This panel explores the opportunities, constraints, and ethical complexities of leadership in music education across local and global contexts. Engaging expert music educators and researchers from seven countries, the study used Bohm’s (1996) dialogic method to foster open, reflective conversations that surfaced institutional assumptions, cultural tensions, and leadership dilemmas.Through six sessions (five online and one in person) participants co-created a narrative that illuminated themes of connectivity, resilience, collaborative practice, and deep listening. The dialogues revealed how leadership in higher education and community contexts is shaped not only by policy and structure, but by relational dynamics, institutional psychology, and the courage to ask, “Is this the best we can do?” Key leadership challenges included: a lack of inspiring vision, competing or imposed agendas, and the emotional toll of being asked to do more with fewer resources. Participants described feelings of powerlessness, disconnection, and being “in the middle” of top-down decisions that lacked genuine consultation. They questioned why such conditions persist unchallenged and called for leadership that is visionary, distributive, and courageous—willing to disrupt norms, embrace vulnerability, and foster shared understanding across difference.Wellbeing emerged as a critical yet neglected dimension of leadership. Participants highlighted the growing needs of students post-COVID, the strain on faculty, and the near invisibility of leader wellbeing. They emphasized the importance of listening, inclusion, and the arts in promoting mental health, while noting systemic failures to support those most affected. The dialogues also surfaced tensions around engagement, particularly with young people, and the struggle to remain connected and relevant in times of destabilization.This symposium offers a timely and ethically grounded perspective on leadership that values people as assets, embraces complexity, and invites collective meaning-making. It provides insights for educators, researchers, and institutional leaders seeking to foster more humane, connected, and courageous leadership practices.Symposium OverviewThis 90-minute symposium will take place as follows:12 mins: Introduction to the session and overview of the Leadership Dialogue Study (Co-Chair)48 mins: 6 min presentations by each of the 8 panelists30 mins: Q&A and discussion with attendees and panel