Teaching Yourself to Lead: Ashley John-Baptiste

Award-winning journalist, author, and social entrepreneur Ashley John-Baptiste joins Karen Blackett CBE and Katie Lloyd. From growing up in the UK care system to studying at Cambridge University and reporting on major national events as a journalist for the BBC, Ashley shares his personal journey and explores how leadership can emerge from unexpected places. The discussion highlights the power of small acts of leadership, the importance of lived experience in storytelling, and how authenticity can drive systemic policy change.

1. 0:00Intro: Ashley John-Baptiste
2. 4:41Growing up in care: leadership you couldn’t trust
3. 7:56“Welcome to Cambridge”: arriving from a council flat
4. 12:04Grenfell and learning to be yourself at the BBC
5. 15:25What young people teach him about leadership
6. 19:36From reporting on care to changing policy
7. 25:46The care worker who got him to school
8. 28:34Recipe for leadership and quick-fire round