Michael Stanley

Meet Mike Stanley

"Change is a choice!"

In today's fast-paced business world, we often hear terms like "emergency" or "putting out fires" in everyday conversations or emails about problems and challenges that we face. Did you ever stop for a minute to think about where those expressions come from? Well, Captain Mike Stanley of the Aurora, Colorado Fire Department and founder of On Purpose Leadership is someone who knows exactly what those expressions imply.

A native Coloradoan and lifelong student of leadership principles, Michael has dealt with more than a few real-life emergencies in his 18-year fire safety and EMS career. On his rise to the rank of Captain, Mike has been faced with countless life-or-death decisions. He's worn the hat of firefighter, paramedic, Associate Director of the EMS education program, and more. In each role, Michael has faced down danger himself, organized search and rescue teams, and supervised increasing numbers of personnel in providing customized tactical responses to an extremely wide variety of emergency situations. Bottom line, Mike has made his mark as a leader who can think on his feet and execute swiftly and appropriately under extreme pressure.

In addition to Mikes stalwart character and tactical experience, he has earned an impressive education to match. Beginning with his basic training as an Emergency Medical Technician in 1993, Mike has studied, trained and completed paramedic training, and has undergone extensive firefighting training. He earned an A.S. Degree in Emergency Services at Community College of Aurora. A B.S. in Organizational Leadership at Charter Oak State College. And, he is the proud holder of a Master of Education - Education and Human Resource Studies - from Colorado State University. Given Michael's dual passion for learning and fire safety, it's no wonder that he has found himself in the role of educator all throughout his career. In addition to instructing, developing and presenting material for numerous organizations, Mike has delivered powerful lectures at a variety of conferences; locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

As if the world of Firefighting and Emergency services were not demanding enough, Mike has also brought his boundless energy and indomitable spirit to the fields of business and education. In addition to founding On Purpose Leadership in 2009, Michael has been involved with several other endeavors. He is a founding member of the John Maxwell Team, a coaching business built on time-tested leadership principles.

A recipient of numerous awards and accolades, both in the U.S. and abroad, Mike is an individual who has assessed and resolved countless life-threatening situations. He's made a career out of responding to crises and training others to do the same. And, in what just might be his clearest demonstration of valor and crisis management skills, Mike and his wife Sandy are the proud parents of two very busy teenage daughters