Working with senior leaders across education through both stable and uncertain times, a key theme has emerged: the leaders who thrive are the ones who look beyond the sector for inspiration and guidance. The most successful recognise that fresh thinking rarely emerges from familiar places.
The pressures facing education institutions and businesses — financial strain, regulatory complexity, political shifts, workforce challenges — are not unique. Other industries have navigated similar disruption with pace and creativity, offering ideas upon which education can readily draw.
Curiosity, in this context, is far more than a personality trait. It is a leadership discipline. Leaders who actively seek insight from different sectors broaden their strategic perspective, question long-held assumptions and surface solutions that traditional benchmarking cannot deliver. They bring an outward-looking energy that strengthens institutional agility.
A change mindset is essential. It enables personal growth, supports better decision-making and, crucially, helps build a more adaptable and resilient sector. Building a set of mentors with a deliberately diverse range of backgrounds is invaluable — people who will challenge, provoke and encourage, and who expand the boundaries of what leaders believe is possible.
Curiosity is not a luxury. It is a strategic asset. And for leaders navigating today’s education landscape, it may be one of the most important disciplines of all.
We will be developing this theme and others throughout 2026, including convening a discussion event for sector leaders to reflect on these issues and share practical perspectives.