences will learn:
- Why sacrificial leadership is a dangerous and outdated expectation
- How burnout quietly damages decision-making, culture, and performance
- How to apply the SELF Framework in real leadership situations
- Why thriving leaders create healthier, higher-performing teams
- Practical steps leaders can take immediately to shift from survival to sustainable success
Ideal for:
- C-suite and senior leadership teams
- Heads of and directors
- Entrepreneurs and founders
- Leadership conferences, retreats, and culture-focused events
This isn’t a wellbeing talk. It’s a keynote that will drive leadership performance strategy.
And a wake-up call for the leaders everyone is relying on.
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I speak at events, deliver leadership workshops, and mentor business owners and senior teams. If you’re looking for a speaker or facilitator with lived experience, leadership insight, and a powerful message around vulnerability, mental health and performance – let’s talk.