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Microcredential | Verified Assessment | 6 CEUs

The Adaptive Manager microcredential was first established in partnership with the City of Cleveland as a professional development program for Recreation Department managers. It was later refined with human resource leaders at 91̽�� to ensure it meets the leadership needs of public-sector, nonprofit, and industry-based organizations.

This microcredential prepares supervisors and emerging leaders to navigate shifting priorities, lead teams through organizational change, and build healthy, accountable workplace cultures. Participants develop applied competencies in coaching and mentorship, strategic planning, conflict resolution, resource management, onboarding, and critical communication. These capabilities reflect the realities of today’s work environments across government, nonprofit agencies, community organizations, and private industry settings.

Delivered through a blended model that includes in-person sessions, virtual instruction, and self-directed learning, the program integrates applied projects and concludes with a final assessment. Learners earning this digital credential demonstrate verified mastery at 80 percent or higher.

The Adaptive Manager is ideal for professionals advancing into supervisory, coordinator, or managerial roles in nonprofits, public service, higher education, community-based organizations, and operational roles across industry.

The outline below is fully customizable to meet the specific needs of your organization.

Adaptive Manager Outline

Coaching and Mentorship
Participants learn how to set clear goals, build shared innovation across teams, establish workplace expectations, support “leaders in place,” and apply positive corrective action. The module emphasizes recognizing strong performance and creating a culture where employees feel valued and respected.

Continuing Learning and Professional Development
This module focuses on purpose-driven development for individuals and teams. Learners practice mapping professional development pathways, hosting learning events, setting role-specific objectives, and modeling lifelong learning as part of a high-performing workplace culture.

Leading Change
Participants explore the shift from individual to collective leadership, strategies for reducing fear around innovation, and techniques for recognizing and responding to resistance. Core change management principles and best practices provide the foundation for building transparent, sustainable change processes.

Strategic Planning
Learners examine the components of strategic planning, including writing strategic operating plans, prioritizing organizational objectives, executing and evaluating strategies, and revising plans based on performance. Emphasis is placed on collaborative partnerships that strengthen organizational impact.

Workplace Culture
This module addresses inclusive team culture, professional integrity, harassment prevention, and establishing clear workplace expectations. Participants explore how culture shapes identity, performance, and community relationships within an organization.

Critical Communication
Learners build skills for difficult conversations, conflict-sensitive listening, respectful written communication, and community relations. This module also addresses navigating organizational politics and strengthening communication practices that reinforce trust and accountability.

Conflict Resolution
Participants develop tools for diagnosing conflict, managing disruptive behavior, leading challenging conversations, and responding to workplace violence or crisis situations. Critical thinking and problem-solving are emphasized as essential leadership competencies.

Onboarding and Staff Development
This module covers structured onboarding practices, including preparing new hires for success, communicating expectations, introducing team roles, organizing training plans, and establishing early performance alignment.

Meeting for Change
Learners practice planning and facilitating meetings that drive clarity and engagement. Topics include when to convene meetings, structuring agendas, choosing attendees, and leveraging one-on-one meetings for team development.

Resource Management
Participants learn the fundamentals of budget forecasting, developing and tracking annual budgets, conducting resource audits, preventing waste, and managing capacity and workload. Practical accountability tools strengthen operational decision-making.

To schedule on-site training or to place employees into an upcoming open-enrollment class, contact Nancy Pratt at n.pratt@csuohio.edu.