I was invited along to attend a training and development sessoin called Aspire 2, which was an opportunity I was very excited to be part of. My journey within HTG started just over a year ago and Aspire 2 was my first foray into the Aspire program. All I knew of the program when I started was some rocks everyone seemed to have sitting on their desks! To say I was curious about attending, was an understatement.
The one recurring thing I had heard from every person who had attended an Aspire session was, “It is great and you will learn a lot.”
I was not however given much indication of what I would be doing within the daily course. Essentially, one of the main focuses of Aspire 2 is to develop your skills as a leader. Something that is useful in every facet of life.
Not only did we have an excellent trainer with Al Rathjen but also an excellent group in attendance, some whom I had never met before within the business. I learnt so much over the two days not only from Al but also the group as a whole.
Aspire 2: What did I learn?
Al from Lead CI is such an engaging instructor. I found myself paying close attention to everything he was throwing at us. So much so that when I went home after the first day and after I finished my homework, I passed out in bed. It really got the wheels in my head turning. Some of the things we covered included:
- Introductions: assessing ourselves and then meeting the rest of the group
- What is a vision and what makes a good vision?
- Decision making activities
- Self-assessment to find out areas for improvement
- What makes an engaging presentation.
One of the sweat inducing activities we did was a 3-5 minute presentation. We were told at the beginning of day one that we would have to come up with a vision to present to the group at the start of the second day. You learn a lot about yourself and others when you have to get up in front of them and speak. It was a bit nerve racking but productive and very worthwhile.
I learnt so much about my leadership skills over the 2 days and have so much information to draw from now for inspiration.
Thank you to HTG for continuing to enrich my development and growth, it was a wonderful and rewarding experience. A very special thanks to all the other attendees to the Aspire course, as it made the session so fun and positive.
Tracy Bonser