Synergy Circles for Academic Leaders
Beginning January 2027
A space to say what you can’t say on campus.
YOU
What if you had a room without anyone who reports to you, works for you, sits on your committees, or knows anybody who does?
What people bring me
Here are some real problems I’ve helped clients work through:
Wanting a job you don’t have yet.
Not being sure you want the job you’re applying for.
Being the boss of people who used to be your peers.
They all have one thing in common: whatever you’re facing, you need somewhere to think out loud that isn’t inside your institution.
Three ways people work with me
First: a free hour
Let’s get to know each other and work on some real problems you’re facing. By the end we both know whether there’s anything worth doing together, because I don’t want to sell you something you don’t need.
$0
One to one partnership
Twice a month, three months at a time. Long enough to be useful 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, across three universities and two deanships.
$6,000
Advisory
Sometimes the solution isn’t about you — it’s about your team.
Advisories are as custom as my coaching, and are built around the CliftonStrengths Assessment, which I’ve been certified in for a decade. I like it because it gives us a positive framework to talk about the interpersonal differences that are grinding things to a halt, and a path forward that gets everyone moving in the same direction.
These develop into team sessions and often some individual coaching. I’ve also developed a 360º assessment designed so the feedback actually helps instead of making things worse.
I’ve done this kind of work across all kinds of units: research administration, the Graduate College, Student Affairs, Communications & Marketing, and academic schools with faculty of their own.
$6,000
And the circles
Small cross-institutional groups of people in similar roles. Next cohort starts January 2027.
Synergy Circles for Academic Leaders →
Run by a Ringmaster
Two clients. Three deanships. Three universities.
“I began working with Hanna when I started looking for a dean position… One of the things that she did for me during my job search was help me to use elevated language in the answers to interview questions. She also helped to review documents. I had to submit letters of intent in order to apply for the positions, and she was good at smoothing over what I had written. And I worked through different scenarios with her of this offer versus that offer, pros and cons.”
“Once I was in my dean position, I treated it very much like a leadership therapy session, where I knew that I had complete confidentiality and I could tell her exactly what was happening so that I could sort through issues, whereas for other people, I couldn’t tell them. I knew that that information was going to go nowhere.”
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
“When I was applying for this particular promotion, we met on a more frequent basis to prepare for that entire process, from application through interview and negotiating the final offer. When I started this role, Hanna and I met weekly just to help me transition into a much bigger position. I think it really prevented me from making too many mistakes when I first started.”
Dr. Kirsten Limesand
Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate College, University of Arizona.
Thirty-one people in universities have worked with me more than once. Ten are current.
Start with an hour
It’s free, and it’s how everything starts. Bring the thing you can’t say on campus.