Research Managers and Administrators (RMAs) face various challenges caused by conflicting and contradictory organizational subcultures in knowledge-intensive organizations (KIOs), but their human capital, such as skills and personality traits, helps RMAs to maintain job and organizational engagement and professional growth. Focusing on self-leadership of RMAs, the effects of the RMAs' human capital on their performance and job satisfaction are statistically tested with the Research Administration as a Profession (RAAAP) wave-1 dataset that captures the current states of RMA around the world. RMAs more willing to mobilize their self-leadership are more successful in terms of their career development and are happier with the job, and thus, they are surviving even in conflicting and contradictory subcultures. Implications are also provided about human capital and agency of RMAs as well as human resources practices of KIOs.