Even though leadership is a well-known research topic, academics have recently begun to pay more attention to it. More than leaders in other contexts, leaders in academia are continually challenged by managing autonomy, change, and uncertainty. It is necessary to understand academic leadership within this frame. First and foremost, academic autonomy is crucial since it is intimately tied to academic identity. Academics are free, as organizational structures do not bind them. Second, academic leaders must continually pay attention to the aspect of change, as institutions are expected to both originate and respond to social change. Finally, academic leaders face an ongoing dilemma of uncertainty due to the lack of predictability in research achievement and academic career prospects. Thus, they bear significant responsibility in these difficult times. It is vital to distinguish between administrative and formal leadership duties and those of informal research leaders. Since academic leadership development is often overlooked, we need to explore the difference between administrative and research-based management and conclude by stressing the need for academic leadership training (Reframing academic leadership, Jossey-Bass Publishing, Hoboken, NJ, 2021). Furthermore, academic leaders must monitor when standards change and curricula are realigned to match new technological work-based learning by boosting research and activating management roles in this direction (Educ Manag Admin Leadersh 35(4):449–477, 2007; Fraser, Setting up a mentoring scheme. https://heeoe.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/docustore/rcpsych_-_setting_up_a_mentoring_scheme.pdf; Carlsson et al., Research Quality and the Role of the University Leadership Commissioned by the Association of Swedish Higher Education (SUHF)/Experts’ Committee on Quality. https://suhf.se/app/uploads/2019/07/Expertgruppen-kvalitet-2010-2011-Bilaga-4-Research-Quality-and-the-Role-of-the-University-Leadership.pdf, 2014; Hayashi, California State University, Northridge, CA Grace Fisher-Adams California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 2015). © 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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