Meet Mark Sirkin, PhD
Mark Sirkin began his career as an academic clinical psychologist, working with families and children applying systems theory to real-life problems. He has worked with hundreds of individuals and families and has taught applied systems theory to psychology grad students, medical students, and counseling students.
“Welcome to Sirkin Advisors. I am Mark Sirkin, a psychologist and business consultant specializing in helping business owners and leaders hire, develop, and train the best people to deliver on your company’s vision and mission. With over 30 years of experience as a consulting psychologist, I have worked with many types of businesses over the years, from small start-ups to multi-national enterprises and business owning families. Read below if you’d like to get a sense of my professional journey. Or jump to our other pages for specific services you may want to learn more about.”
FROM CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST TO CONSULTING PSYCHOLOGIST
Realizing that businesses were the ultimate challenge in complex human systems, he began to specialize in organizational consultation. He obtained a post-doctoral certificate from the world-renowned psychoanalytic institute, The William Alanson White Institute in New York City. As a member of the first class in 1990 of their Organizational Consulting and Development Program, he began his consulting career in 1992.
For more than 30 years, he has worked in a variety of businesses, from Fortune 50 companies to publicly-held smaller firms, large and small law firms, family-businesses, and technology start-ups.
Publishing
In 2004, Mark published the first edition of ‘The Secret Life of Corporations’ (now in its second edition). Since then he continued his consulting career at Hay Group and the law firm consultancy Hildebrandt Baker Robbins, a division of Thomson Reuters. He has since published a second book, ‘Regain Your Balance’ (2015) especially for coaching clients. In addition to two books, he has written many scholarly and professional articles on topics ranging from neuroscience to leadership.
A Lifetime of Applying Psychology to Real World Problems
Mark Sirkin received his PhD. in clinical psychology in 1986 from the University of Connecticut in Storrs. Before that, he had completed an internship at the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, where he had become the Director of Research for their Cult Hot-line and Clinic.
2022
Mark has continued to consult during and after the COVID pandemic, both remotely and in-person. He has developed additional expertise working with BMC Associates [hot link to their website], helping them develop and teach their partnership charter methodology. He obtained a certificate as an Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), to better help small and mid-size business owners develop their business into a saleable enterprise. And most recently, he has become an Everthing DiSC™ Certified trainer and distributor. Everything DiSC is an increasingly popular tool which enables cutting-edge leadership and management development based on sound psychological principles.
2019
Return to consulting full-time, under the banner of Sirkin Advisors. Based on a talk given in 2017 to the Information Security Conference for the Financial Sector in Qatar, he was asked to join Assured Cyber Protection as Head, Applied Psychology and Human Factors.
Mark has recently finished a three-year term, including President of the Division, with the Society of Consulting Psychology, Division 13 of the American Psychological Association.
2012
Hired by Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, NY to lead their Master’s program in Mental Health Counseling. Subsequently promoted to Chair of the Counseling Department and Associate Dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences. He continued to be active in the Society of Consulting Psychology (Division 13 of the American Psychological Association) where he was Program Chair.
2007
Joined Hildebrandt Baker Robbins, the world’s largest law firm consultancy at the time, focused on developing law firm leadership, practice groups, and individual partners.
His contributions to Hildebrandt included the development of a law firm competency model, coaching key law firm leaders, and building leadership skills in mid-career partners.
2004
In 2004, he decided to expand his practice by joining Hay Group (now Korn Ferry), at the time the world’s largest human resources consultancy with over 74 offices in 41 countries. He was a senior practitioner with their Executive Services practice.
During this time, he also became active in the Society of Consulting Psychology as co-head of their Family Business Practice Special Interest Group.
1999
In 1999, he founded Sirkin Associates, a management consulting firm specializing in executive development and organizational change. He has written articles and presented to numerous groups about his consulting to family businesses.
1994
In 1994, he left academia to become a full-time consultant with RHR International, where he was appointed Director of their Family Business Practice.
1990
In 1990, he joined the faculty of the Ferkauf Graduate School and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine as Director of The Robert Beren Center for the Jewish Family.
In that same year, he also began his post-doctoral training at the William Alanson White Institute’s Organizational Development and Consulting Program. He began consulting to family businesses soon after.
1987
In 1987, he joined the faculty of the University of Rochester Medical Center in Psychiatry, where he became Director of Group Research and Training. He continued to publish on relational disorders and other dysfunctional group and family phenomena.