Beyond the Status Quo Ewan McIntosh- Cutting Through The Tosh: Learning and Leading in a New Era
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
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