Aspire Leadership

A world of fortresses will be poorer, more fragile and less sustainable” - Mark Carney - Davos 2026

Our question: How do we build a culture of community within our own organisations and beyond that means our people feel safe, supported, connected, valued, and purposeful every day?

Welcome to Lichen-omics!

Lichen is made up of an algae and a fungus working as one organism

Lichen thrives in places those single species can't – even space

Lichen is cool

Be like lichen

After the fun we had last year, this B Corp Month, we’re excited to be opening our doors again to invite local B Corps, aspiring B Corps and all our friends to join us for coffee, pastries and treats. There will be a short, interactive workshop exploring the myriad benefits of collaboration and how we can make that happen (and yes, we will talk about lichen…)

All your burning questions have been answered in this month’s blog post by Liz McKechnie 🎆

Click here to read it in full: https://lnkd.in/exXVGMiF

Happy New Year from all of us at Aspire Leadership! 🎇🎆 As we make resolutions and prepare for the year ahead it’s important to remember the importance of good planning! As Antoine Saint-Exupéry said “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

We’ll be sharing lots of yummy details about upcoming Strategic Planning events next week but until then feel free to peruse our Strategic Planning Courses here: https://www.aspire-leadership.co.uk/leadership-skills/strategic-planning/

⭐️ This year our Christmas card features a Filipino Parol, a Christmas lantern symbolising the guiding star and the hope it brings. Inspired by this tradition, Aspire Leadership has made a donation to The Philippine Red Cross to support communities as they face the impact of Typhoon Fung-Wong.

Over the next few weeks we’re going to be focusing on Strategic Planning! But what is it? And why is it important??? 🧐

Strategic planning is an essential business management skill: coming up with a vision for a better, brighter future and translating that into a doable strategic plan. 👍🏼 At the same time it is a creative and exciting process that takes you beyond the restrictions of current thinking and opens up new possibilities for the future.

Our strategic planning training course demystifies the whole process and provides a practical approach to understanding strategy and strategic thinking. 🦚

Message or email us your questions at [email protected]. For more information on the course click here -> https://lnkd.in/e7UFyii

You asked and we've answered! Follow the link below to check out our full blog post answering the most commonly asked questions about Influencing & Communication Skills! 🦜

Hungry for more? Why not indulge in the full course? Full details available here: https://lnkd.in/eczhmncz

https://www.aspire-leadership.co.uk/2025/12/influencing-and-communication-skills-questions-we-are-often-asked-in-the-training-room/

Aspire Leadership Holborn, London | Influencing and Communication Skills: Questions We Are Often Asked in the Training Room Our Influencing and Communication Skills courses are there to support everyday interactions in the workplace. So often we have to find ways to simply get other people to do something. Most of us have a few influencing tricks we use regularly but it’s when they don’t seem to work that we might ne...

What can an optical illusion teach us about influencing others? 🧞‍♂️

1. There are 2 women in the picture, one old and one young. Our brains can only perceive one of these images at a time. So, how do we get someone to see the “other” woman’s face? To influence someone to a new way of thinking, the first thing we might try to do is understand why they are right in their alternative viewpoint. What does it look like from their position? What is it like to be them?

2. Then, demonstrate your understanding of their position and acknowledge it. I really mean articulate it out loud so they can hear that you’ve got it. So, if they only see the young lady in the picture talk about the young lady first, no ifs, ands or buts! Show them that you see it too.

3. The law of reciprocity helps here too as we are far more likely to try and understand someone’s opposing view if they have shown willingness to understand us first. Then you can show how the features of the young lady could be viewed in a different way to construct an old lady. They don’t have to argue their original viewpoint because you have acknowledged it and all of a sudden...... Hey presto! The old lady emerges!!

So next time you want to bring someone to a new way of thinking try visiting their way of thinking first.

Want to learn more about this topic? Follow the link below to check out our Influencing & Communication Skills Course! https://lnkd.in/eCcJbtA 🧿

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