Abstract
The quotations from two leaders of academic development units at the beginning of this chapter indicate the expanding portfolios of academic developers as well as an intensified internationalisation and competitiveness in the current landscape of higher education. These quotations are redolent with the core purpose of this chapter, to demonstrate that leading higher education as, and for public good, is a complex and demanding endeavour. By drawing on the metaphor ‘web of commitments’ the chapter illustrates how educational leadership in super-complex public universities, requires the capacity to negotiate and reach ‘legitimate compromises’ within an increasing and ever changing web of commitments including contested interests and needs. The chapter elaborates an analytical approach to understanding some of the most intensified tensions academics experience in current universities, namely those emerging between the ‘accountability logic’ of New Public Management and ‘responsibility logic’ embedded in professional academic work. Applying these metaphors and analytical concepts, the chapter demonstrates typical commitments in educational leadership and how five leaders of academic development units cope within their respective web of commitments.