You are a HERO MAKER with Patrick Ottley-O'Connor

Episode Overview

• Patrick Ottley-O’Connor shares his 41-year journey in education, discussing his personal struggles with imposter syndrome and his leadership evolution from a "hero" to a "hero maker."
• The conversation explores the importance of acknowledging privilege, using it to create equitable opportunities, and the leader's role in building strong community relationships by inviting feedback and conflict.
• A central theme is the necessity of prioritizing staff wellbeing, using frameworks like the "ownership line" and analogies such as the "oxygen mask" to emphasize self-care and accountability.
• The episode concludes with actionable strategies for building a supportive coaching culture and practical advice for wellbeing, inspired by the NHS's Five Ways and a simple message from the Dalai Lama: "just keep being kind."

Key Concepts

• Leadership as a "Hero Maker": The most effective leaders shift from being the central problem-solver ("hero") to empowering their team to become leaders in their own right ("hero makers"), fostering a self-sustaining coaching culture.
• The "Ownership Line": A framework for accountability where individuals who operate "above the line" take ownership of their situation and are proactive. Those "below the line" fall into victimhood or blame, preventing progress.
• Privilege and Opportunity: Acknowledging one's own privilege is a moral duty. The formula for success is not just "hard work + talent," but "hard work + talent + opportunity," making it a leader's responsibility to create equitable opportunities for all.
• Wellbeing as a Model: Leaders must be "wellbeing supermodels," visibly demonstrating self-care practices. This is reinforced by the "oxygen mask" analogy, which stresses that one must secure their own wellbeing before they can effectively help others.
• Inviting Conflict for Buy-In: Engaging with the community, especially parents, requires inviting feedback and even conflict. This treats their input as a "gift" and can transform passionate critics into committed partners.
• "All Means All": A core educational principle that high expectations must apply to every single student and staff member without exception or caveat, especially for those who are struggling.
• The Five Ways to Wellbeing: A practical framework for maintaining mental and emotional health, which includes exercise, noticing the world around you, learning new things, connecting with others, and giving back to the community.

Quotes

• At 5:10 - "I was riddled with imposter syndrome... Kids like me, kids that came from my background... didn't become leaders." - Patrick reflects on his early career, explaining his self-doubt and the feeling that his working-class background was not typical for educational leaders at the time.
• At 6:00 - "Hard work plus talent plus opportunity equals success." - Patrick revises his earlier success formula, stressing that opportunity, often linked to privilege, is a critical and frequently overlooked component.
• At 8:03 - "I wear [the word woke] with a badge of honour in terms of I am woke to my opportunity and my privilege." - In response to being called "woke" by Laurence Fox, Patrick embraces the term as a positive descriptor for being aware of social and systemic inequalities.
• At 21:33 - "That feedback is a real gift, even if some of those presents are a bit hard to receive sometimes, it's still a gift to get." - Explaining the value of getting feedback from parents, even when it's critical or hostile, especially when taking over a struggling school.
• At 22:31 - "You must invite conflict. You must invite that in to help shape it. By doing that, you get buy-in." - Patrick explains his strategy for engaging parents and staff, arguing that welcoming criticism and difficult conversations is key to building trust, commitment, and shared accountability.
• At 26:27 - "I describe myself as being a wellbeing supermodel... As leaders in school... we're expected to model the behaviors we want to see." - Explaining that leaders must actively demonstrate and model self-care and wellbeing for their staff to emulate.
• At 28:19 - "On a plane, put your own mask on before helping someone... It's that important that if you don't, then you both could be gone." - Using the "oxygen mask" analogy to stress that staff must look after their own wellbeing first to be able to effectively help students.
• At 33:09 - "A great leader is not a hero, they're a hero maker." - Recalling profound advice from his former primary school teacher that shifted his perspective on leadership from solving everyone's problems to empowering his team.
• At 36:40 - "They all say, 'we're not doing it for Ofsted,' but you find them doing things for Ofsted." - Critiquing how the pressure of inspections can cause school leaders to focus on compliance rather than what is genuinely best for the school.
• At 45:59 - "For everybody when they say 'all'... to really have the highest expectations for what we do. And when we say 'all', we mean 'all'." - Patrick passionately states his first "magic wand" wish for education: to have genuinely universal high expectations without caveats.
• At 47:28 - "If you don't own it and you fall below the ownership line... you tend to fall into two categories: one as the victim or as the blamer." - He outlines the negative mindsets that result from a lack of personal accountability for one's situation.
• At 57:37 - "[The Dalai Lama] said, 'Just keep being kind.'" - Recounting a meeting with the Dalai Lama after the UK riots, Patrick shares this simple yet profound advice for rebuilding communities, which he has adopted as a core principle.

Takeaways

• Acknowledge your personal privileges and actively use your position to create equitable opportunities for those who may not have them.
• Shift your leadership approach from being the primary problem-solver to one who empowers others, developing their skills and fostering a culture of coaching.
• Intentionally invite and welcome criticism from your community; treat even harsh feedback as a valuable gift that can build trust and turn critics into allies.
• Model the healthy work-life balance and self-care practices you want your team to adopt, as your actions set the standard for the organization.
• Prioritize your own wellbeing first, understanding that you cannot effectively support others if you are operating from a place of depletion.
• When facing challenges, take ownership of the situation by accepting reality and focusing on actionable solutions, avoiding the pitfalls of blame or victimhood.
• Ground your leadership in universal high expectations and consistent kindness, as these are fundamental to building a strong, supportive, and successful community.