Build academic leadership range

Leadership Development for Research and Academia

Creating reflective spaces where researchers and academics explore challenges, enhance culture, and develop effective leadership.

PhD candidates, post-Docs, faculty and academic teams explore approaches to strategic thinking and better leadership. More reflective conversations enable more empowered voices, which in turn develop healthier, more productive research environments.

  • Networking and collaboration
  • Giving and receiving feedback
  • Research culture and leadership
  • Communication and influence
  • Academic career development

What I do in academia

Universities and institutes are changing ...

— and the skills that create impact are expanding beyond expertise alone. Today, academic success increasingly depends on how you lead yourself, your collaborations, your teams, and your visibility.

I help researchers, lecturers, and academic leaders shift from looking for “the secret” or the next hack to building something more powerful: learning behavior, a learning mindset, and leadership mindset — so they can navigate complexity, create results, and grow their potential.

My focus is mostly group formats: workshops, cohorts, and team-based development. Because culture changes faster when people learn together — and because academia needs shared language and shared practice, not isolated individual fixes.

Common situations academics bring

Outcomes you can expect

simple & structured

How we work

Create an experiential space

Not a lecture. A designed learning environment where participants can reflect, test, and practice.

Cross-pollinate perspectives

I bridge academic realities and corporate leadership practices — so each world can learn from the other.

Turn insight into behavior

We translate concepts into repeatable actions: conversations, routines, experiments, and ways of working.

Build a practical next step

You leave each session with clear actions: decisions, conversations, boundaries, writing moves.

Topics we can cover

  • Learning behavior & growth mindset in high-performance cultures
  • Leadership mindset: self-leadership, influence, decision-making under uncertainty
  • Navigating hierarchies and pecking orders without losing your voice
  • Collaboration and stakeholder management (within institutes, across disciplines)
  • Confident communication: presenting, defending, and leading discussions
  • Networking as an academic advantage: building relationships with integrity
  • Personal branding for researchers and faculty: clarity, message, visibility
  • Team effectiveness in labs and academic units: agreements, trust, accountability
  • Future and potential: designing the next chapter (career, leadership, impact)

Who this is for

Why M. Claudia Benassi?

I hold a PhD, have spent 17 years in the world of top business schools, while also working closely with research institutions. I understand the logic, language, and pressures of academia — and I bring in the energy, strategy, and leadership practices that help people thrive in complex corporate systems.

My work is strongly shaped by bridging worlds: I deliberately cross-pollinate between research and corporate environments so both sides learn — and so academia gains tools that create clarity, confidence, and momentum without losing intellectual integrity.

I’m currently acquiring ICF accreditation — one of the most recognized, top-tier coaching standards globally.

Want to build future-ready capability in your institution?