Episode Summary

In this episode of Beyond the Status Quo, Tamara and Kathryn are joined by Ewan McIntosh, founder of NoTosh, an international education consultancy, for a practical conversation about learning and leading in education.

Drawing on his work with schools and systems across more than 70 countries and his cross-sector experience, Ewan challenges the status quo from a global vantage point, seeing first-hand that the world is changing rapidly, and that how we learn and how we lead must evolve just as quickly.

Together, they explore what happens when schools and organisations focus on performative tasks instead of meaningful learning. Ewan unpacks his idea of “stupid questions”: including the ones that feel risky to ask but reveal hidden assumptions and blind spots.

The conversation also tackles AI’s impact on assessment and curriculum design, not from a place of fear, but through the lens of redesign. Rather than rushing to control, they discuss how leaders can create the conditions for better thinking: prioritising judgement, originality, empathy and craft.

Finally, they zoom out to what courageous leadership looks like under constraint: holding structure lightly, focusing on purpose that actually guides decisions, and putting people first so schools (and teams) can thrive.

Key takeaways

• AI increases performance optimisation; task design must protect learning.

• Use AI to accelerate low-value work and make space for judgement and originality.

• Creativity is learnable and strengthened through complementary teams.

• Purpose should guide decisions and clarify what you won’t do.

• People-first leadership creates the conditions for better outcomes.

• Hold structure lightly, and focus on what you can influence.

• Policy (and strategy) works better when designed around real users, not silos.

• Sometimes asking the “foolish” question reveals the real problem.

Links:

Inspired Strategic Planning with Community at its Heart | NoTosh

Leadership Lessons | Yestothemess

Lament - YouTube

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In this episode, facilitator and author of The 10 Permissions, Jillian Reilly joins Tamara and Kathryn for a powerful conversation about what it really means to question the status quo, not as rebellion, but as a deeply human act of listening inward, honouring integrity, and navigating uncertainty with courage.

Jillian reflects on the early moment she realised the “default path” wasn’t hers, and how that instinct, before she had language for it, shaped a very different trajectory. She shares candidly about her rapid rise in international development, the disillusionment that followed, and the difficult decision to step away from work that no longer aligned with her values.

Together, they explore the myth of the secure linear career, the tension between privilege and risk, and why adaptability is becoming essential as institutions no longer guarantee stability. Jillian also reflects on how young people are still trained to seek external validation, even as the world increasingly demands creativity, originality and inner authority.

Key takeaways

• Intuition is a valid guide. Many people are never taught they’re allowed to trust their inner voice.

• Questioning the status quo often starts as a feeling, not a logical plan.

• Integrity requires alignment. Staying in roles that contradict our values creates deep internal conflict.

• Courage is contextual. There’s an important difference between discomfort and real danger.

• The “secure path” is disappearing. The old promises of safety through compliance no longer hold.

• Adaptability is now a core life skill. Reinvention and entrepreneurial thinking are becoming essential.

• Human skills matter more than ever. Creativity, connection and originality rise as knowledge becomes commodified.

• Young people need permission to explore. Pivoting, experimenting and puzzling things out matter more than following a script.

• Optimism is a form of agency. It allows people to reclaim their power and shape their own path.

• The future requires puzzling, not predicting. Uncertainty brings risk and a wider field of possibility.

Links

The Ten Permissions - Rewrite the Rules. Design Your Life.

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Radical Engagement for Fractured Times — Episode Summary

In this episode, systems change practitioner, author and long‑time collaborator across conflict lines Adam Kahane joins us to explore what it means to engage radically in a world that is fracturing at speed. Drawing on his decades of work in some of the world’s most divided contexts - from South Africa’s transition to democracy to multi‑stakeholder conflicts across business, politics and civil society - Adam reflects on why our old models of leadership no longer work in the volatility we now face.

He invites us to rethink how we show up with those we don’t agree with, like or trust, and why transforming systems requires us to step forward with difference rather than retreat from it. In a moment where political polarisation is deepening and institutions are cracking under pressure, Adam offers a grounded, hopeful and deeply practical way of navigating uncertainty: through radical engagement, everyday habits, and the courage to collaborate across boundaries without abandoning our values.

• Radical engagement is a foundational habit for transforming systems, requiring us to lean in rather than stand back.
• We don’t need full alignment to move forward. Progress often begins with small, imperfect steps taken together.
• Collaborating with people we don’t agree with, like or trust is increasingly essential, and increasingly difficult, in today’s polarised world.
• Disagreement is not a barrier to collaboration; learning to disagree well is a leadership skill we urgently need.
• Cracks in our systems reveal both danger and possibility, they expose what’s been hidden and invite new ways of working.
• Understanding others doesn’t mean agreeing with them; it means seeing more of the system so we can act more wisely.
• Leaning forward, listening deeply and looking for what’s unseen helps us move beyond superficial engagement.
• Systemic change is always a collective act, never the work of one person or one organisation.
• Working across difference clarifies our values and boundaries, rather than diluting them.
• Feeling our way forward, one step at a time, is often the only viable path in volatile, uncertain environments.

Links

Adam Kahane

Connect with Tamara

LinkedIn:Tamara Zaple Rolfs FCCT | LinkedIn

Email: tamara@my-delta.co.uk

Connect with Kathryn

LinkedIn: Kathryn Gorman FCCT | LinkedIn

Email: kathryn@clarioneducation.co.uk

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