The Hardest Job in School: Mastering Middle Leadership, with Darius Samojlowicz

About this episode

Allan Dougan and Darius Samojlowicz discuss the challenges and skills of middle leadership in education.

Middle leadership might just be the hardest job in school - not because the role itself is impossible, but because so few leaders are ever truly prepared for what it demands. In this episode, Allan sits down with Darius Samojlowicz, Executive Officer of the Mathematics Association of New South Wales, for an honest and practical conversation about what it really means to lead from the middle. Darius unpacks why middle leaders so often feel isolated, under-resourced and caught between the vision of senior leadership and the day-to-day realities of classroom teachers. He and Allan explore how relational trust is built through small, consistent actions, like knowing your team's names, following through on commitments, and making people feel genuinely heard. One of the most compelling ideas in this episode is Darius's belief that the best leadership thinking often happens in moments that look like doing nothing. Drawing on the calm, deliberate approach of paramedics and firefighters arriving at a scene, he makes a powerful case for pausing before acting, gathering information rather than reacting - as one of the most underrated leadership skills a middle leader can develop. The…

People in this episode

Host: Allan Dougan

Guest: Darius Samojlowicz

Topics covered

• middle leadership
• education
• relational trust
• leadership skills
• prioritization
• classroom realities

Keywords

• middle leadership
• education
• leadership skills
• relational trust
• prioritization
• classroom teachers

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mathematics Association of New South Wales

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