Nowadays, universities hold a crucial position in the advancement and development of societies, and the presence of competent and capable academic leaders plays a fundamental role in achieving defined objectives. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the dimensions and components of academic leadership capacity and to examine its current status at the Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch. This study was applied in terms of purpose, pragmatic in terms of paradigm, mixed-method in terms of approach, and utilized thematic analysis in the qualitative phase and a survey strategy in the quantitative phase. In the qualitative section, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants, including current and former administrators of the Islamic Azad University, who were purposefully selected. In the quantitative section, two researcher-made questionnaires (the Academic Leadership Capacity Assessment Questionnaire and the Model Validation Questionnaire) were distributed among a sample of 112 individuals drawn from a statistical population of 157 administrators and faculty members, selected through simple random sampling. Paired-sample t-tests were used to analyze gaps in academic leadership capacity, and confirmatory factor analysis was applied to validate the structure of academic leadership capacity using Smart PLS software. Findings indicated Academic leadership capacity comprises seven dimensions—individual, interpersonal, cognitive, managerial, directive, professional/academic, and spiritual competencies—encompassing 18 components. The results of confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the validity of these dimensions and components, with model fit indices demonstrating acceptable values. Furthermore, paired-sample t-test results indicated that the current status of individual, interpersonal, managerial, and directive leadership competencies is suboptimal. The results showed that the status of academic leadership characteristics at the Islamic Azad University is unbalanced, highlighting the need to further develop the capacity of academic leaders. The results of the research indicate that academic leaders, in addition to the characteristics required to lead other organizations, need specific characteristics, including professional characteristics. In other words, the competencies required by academic leaders are dependent on the university environment and the country's indigenous characteristics, which differ from those of other organizations. Also, academic leaders must have diverse and numerous characteristics in order to be accepted by the university's elite community.