Executive Coaching Circles
Hosted by HERS and Academic Search, a long-standing partner of HERS and leader in the executive coaching field, Executive Coaching Circles offers a frequently requested service—executive coaching. The Executive Coaching Circles program was designed to help strong, effective leaders be stronger and more effective.
Designed to help strong, effective leaders be even stronger and more effective.
Executive Coaching Circles
Location:
- Virtual
Dates & Times:
- August 2026 - May 2027
-
Program fee:¹
- 9$2,500*
HERS will be in touch with the full cohort shortly after the payment deadline.
¹ HERS is a nonprofit organization. The Program Fee helps defray our technology and program facilitator expenses, as well as various administrative costs. Please review our GuideStar profile for further information about our financials and nonprofit status.
Please consult our virtual workshop and virtual program series cancellation and refund policy.
DEADLINES:
- Registration Deadline: Friday, July 31, 2026
- Payment Deadline: Friday, August 7, 2026
What is executive coaching?
Executive coaching is a professional and confidential partnership that supports leaders through strategic growth, effective decision-making and successful transitions. Working with goals defined by both the leader and the institution, coaching provides a confidential space to reflect, set goals, and enhance your impact. Expanding the capacity of the leader necessarily expands the capacity of the institution to accomplish its goals.
Why executive coaching circles?
HERS has partnered with Academic Search to offer Executive Coaching Circles – an accessible, affordable, and highly relevant coaching experience designed specifically for women leaders in higher education. These small-group circles are facilitated by a seasoned Senior Executive Coach and bring together peers in comparable roles at different institutions to create a confidential, collaborative space for learning and growth. Grounded in a systems-thinking approach, this coaching experience emphasizes the unique context in which each leader operates. At its core, leadership is a continuous cycle of reflection, practice, action, and assessment. The Executive Coaching Circles honor this reality by integrating real-time challenges with deep reflection, fostering both strategic insight and personal resilience.
In today’s higher education landscape—where leading is both noble and demanding—HERS and Academic Search are deeply committed to supporting the effectiveness, sustainability, and well-being of senior leaders. We recognize that leadership is both internal and external: the inner life of the leader and the outer realities of institutional demands are inseparable and must be nurtured in tandem. Executive Coaching Circles offer a rare opportunity to develop in both dimensions, in the company of trusted peers and guided by experienced coaches who understand the complexities of academic leadership.
Executive Coaching Circles Info Session is Closed
Missed the Virtual Info Session?
Email us at HERS@HERSNetwork.org for more information.
Who should attend?
Executive Coaching Circles are designed for higher education executives at various leadership levels, including but not limited to vice president, vice provost, vice chancellor, or vice dean; assistant or associate vice president, assistant or associate provost, assistant or associate vice chancellor, or assistant or associate dean; and executive director and director roles. This program is aimed to help strong, effective leaders be even stronger and more effective, and become better leaders on behalf of their institutions. For a more complete listing of titles, see group descriptions.
Program Structure
Structured, Monthly Engagement
Executive Coaching Circles will meet monthly, 8 times during the course of the program. Monthly meetings will be 2 hours and are typically held on weekdays at or after 4 p.m. ET (schedule to be determined and set by each coach and circle). Additionally, each participant will have the opportunity to schedule a one-time, individualized, sixty-minute one-on-one session with their Senior Executive Coach.
Role-Aligned Peer Circles
Participants will be grouped into one of 4 executive coaching circles comprising 6-8 participants each. See the list of this year’s groupings below. Multiple circles may be created for each category, depending on registration numbers.
Thoughtful Group Matching
Participants will be grouped into circles based on similar roles and responsibilities, as indicated on their registration form. We will do our best to accommodate each participant’s preferences.
Flexibility in Group Composition
If a circle has fewer than 6 participants, HERS and Academic Search reserve the right to offer a proposed alternative grouping (e.g. a mixture of roles and responsibilities in a circle). In the case an alternative grouping is proposed, participants will have the option to decline their position for a full refund within 3 business days of notification.
Expert Facilitation by Senior Executive Coaches
Each Executive Coaching Circle will be facilitated by an Academic Search Senior Executive Coach (SEC).
Guided, Purposeful Dialogue
Your SEC will prepare and send monthly agendas and prompts for discussion.
Program Launch & Orientation
Executive Coaching Circles will kick off with a virtual opening program in August to introduce the program, executive coaching, the participants, and the SECs.
What participants learn
Be introduced and exposed to the concept and experience of executive coaching to learn what to expect and what to look for in subsequent one-on-one executive coaching experiences.
Learn about how executive coaching can lead to effective leadership.
Create and sustain a community of support among peers in similar roles at different institutions.
Circle Groupings
Executive Coaching Circle groupings are based on similarities in roles and responsibilities among participants.* While participants will share similarities in role/responsibilities, groups will foster diversity of institution types as well as diversity among participants, thereby broadening the range of perspectives and insights brought to the circles and allowing participants to gain insights and learn from one another.
If you don’t see your title here or have questions about which group you should join, please email HERS at hers@hersnetwork.org.
- Cabinet-Level Circle: This circle includes those who hold the title of Vice President or equivalent and serve on the President’s/Chancellor’s cabinet.
- Academic Associates Circle: This circle includes those who serve in the following roles within academic affairs: Associate Dean, Assistant Dean, Associate Provost, Assistant Provost, or Executive Director in academic divisions, schools, and other academic units (e.g., library, advising, etc.).
- Academic Dean Circle: This circle includes those who hold the title of Academic Dean.
- Administrative Associates Circle: This circle includes those who serve in the following role: Assistant/Associate Vice President, Executive Director, Director, or equivalent in administrative/staff divisions outside of academic affairs, such as student affairs, business and finance, technology, athletics, advancement, facilities, auxiliary services, enrollment management, human resources, DEI, etc.
*If a circle has fewer than 6 participants, HERS and Academic Search reserve the right to offer a proposed alternative grouping (e.g. a mixture of roles and responsibilities in a circle). In the case an alternative grouping is proposed, participants will have the option to decline their position for a full refund within 3 business days of notification.
Meet the Executive Coaches
Each circle will be led by one of the following Senior Executive Coaches from Academic Search, individuals with significant higher education and leadership coaching experience. Coaches will be assigned after registration, along with circle assignments.
Click on each coach’s “Academic Search Profile” to learn more about them.
Nancy P. Crimmin
Managing Director, Senior Consultant, and Senior Executive Coach
Virginia "Ginny" Schaefer Horvath
Senior Consultant and Senior Executive Coach
Meg Richtman
Assistant Vice President, Executive Coaching Practice and Senior Executive Coach
How executive coaching circles support our mission?
Higher education should exist on the leading edge of societal change, continually challenging itself with new ideas to actualize and new issues to solve. We strive for equity in higher education leadership because we believe institutions led by diverse voices are more dynamic and innovative, as well as more capable of solving both long-standing systemic issues and new issues as they arise. Equity is thus not an end in itself, but a means of creating stronger institutions that better serve and guide a changing world. It is for this reason that HERS is dedicated to ongoing support for higher education leaders, both through the HERS Network and through programs like this. As the world changes, HERS is on-hand to coach higher education leaders to meet those changes.
¹ HERS is a nonprofit organization. The Program Fee helps defray our technology and program facilitator expenses, as well as various administrative costs. Please review our GuideStar profile for further information about our financials and nonprofit status.
Please consult our virtual workshop and virtual program series cancellation and refund policy.