Over the past fifty years, educational leadership has grown from a ‘niche’ concept in Western educational research to a ‘global’ issue of great concern. It has transitioned from a “small circle” dominated by Western scholars and theories to a diverse “large community” that includes a broader range of non-Western scholars and research. Promoting the “global-local” perspective in educational leadership research is not only an intrinsic demand for academic development in this field but also a practical response to the call for educational reform and innovation in various countries. In light of this, the teachers and students from the Department of Educational Management at East China Normal University invited Professor Tony Bush, a renowned scholar in global educational leadership research, editor-in-chief of the British journal Educational Management, Administration and Leadership (EMAL), and professor at the University of Nottingham, to discuss his comprehensive reflections on the origin and impact of the “globalization” of educational leadership research. He emphasized the contextualization and dynamic construction of relevant theories, explored the reflexive direction of expanding and deepening research perspectives in this field, and shared his expectations and suggestions for Chinese researchers on how to develop a leadership theory with Chinese characteristics.