When will I get access to the course?

Once your payment is successfully processed, you’ll receive an email granting you access to the course content within two hours. To maximize your 90-day access period, we strongly recommend logging into the course platform as soon as you receive this notification. If you plan to pay online using a credit card, you may do so at any time. If you’ve selected an alternative payment method, please allow additional time for processing: Western Union - 3 business days Domestic Wire - 5 business days International Wire - 14 business days Loans - 12 business days

Are there grants for Power and Influence for Positive Impact? How do I qualify?

A limited number of grants are available for the course through the Harvard Kennedy School's Social Innovation + Change Initiative. Priority will be given to applicants who demonstrate financial need, current involvement in addressing a social problem(s), and a compelling rationale for how the course will accelerate their capacity for advancing social change. You can learn more about the scholarship and apply for it by visiting the Social Innovation + Change Initiative.

What are the learning requirements in order to successfully complete the course, and how are grades assigned?

Participants in Power and Influence for Positive Impact are eligible for a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Business School Online. Participants are expected to fully complete all coursework in a thoughtful and timely manner. This means completing each course module and fully answering questions posed therein by the required deadline. This course also features recommended weekly deadlines to help ensure participants proceed through the course at a similar pace and can take full advantage of social learning opportunities. In addition to module and assignment completion, we expect you to offer feedback on others’ reflections and contribute to conversations on the platform. Participants who fail to complete the course requirements will not receive a certificate and will not be eligible to retake the course. More detailed information on course requirements will be communicated at the start of the course. No grades are assigned for Power and Influence for Positive Impact. Participants will either be evaluated as complete or not complete.

What is the Influence Style Exercise?

The Influence Style Exercise (ISE) is a 20-30-minute self-assessment designed to help you identify which influence styles and behaviors you use most frequently in various contexts. The ISE questionnaire was compiled by HBS faculty member Lakshmi Ramarajan and researcher Serenity Lee based on published research. The exercise is made available to participants in Module 3 of the course. Upon successful completion of the ISE, you will receive a report that provides insight into your influence style.

What materials will I have access to after completing Power and Influence for Positive Impact?

You will have access to the materials in every prior module as you progress through the program. Access to course materials and the course platform ends 60 days after the final deadline in the program. At the end of each course module, you will be able to download a PDF summary highlighting key concepts used throughout the course. At the end of the program, you will receive a PDF compilation of all of the module summary documents. We hope the module summary documents will serve as a helpful resource after you finish the course.

How should I list my certificate on my resume?

Harvard Business School Online Certificate in Power and Influence for Positive Impact [Cohort Start Month and Year] List your certificate on your LinkedIn profile under "Education" with the language from the Credential Verification page: School: Harvard Business School Online Dates Attended: [The year you participated in the program] Degree: Other; Certificate in Power and Influence for Positive Impact Field of Study: Leave blank Grade: "Complete" Activities and Societies: Leave blank For the program description on LinkedIn, please use the following: Power and Influence for Positive Impact is a 6-week, 35-hour online certificate program from Harvard Business School. Power and Influence for Positive Impact helps individuals at any stage of their career understand how power really works and develop their own power to gain influence and make an impact—within their professional relationships, organizations, and society at large. The program was developed by leading Harvard Business School faculty and is delivered in an active learning environment based on the HBS signature case-based learning model.

Leadership & Management

Power and Influence for Positive Impact

Understand how power works and develop your own to build influence, strengthen relationships, and drive impact.

Time
35-40 hrs, 4-8 hrs/week
Calendar
Oct 28, 2026 Weekly calendar
Price
$1,949
Pay by
Oct 26, 2026

Request Info

Key Concepts

Understand how power really works
Cultivate power to make an impact
Avoid the pitfalls of power
Build networks as a source of power
Assess your organization’s political landscape
Develop influence skills to shift power dynamics
Exercise power ethically and responsibly
Hold the powerful accountable

Who Will Benefit

Gain credibility to be more impactful at work and navigate organizational politics.

HBS Online doesn't teach you knowledge or prescribe to any cookie-cutter solutions to problems. Rather, it teaches you how to think about business problems and arrive at a solution yourself.
Sichao Ni; Commercial Attaché, U.S. Embassy Singapore at U.S. Department of Commerce

92%

of learners said they developed increased confidence after completing an HBS Online course

11x

return on investment, with 24% of learners reporting an average $20,466 salary increase

82%

Felt more confident leading initiatives at work

What You'll Earn

Learn More

Certificate of Specialization — **Certificate of Completion**
Boost your resume with a Certificate of Completion from HBS Online
Earn by: completing this course

Certificate of Completion — **Certificate of Specialization**
Prove your mastery of leadership and management or business in society
Earn by: completing any three courses within either subject area to earn a Certificate of Specialization

Course Syllabus

6 Modules, 35-40 Hours

Download full syllabus (pdf)

Module 1

Understanding the Nature of Power

4-7 Hours

Appreciate the fundamental elements—and common misconceptions—of power and how to apply strategies for shifting the balance of power in relationships.

Highlights

0:27

Developmental Path to Power.

Module 2

Building Relational Sources of Power

4-7 Hours

Learn how to read and diagnose an organization’s political landscape through power mapping and apply strategies for cultivating and maintaining professional relationships in an authentic and mutually enriching manner.

Highlights

0:10

Mapping Power Dynamics

0:24

Building and Maintaining Networks

Module 3

Earning Trust and Exercising Influence

5-8 Hours

Understand how to earn people’s trust so that you can uncover and respond to what they value and apply a repertoire of behaviors for leveraging influence in relationships. Navigate difficult conversations and interpersonal conflicts.

Highlights

0:17

Developing Your Influence Approach

Concepts

Understanding Universal Human Needs
Earning Other People’s Trust
Understanding Influence Styles
Analyzing and Developing Your Influence Approach
Building Trust & Influencing Others

Featured Exercises

Identify and describe stereotypes that may bias our perceptions and impede your or others’ ability to earn people’s trust
Identify which influence styles will most benefit specific situations
Complete the Influence Style Exercise to identify which influence styles and behaviors you use most frequently in various contexts

Module 4

Encountering Entrenched Power

4-7 Hours

Explain how power hierarchies develop and perpetuate themselves and understand and apply organizational and cultural strategies for overcoming the impact of stereotypes.

Highlights

0:14

What Are Power Hierarchies?

0:28

Institutional Interventions to Overcome Inequities

Module 5

Leading Change in Organizations and Society

5-8 Hours

Prepare for change-leadership roles, understanding the sources of power leaders can draw from in launching and sustaining a movement for change, the limits of individual influence, and the importance of building collective support in order for change to happen.

Highlights

0:22

Cultivating Empathy

Capstone Case: Umaimah Mendhro and VIDA — Making Change Happen

Module 6

Managing Your Relationship to Power

4-6 Hours

Understand the personal consequences of gaining power and apply strategies for protecting yourself from abuses of power, for democratizing power, and for holding the powerful accountable.

Highlights

0:22

Cultivating Empathy

Upcoming Cohorts

Start Date	Pay by	Price	Time	Calendar
Oct 28, 2026	Oct 26, 2026	$1,949	35-40 hrs, 4-8 hrs/week	Oct 28, 2026 Calendar
Feb 3, 2027	Feb 1, 2027	$1,949	35-40 hrs, 4-8 hrs/week	Feb 3, 2027 Calendar
Apr 7, 2027	Apr 5, 2027	$1,949	35-40 hrs, 4-8 hrs/week	Apr 7, 2027 Calendar

Prices shown are in USD and do not include applicable international taxes.

Led by World-Renowned HBS Faculty

HBS Online courses are taught by Harvard Business School faculty, bringing the renowned HBS classroom experience directly to you.

Experience

Immersive Learning

Stay active by engaging in a new activity every three to five minutes, including assessing your own professional network and the influence styles and behaviors you use most frequently in various contexts.

HBS Online courses allow you to immerse yourself in a
dynamic, interactive learning experience. You’ll engage in a new activity every
three to five minutes and apply your knowledge through polls, quizzes, and
problem-solving exercises designed to accelerate and reinforce your learning.

Real-World Connections

Get social by collaborating with a global community of peers before, during, and after your course. Learners who successfully complete an HBS Online program will be added to the HBS Online Community's Official Networking Group and gain exclusive access to events and other networking opportunities.

See how the HBS Online course platform engages you in social learning. You exchange ideas, offer input, and seek out viewpoints from a community of learners gathered from around the globe. In the process, you learn from each other’s experiences and perspectives, and leave the program with a broader outlook on the world.

Real-World Cases

Immerse yourself in real-world, case-based examples brought to life by industry-leading experts from media, nonprofits, fashion, and agricultural technology.

Our courses allow you to apply your learning through
real-world examples and experience Harvard Business School’s signature case
method. Business leaders will share challenges they’ve faced. As the story
unfolds, you’ll leverage course concepts, vital tools and frameworks, and the
diversity of your peers’ perspectives to analyze the problem and determine a
path forward.

Real-World Outcomes