In this practical, real-world course, Mike Croft draws on more than 20 years of leadership, operations, and business coaching experience to help managers become more effective leaders. You'll learn how to move beyond simply managing tasks and start developing people, strengthening culture, and creating measurable results. This course is designed for current managers, emerging leaders, business owners, and professionals preparing for their next leadership role.
In From Manager to Leader, we'll explore what separates good managers from great leaders and how to make that transition. You'll learn practical strategies for building trust, communicating effectively, setting clear expectations, creating accountability, delegating with purpose, and developing the people around you. This isn't a class built around leadership theory alone—it's designed to give you tools and strategies you can immediately apply in your workplace.
We'll also focus on one of the most important responsibilities of leadership: developing people. You'll learn how to identify potential in your team, provide meaningful feedback, coach rather than simply correct, and create an environment where employees feel empowered to take ownership of their work. We'll discuss how strong leaders build cultures where people understand not only what they're responsible for, but why their contribution matters.
Another key component of the course will be learning how to turn performance data into better leadership decisions. Great leaders don't rely solely on instincts; they understand how to use meaningful metrics to identify problems, create accountability, and measure improvement. You'll learn how to move from being reactive to proactive and how to use simple performance measures to strengthen both your team and your organization.
I'm particularly passionate about this topic because I've spent more than 20 years leading teams, managing operations, developing leaders, and coaching business owners. I've led operations across multiple healthcare locations and coached more than 80 business owners nationwide. Throughout my career, I've learned that leadership isn't about having all the answers—it's about asking the right questions, developing people, creating clarity, and helping teams reach their potential. My goal is for you to leave this class not just understanding what great leadership looks like, but with practical tools you can put to work immediately.
I've spent more than 20 years leading teams and operations across healthcare, fitness, and recreation — most recently as a Director of Non-Clinical Operations, where I ran multi-site operations and used KPI-driven systems to sharpen performance and accountability. Earlier in my career, I coached 80+ business owners and franchisees, helping many of them grow revenue and build stronger, more capable teams.What draws me to this topic is simple: I've seen firsthand how much a good manager or leader changes an organization — and how rarely people get real coaching on how to become one. I'm passionate about developing emerging leaders, building cultures of accountability, and helping teams navigate change without losing momentum or morale.I'm excited to bring that real-world experience into executive coaching, and this is also a first step toward a longer-term goal of mine: teaching at the university level.
