In this episode I sat down with Rachel Johnson (CEO of PiXL) to discuss something she calls “the art of subtraction” - a leadership approach that challenges the instinct to keep adding more initiatives and more priorities, and instead asks: What if the most important work is deciding what to remove? What to stop? Or what to simplify?

We talked about:

• What do we really mean by subtraction in leadership?
• Why do you think addition has become such a default mode in education, and what are the risks of constantly adding?

• For leaders who want to adopt a subtraction mindset, where should they start? How can a school or college begin identifying what is no longer serving its purpose, and what criteria should leaders use when deciding what to remove or stop?

• Subtraction can sometimes feel uncomfortable for teachers and leaders. What are some of the common fears or misconceptions you’ve seen when schools begin to strip back? And how can leaders manage these sensitively and effectively?

• You work with leaders across different sectors, not just in education. Could you share an example of where subtraction has been used effectively, whether in a school, a trust, or even from the world of business? What was simplified or removed, and what impact did it have?
• For leaders listening who feel overwhelmed by competing priorities, what practical steps can they take to shift towards a culture where subtraction becomes normalised not as a reaction, but as a deliberate leadership habit?
• As the educational landscape continues to grow in complexity, how do you see subtraction becoming even more important for schools in the years ahead?
• Finally, if leaders took just one key idea away from our conversation today to reflect on in their own setting, what would you want that to be?

You can find Rachel at The PiXL Club - Home or Home | Rachel Johnson