The Heretical Leader
Why Your School's Next Great Innovator Might Be a Rebel with a Cause
The word ‘heretic’ carries the weight of history. It conjures images of dissenters, of figures standing against unshakeable pillars of doctrine, often at great personal cost. It’s a word steeped in rebellion and rejection.
But what if we've been looking at it all wrong? What if, in our modern world of relentless change, the heretic is not a threat to be silenced, but a leader to be celebrated? The word’s origin suggests just that. ‘Heretic’ comes from the Greek hairetikos, meaning "able to choose." It wasn't originally about being wrong; it was about exercising conscious choice rather than blindly accepting dogma.
Reflecting on my conversation with Dan Fitzpatrick about his book Infinite Education introduced me to this re-imagined concept of heretical leadership, and it's been profoundly empowering. As he explained, and I have come to believe:
"It's not about being disruptive for the sake of it, but about having the courage to constructively question the status quo. This has influenced me to examine my own teaching orthodoxies—the things we do 'because we've always done them'—and ask honestly: 'Is this still the best way to prepare my students for their future?'"
This framework provides both the intellectual justification and the practical tools for this vital work. It’s about being professionally rebellious—challenging inherited practices not out of contrariness, but out of a fierce commitment to our students.
Distinguishing Faith from Dogma: The Heretic’s True Loyalty
A heretical leader isn’t disloyal to the organisation's vision or its ultimate purpose (the ‘faith’). They are disloyal to the rigid, outdated processes that hinder that vision (the ‘dogma’).
The dogma is the gravitational pull of "we've always done it this way." It’s the assessment format that has outlived its usefulness, the timetable that fragments deep learning, or the curriculum that prepares students for a world that no longer exists. These orthodoxies were likely created for a good reason, but their context has long since vanished, leaving behind an empty ritual.
The heretical leader is the one who dares to choose a different path—not out of ego, but in service of a better outcome. Their loyalty is to the mission, not the procedure.
This role is a formal part of any healthy system’s lifecycle. Drawing from the Liberating Structures Ecocycle, developed by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless, organisations progress through four stages:
Maturity: Managerial leaders stabilise systems to ensure consistency.
Creative Destruction: Heretical leaders dismantle outdated structures to clear the way for renewal.
Gestation: Connector leaders foster collaboration to prepare for new growth.
Birth: Entrepreneurial leaders drive innovation and launch new initiatives.
The heretic is not an anomaly; they are an indispensable agent of renewal.
The Hallmarks of a Heretical Leader
This mindset is defined by a set of core characteristics that blend courage with compassion:
Visionary Thinking: They see innovative paths that others miss or dismiss as impossible, connecting today’s actions to a clearly imagined, better future.
Constructive Dissent: They are relentlessly curious, constantly asking ‘why?’ and ‘what if?’ But they don’t just identify problems; they propose experiments and bring solutions to the table.
Calculated Courage: Heretical leaders are risk-tolerant, but not reckless. They are willing to challenge traditions and push limits because their actions are guided by clear principles and a deep commitment to the mission.
Deep Empathy: Understanding the personal impact of change allows them to lead with compassion. They don't bulldoze through change; they champion psychological safety, creating environments where people feel safe to question, experiment, and even fail.
The Theoretical Backbone: Creative Destruction
This leadership style is anchored in the concept of "creative destruction," coined by economist Joseph Schumpeter in 1942. He described it as the "process of industrial mutation that incessantly revolutionises the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one."
In education, this means systematically identifying and dismantling practices, policies, and structures that no longer serve student learning—even when those practices feel familiar or comfortable. It is the engine of all modern innovation. Think of the Netflix engineers who questioned the orthodoxy of physical media, cannibalising their own DVD business for the sake of streaming. The stakes in education are even higher.
Heretical Leadership in Educational Practice
In my own practice, embracing heretical leadership has meant questioning the fundamental assumptions of how we organise learning. This isn't abstract; it's about challenging specific orthodoxies:
Assessment: Instead of accepting traditional exams because "that's how we measure learning," I've trialled portfolio assessments, peer evaluations, and self-assessment protocols that provide a richer picture of student capability.
Curriculum: Rather than assuming rigid subject boundaries are necessary, I've designed interdisciplinary projects that task students with solving authentic problems, mirroring how knowledge is used in the real world.
Time: Instead of accepting the 50-minute period as immutable, I've questioned whether it serves deep learning better than longer, project-based work sessions.
The question is never whether these methods feel familiar, but whether they better serve our students' futures.
How to Develop Your Inner Heretic
This is a journey that begins with quiet reflection and builds toward courageous action.
Conduct an Orthodoxy Audit: Start with yourself. Regularly examine your practices and ask: 'Why do we do this?' and 'Does this still serve our students?' Create a list of practices you've inherited versus those you've consciously chosen.
Gather Stakeholder Perspectives: Seek genuine feedback from students, parents, and colleagues about what's working and what isn't. The gap between a policy's stated intention and its real-world impact is where the work begins.
Experiment Strategically: Don't try to revolutionise everything at once. Pilot small, and pilot often. Choose one practice to question and run a low-risk trial of an alternative. This builds momentum through iterative learning, not top-down revolution.
Lead with Clarity and Compassion: When you propose a change, explain the educational rationale and anticipated benefits clearly. Disrupt with care, acknowledging the discomfort that change can bring.
Build Alliances: A lone heretic is easily dismissed. Find colleagues who share your commitment to student learning. A small group asking the same constructive questions is a movement.
The Necessary Challenges
Heretical leadership isn't without risks. You will face:
Resistance to Change: People are comfortable with the status quo. Expect pushback from those who prefer familiar routines.
Risk of Failure: Not all innovations will succeed. You must be prepared to accept failure as data and learn from your mistakes.
The Fine Line of Disruption: Disruption without a human-centric purpose can quickly become destructive. The heretic's work must always be rooted in empathy and a genuine effort to make things better.
My Heretical Journey and Your Next Step
Since embracing this approach, I've discovered that some of my most cherished teaching practices weren't serving students as well as I'd assumed. Questioning these orthodoxies hasn't been comfortable, but it's led to more effective learning and higher engagement. The heretical leader framework gave me permission to be professionally rebellious.
To truly lead our organisations through disruption, we must first disrupt our own leadership. This means being willing to abandon practices we've grown comfortable with in service of something better.
Your journey can start today. Begin with one orthodoxy. Gather evidence. Experiment thoughtfully. And above all, stay connected to your purpose.
The greatest heresy in education might be continuing to do things simply because we've always done them that way. Our students deserve leaders brave enough to choose a better way.