Chasing Rabbits with Sinead Pollock-Orr

Sinéad Pollock Orr | 26 Years in the Outdoors, Leading from the Inside Out What does it take to build a 26-year career in the outdoors — and still feel that pull every single day? Sinéad Pollock Orr is a mountain leader, climbing instructor, youth work pioneer, and co-founder of Headspace Adventures, a transformative week-long programme that takes young people off screens and deep into nature. She's led groups everywhere from the Wicklow Mountains to the Arctic — and her approach to leadership is anything but conventional. In this episode, Sinéad and I talk about how a girl from Cork who saved her babysitting money for windsurfing lessons ended up becoming one of Ireland's most respected outdoor educators. We explore how her leadership evolved from technically driven and plan-focused to deeply human, patient, and group-centred — and what it took to get there. We also get into the gender conversation in outdoor spaces — and Sinéad's refreshingly honest take on why she never felt held back by being a woman in a male-dominated world. It's not what you might expect. In this episode: From windsurfing in Oyster Haven to multi-pitch climbing in Glendalough — how Sinéad found her path The youth work years that changed everything about how she leads Headspace Adventures: what happens when you take teenagers off their phones for a week Leadership styles, self-awareness, and the art of problem prevention What the outdoors teaches us about patience — and about ourselves Her advice for any woman who wants to get outside but doesn't know where to start