Leading with Impact
Leading with Impact is a three-day elective module in the Global Leader program and can also be taken as a stand-alone program.
As a leader and executive, you are responsible for the organization's performance and results. Effective operation requires you to have influential leadership skills, as well as the ability to create an inspiring vision for your organization and involve and motivate your team to work together to achieve common goals. At the same time, strategic thinking and prioritization are required to meet constantly changing circumstances.
The Leading with Impact program equips participants with the essential skills and framework for effective and influential leadership in a concise format. It emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, helping individuals understand how their persona and actions affect others. The program also teaches how to identify appropriate behaviors and actions for successful interactions in various situations while motivating others to work toward shared goals. It explores ways to leverage organizational culture to support these goals and provides insights on how to inspire and energize teams by creating relevance and fostering growth.
4.5 ECTS credits can be transferred from this program to the Aalto Executive MBA or Aalto MBA program.
Benefits
The program provides a concise package for developing your leadership and ensuring your organization's performance. You will learn how to influence people and get them to work together to achieve common goals. You will be part of a knowledgeable network of supportive peers that allows you to test your ideas, learn from others' experiences, and develop as an influential leader.
For
The Leading with Impact program is intended for leaders and executives who want to succeed in their leadership role, by ensuring the performance of their organization and engagement of their team. It is for everyone who is looking for new ways to motivate their team and achieve results. You can be a newly appointed manager or have led a team for some time.
The program is for you if you want to:
- Understand the effects of your leadership and create the conditions for success.
- Inspire, motivate, and involve your team in a successful performance.
- Use your time effectively to show direction.
- Be involved in securing your organization's goals and results.
Contents and Schedule
Leading with Impact is a three-day program and it contains a written pre-assignment (Hogan Assesment) and a take-home assignment. The program is worth 4.5 ECTS credits.
Pre-module period of 2–3 weeks
Individual preparation
Three-day module
Intensive contact learning session with instructor and peers
Post-module period
Take-home assignment
The program focuses on leadership growth, team engagement, and building high-performing organizations. It begins with self-awareness, helping leaders understand their values, motivations, and how they perform under pressure. Participants clarify personal development goals to enhance their leadership effectiveness.
The next phase emphasizes coaching leadership, guiding leaders to create meaningful interactions, foster psychological safety, and shift from fear-based to courage-based leadership. Finally, the program explores strategies for driving organizational success, uncovering the key traits of high-performing teams, and shaping a winning culture. Leaders will learn how to leave a lasting impact and craft a leadership legacy.
Instructors
Saara Bange
Saara Bange is a coach, trainer, and facilitator in leadership, communication, and collaboration with several years of experience in academia and the industry.
Her topics include self-management and self-awareness, leading with emotional intelligence, and understanding identities and personalities in organizational life.
She works as a Director at Aalto EE, holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the Helsinki School of Economics, and is finalizing her Ph.D. in Organizational Studies at the Aalto University School of Business. She has published her research in journals such as the Journal of Management Inquiry and the Journal of Media Management.
Bange is a certified Hogan Assessment personality profiling consultant, certified WPB5 consultant, certified Personal Resilience Practitioner, and certified emotional intelligence (EQi) assessor. She has worked with several individuals and teams to help them find their potential and leverage their leadership skills. Bange’s clients have complimented her for her caring and passionate approach and her ability to explain complex issues in a way that is easy to understand.
Prior to joining Aalto University Executive Education, Bange worked for years with leadership development and strategic communications advisory for leading companies in different sectors. Before that, she worked at the Aalto University School of Economics as a researcher and teacher. Her current research interests lie in the intersection of the future of work and leaders’ identity work.
Ira Lange
Ira Lange's core competencies are relationships in the workplace and the factors that influence behavior and interaction of management and experts.
Her coaching and training themes are leadership and management practices, efficient and effective team building, as well as building trust and confidence in the organization. In recent years Lange has also coached executive board members and management teams which have faced leadership challenges in achieving common goal.
Lange is interested in human cognition, emotions, and efficiency in workplace environment and in a professional context. In addition to leadership coaching and training, Lange also trains sales and customer relationship management skills, based on her previous experience as a consultant and sales manager. Lange makes a variety of assessments and inquiries that can be connected to team building and personal development programs.
Lange is a coach, CEO and entrepreneur at Q.motion Oy. She has over 20 years of experience in sales and leadership management, e.g., Aspectum Consulting, Amos Partners, Bon Stockbrokers, AON Corporation. Lange works in Finland and Baltic countries.
She has Masters from the University of Helsinki. She is a certified Business Coach by ICF and team builder, TM.
Program Fee and Registration
Other Global Leader Modules
You can register for individual stand-alone Global Leader modules or take the complete Global Leader program, including all four core modules and two elective modules of your choice.
February 2026
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September 22–24, 2025
Schedule September 22–24, 2025
Location Aalto University Töölö, Helsinki, Finland
Frequency Once a year
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Fee: € 4,650 (+ VAT)
November 10–12, 2025
Schedule November 10–12, 2025
Location Aalto University Töölö, Helsinki, Finland
Frequency Once a year
The program focuses on developing awareness and skills in how to lead and coach yourself, your team, and your organization through change.
Fee: € 4,650 (+ VAT)
October 20–22, 2025
Schedule October 20–22, 2025
Location Aalto University Töölö, Helsinki, Finland
Frequency Once a year
Influencing has become an essential skill for managers in an increasingly complex business environment. This program focuses on understanding how politics work in an organization and learning how to handle power and influence tactics to achieve professional goals.
Fee: € 4,650 (+ VAT)