This podcast explores a single-authored article which employs autoethnography to examine the leadership transition experienced by a scholar moving from managing solo doctoral research to facilitating large-scale, community-based research partnerships. The author reflects on personal journal entries to identify lessons learned in areas like project management, relationship building, and fostering a sense of belonging among diverse collaborators and stakeholders. Using metaphors of conducting an orchestra without music and fitting shoes for diverse feet, the study highlights the unexpected logistical and emotional demands of this shift, including navigating institutional processes and managing the affective dimensions of care. Ultimately, the piece offers insights for individual researchers and institutions on supporting this complex and often undertheorized aspect of academic work. (Note - this is an AI-generated podcast based on the article: https://jprm.scholasticahq.com/article/126978-conductor-and-cobbler-leadership-lessons-from-large-scale-research-partnership-facilitation