If you’re a teacher with leadership in your sights, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.

This week, we speak to Chris, a primary-trained teacher who transitioned into assistant principal and deputy principal roles, and now has 6 years of experience under his belt as a school principal in a NSW public school.

On the couch, Chris reflects on navigating the mindset shift that comes with springboarding from teaching in the classroom to leading in a whole-school context.

He shares his top advice for teachers at all stages of their career journeys, from early career teachers who want to build their future leadership capabilities to those ready to step into their first executive role.

We tackle some of the critical questions that aspiring leaders face today including: when is the right time to move into leadership, how do you balance an assistant principal role with a classroom teacher role and what strategies can you implement to build capacity in the staff you lead.

For Chris, being a great leader is all about interpersonal connections, building trust and helping your staff and students to reach their potential. From his open-door office policy to his dedication to the all-staff Ice Cream Club (ICC), in Chris’ experience, teamwork really does make the dream work.

We hope you enjoy this episode.

We acknowledge that this episode of the Teach NSW Podcast was recorded on the homelands of the Darug people. We pay respect to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples listening to the Teach NSW Podcast today.

Connect with us

If you would like to provide feedback or suggestions for future episodes, please contact teachnsw@det.nsw.edu.au to get in touch with the Teach NSW Podcast team. Follow the Teach NSW team on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter) and YouTube to be the first to know when new episodes are released.

Resources and useful links

• Teach NSW - become a teacher in a NSW public school and find out how a career in teaching can open doors for you.


• School Leadership Institute - find out about the School Leadership Institute’s programs and resources for current and future school leaders.