Leaders in Academia: Over 100 Leaders coached since 2016
I’ve been there. Literally.
It’s not your imagination - running a circus and leading in academia have a lot in common, and I know it better than anyone.
In addition to lion tamers, acrobats, and magicians, I’ve worked with dozens of leaders in academia.
Bring me whatever’s on fire.
“Academia is exactly like a circus.”
-Dr. Kirsten Limesand, Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate College, University of Arizona
What people bring TO me
Here are some real problems I’ve helped clients work through:
Wanting a job you don’t have yet.
Wondering if you even want the job you’re applying for.
Being the boss of people who used to be your peers.
Inheriting a team that had no say in the vision you were hired to deliver.
Managing people for the first time.
A team stuck in a loop of complaints and anonymous reports.
A unit that has to change how it fundamentally works, with everyone coming along.
It Feels Like you’re running a circus
work with me
Synergy Circles
Small, cross-institutional groups of leaders in similar roles. Next cohort starts January 2027. Learn more here:
$2,400
One to one partnership
We start out twice a month, three months at a time.
Long enough to accomplish something meaningful and for both of us to decide if the partnership is worth continuing (and what the right cadence looks like).
Fair warning: lots of folks stick with me. Several of my dean and VP partner clients have been with me over four years.
$6,000
Advisory
Sometimes the problem involves your whole team.
Advisories are customized engagements built around the CliftonStrengths Assessment, in which I’ve been certified for a decade. It gives us a positive framework to talk about the interpersonal differences that are grinding things to a halt.
These develop into team sessions and often some individual coaching. When appropriate, I’ve also developed a 360º assessment designed so the feedback actually helps instead of sending you into a spiral.
I’ve done this kind of work across all kinds of units: research administration, Graduate College, Student Affairs, Communications & Marketing, and academic schools with faculty of their own.
Custom Pricing
Synergy Circles for Academic Leaders →
Early bird special:
Register by November 15 for a bonus hour of coaching.
"Our first conversation was very helpful to me. I reflected on [Hanna's] perspective and was able to take better action thanks to [her] insights."
— Dr. Betsy Arnold
Not My First Circus
When it comes to the Academy, I’ve got an insider’s edge and an outsider’s perspective.
In 2013, before I started my coaching career, I became an embedded partner with the University of Arizona because of my family’s Arabian horse program. As an unpaid affiliate with official status, I helped develop and support a program that connected to research, teaching, and extension.
In the decade I spent in that role, I gained access to rooms that outside consultants typically don't get into: I sat on two search committees at the dean's invitation, and I learned up-close how leadership, policy, and politics work (and don’t work) inside academia.
Since 2016 I've coached leaders in academia at every level, from administrative assistants to deans and VPs, through budget-model overhauls, leadership turnover, and a financial crisis at an R1.
Academia is changing - corporate models are creeping in, and the “bottom line” no longer points to the expansion of knowledge as the ultimate goal. You can’t turn the tide, but you can decide how that change lands in your unit, and what values you protect through the change.
I've made those calls. At 27 I was running my family's circus when the 2008 crash forced us to cut a quarter of the budget, from $12 million to $9 million. It hurt, but the show got better and morale got better, and the people and the company both came out stronger.
I’ve coached over 100 people in universities through 50+ engagements.
A third came back for more. Ten are working with me now.
Testimonial
"Her background is very, very different than ours, and for an academic, that could be very concerning, that that person might not understand academia. But I think Hanna has enough experience in academia that that's not an issue. … Leadership is leadership, no matter where you do it."
Dean, College of Pharmacy, Medical University of South Carolina. Formerly Dean, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, and Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs & Assessment, University of Arizona.
Dr. Terri L. Warholak
Start with an hour
It’s free, and I guarantee we’ll solve something in it.