Effective leadership is like good sex. It is hard to say exactly what makes it good, but you know when you are experiencing it. It requires the right blend of touch, technique, titillation and tact. Despite what leadership manuals may say, there is no perfect recipe. That right blend calls for different combinations of all of these, at different times, and for different purposes. Effective leadership in student support and development services in Australian universities also requires a right blend. People holding formal leadership positions play out these roles as mid-level and senior managers in their institutions. They display leadership not only in terms of operational management of their teams, services and programs, but also at the level of organisational strategy and decision-making around positive learning communities, and student engagement and success.