The ASPIRE Leadership Development Program is now accepting applications for its 2024 cohort.
Designed for community members who aspire to hold people leadership positions, ASPIRE is hosted and facilitated by the Workplace Learning and Professional Development team. It is open to Georgia Tech employees who do not currently have direct report and is interested in exploring how one would develop a leadership mindset.
Melanie Paulina, administrative operations specialist in the Office of Information Technology, said, “The ASPIRE program helped me grow my confidence and taught me how to think as a leader. The self-directed learning portion was great, but where I felt supported and learned the most was through the in-person collaboration with my cohort.”
Members participate in activities, including workshops and discussions with campus leadership, where they cultivate a leadership mindset, develop new skills, and gain the competencies to become effective people leaders.
“This enriching experience served as an opportunity for me to self-reflect and improve my leadership skills in collaboration, critical thinking, problem-solving, and so much more,” said Sgt. Jessica Howard with the Community Outreach and Engagement Unit of the Georgia Tech Police Department. “ASPIRE empowered me with an abundance of tools and resources that will aid in my leadership roles for many years to come.”
ASPIRE uses a collaborative learning approach, placing participants in small groups that represent different departments across the Institute. “I joined the program because I wanted to learn more about what others did on campus, to build my knowledge base,” said Steve Place, campus sustainability program manager for the Office of Sustainability. “It was a great experience because I did learn a lot about how others operate in this environment, but just as important was that many of them are facing similar questions and scenarios that I face daily.”
Supervisors serve as co-learners with the participants, engaging with the content as well. Throughout the program, both supervisors and participants receive discussion guides that prompt key conversation points and offer implementation suggestions for the main concepts.
“Participating as a co-learner enabled me to see firsthand how my senior manager gained new perspectives and collaborated with others, and their commitment to continuous learning,” said Warren Goetzel, director of academic technology and engagement for OIT. “As a co-learner, I was also able to directly see how they learned new techniques and strategies for effective leadership, communication, problem-solving, and decision-making.”
Applications will be open until Friday, Aug. 2. Interested applicants are encouraged to discuss with their supervisors and apply.
For more information, visit pe.gatech.edu/wlpd/programs/aspire.