In conversation with Lindsay McQuattie Deputy Principal and Head of Primary at John Paul College, Queensland
Lindsay McQuattie, Deputy Principal and Head of Primary at John Paul College (JPC), Queensland, is a highly respected educational leader with more than 20 years of experience in teaching and school leadership. JPC is a large, independent coeducational college renowned for its diverse community and innovative approach to learning. Besides other achievements, Linday has most recently been recognised as one of The Educator’s 2025 Most Influential Educators. Lindsay has played a pivotal role in advancing academic excellence, student wellbeing and innovation across JPC. A visionary leader, Lindsay firmly believes that leadership is about creating the conditions for others to grow and thrive.
Tell us a bit about your role and your journey to get here
My role spans curriculum direction, staff development, community engagement, and strategic leadership, and I love that no two days look the same.
After graduating, I followed two passions that have never really left me, teaching and travel. My first teaching role took me to London, where I began as a graduate teacher in a wonderfully diverse school environment. Coming from Brisbane, it was a steep learning curve, but it gave me a strong foundation that I still draw on today. Outside the classroom, exploring countries across Europe and Africa gave me a deep appreciation for people, culture and the richness that diversity brings.
From London, I spent five years at the Australian International School in Singapore, where I stepped into leadership for the first time within a large international setting, travelling extensively across Asia and embracing every learning opportunity that came with it.
Returning to Queensland, I’ve moved progressively through learning leadership and into executive leadership. The achievements I’m most proud of are rarely the structural ones. They’re the quieter moments, a staff member who grows into a confident teacher, a student who feels seen, a team where genuine trust creates the space to learn from one another.
What has been the most rewarding part of your leadership journey?
The most rewarding part is watching people grow into themselves, and realising that creating the conditions for that to happen is actually the important part of my role. Early in my career I thought leadership was about having the answers. Now I understand it’s about asking better questions.
I genuinely enjoy the complexity of this role. I get to work at the intersection of curriculum, culture, operations, and community. That breadth keeps me curious. But what sustains me most is the relational dimension, sitting with a teacher who is working through a difficult moment and helping them find their way, or walking through the primary precinct and stopping to talk with students about what they’re learning.
What advice would you give to young teachers beginning their careers or looking toward leadership?
Stay close to your ‘why.’ The complexities of teaching can pull you away from the reason you came into this profession, so protect your connection to students and to learning because that’s what will anchor you when things become challenging.
On leadership, lead from where you are right now. Look for those small moments to put your hand up, say yes to opportunities that stretch you, and trust that discomfort is usually a sign you’re growing. Seek out mentors who will be honest with you, not just encouraging, and pay attention to the people around you who are doing it well. Know that those small acts of leadership, the ones that might feel insignificant in the moment, they don’t go unnoticed.
Education is rarely straightforward. The leaders who thrive are those who can sit comfortably with competing priorities, knowing that not everything needs to be resolved immediately.
In today’s fast-changing world, what qualities do you believe are most important to nurture in students?
Resilience, agility and relational intelligence. We can’t fully predict the world our students will graduate into, but we know they’ll need to navigate uncertainty, collaborate across difference, and recover from setbacks. Above all, they’ll need to be deeply human, to lead with empathy, and to understand that how you make people feel matters just as much as what you achieve. In a world that is moving faster than ever, it is our humanity that will hold us together.
I also believe we need to nurture in students the capacity to think critically and act ethically. Not just what to think, but how to think and how to weigh evidence, consider perspective, and make decisions they can stand behind. In a world saturated with information, intellectual honesty and moral courage matter enormously.
We also need to nurture a sense of agency in students, the belief that they can make a difference in their own lives and in the world around them.
Being in a senior leadership role can be demanding – what daily habits or routines help you stay balanced and grounded?
I was drawn to Adam Fraser’s concept of The Third Space, explored in his book The Third Space: Using Life’s Little Transitions to Find Balance and Happiness. The idea that the transition between work and home is actually an opportunity to reset, rather than just a gap between two demands. For me, driving over the Storey Bridge at night is that moment. Something about crossing the river signals to my brain that the day is done and I’m allowed to arrive home as myself.
My dog Buddy, who just turned one, has also become an unexpected grounding force. He doesn’t care about strategy documents or staffing structures. He just needs a walk. Getting out along the river at New Farm, watching him explore the world with complete enthusiasm, is one of the best ways I’ve found to decompress and reset.
I also make a point of getting out from behind my desk during the school day. Walking through the precinct, stopping to talk with students and staff, being visible and present. That’s not a distraction from the work, it is the work. It keeps me connected to purpose and reminds me why the administrative load is worth carrying.
And I read, not just for work. Historical fiction is my escape, and Kristin Hannah is one of my favourite authors. I recently finished her novel The Women, a powerful story about the courage and sacrifice of women who served in Vietnam, and the long struggle to have their contributions recognised and honoured. It stayed with me long after the last page.
My journey has taken me from the classrooms of London to schools across Asia and now back home to Queensland, and the thread that connects all of it is people. Leadership, at its heart, is about creating the conditions for others to grow and thrive. If there is one thing I hope young teachers and aspiring leaders take from my story, it is simply this, start where you are, stay close to your purpose, and trust that the small moments matter more than you know.
– Rajni Ghai Malhotra
