Leadership Certificate
Develop the mindset and skills to lead with confidence and purpose. Explore leadership principles, build positive habits, strengthen your identity, and learn how to inspire others through expert-led content. Earn a certificate at your own pace.
Topics covered
What you'll develop
Explore your values, habits, and goals to identify what drives you and create a stronger sense of direction for your future.
Learn how personal principles guide decision-making, shape character, and establish the foundation for effective leadership.
Understand the qualities and virtues that great leaders demonstrate and how to intentionally strengthen them in your daily life.
Explore practical leadership lessons focused on communication, character, balance, and influence to help you lead authentically in any environment.
Course outline
About your experts
Dr. Pete Paciorek, Ed.D., is the Head of Leadership & Character Development at IMG Academy, the world leader in sports education. He is passionate about supporting students, athletes, educators, coaches, and parents in effective long-term pedagogy to cultivate positive youth development. At IMG Academy, Dr. Paciorek is responsible for designing and leading character development programs that help students form well-rounded identities, overcome challenges, uplift one another and their communities, and achieve success both on and off the field. He works closely with all middle-school and high-school students at the academy, as well as with students in every grade during IMG Academy’s sports training camps, and with other coaches and educators in the development of IMG Academy pedagogy.
Coming from a family of 11 professional athletes, Dr. Paciorek had a ten-year career in professional baseball with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres organizations. Following his passion for supporting student-athletes, he earned an Ed.D. in Character Education from the University of Missouri at St. Louis; he also has an MS in Sport Management and MA in Organizational Leadership. He is the author of the book Character Loves Company, a longtime volunteer for the Special Olympics, and the founder of the nonprofit organization Character Loves Company, Inc. Additionally, Dr. Paciorek has given hundreds of presentations to schools and community centers about the need to emphasize character development in education and sports.
Richard Thompson is a four-time Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist, hailing from Trinidad & Tobago. Throughout his career as a sprinter, he also claimed 4 NCAA championships while representing the LSU Tigers. With a master's degree in Sports Management, Thompson is deeply dedicated to developing the next generation of athletes. He has led several Youth Development Camps since 2009, and serves as the Senior Leadership and Character Development Coach at IMG Academy, where he mentors young athletes, emphasizing both performance and personal growth.
