Over the past three decades, global experience in higher education (HE) has shown that designated quality assurance (QA) mechanisms have been unable to deliver the desired quality improvements in the HE landscape; as a result, quality has not become an embedded culture in most higher education institutions (HEIs). This gap may stem from a disconnect between QA management and leadership practices, particularly where leadership fails to emphasize key quality imperatives (moral, professional, competitive, and accountability) that are essential to embedding quality as an institutional culture. This study examined the role of leadership in promoting quality imperatives at three public universities in Ethiopia, involving 1029 academic staff. The findings indicate that leadership at the departmental level plays a critical role in advancing quality imperatives, thereby enhancing overall quality enhancement. Furthermore, the study offers practical mechanisms for addressing quality imperatives and provides fresh insights into the existing leadership approaches, an area of research that remains underexplored in Ethiopia's HE sector or similar systems in the HE landscape.