Power and Influence for Positive Impact

Power and Influence for Positive Impact is part of the Leadership and Management and Business in Society Learning Tracks. If you’re interested in developing deeper insights and expertise, you can choose to complete three leadership and management or three business in society courses within 18 months to earn a Certificate of Specialization.

Syllabus

Power and Influence for Positive Impact is a field guide that 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.

Leaders interviewed:

• Nezuma Ali Mjumbe, Solar Engineer
• Pendo Daudi, Director, Barefoot College Zanzibar
• Meagan Fallone, Former CEO and Board Member, Barefoot College International
• Vikas Birhma, Cofounder and CEO, Gramhal Foundation
• Lia Grimanis, Founder and CEO, Up with Women
• Vera Cordeiro, Founder and President of the Board, Instituto Dara
• Claude Grunitzky, CEO, The Equity Alliance and Chairman, TRUE Africa
• Cheryl Dorsey, President, Echoing Green
• Jean Rogers, Founder, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
• Umaimah Mendhro, Founder and CEO, VIDA

Learning requirements: In order to earn a Certificate of Completion, participants must thoughtfully complete Modules 1-6 and exercises therein by stated deadlines.

Download Syllabus

Modules	Takeaways	Key Exercises
Module 1: Understanding the Nature of Power	Understand the fundamental elements of power and refute common misconceptions about power Describe and apply strategies for shifting the balance of power in relationships Appreciate power as a force that can be harnessed for good or as a source of corruption	Identify your own personal and positional sources of power Analyze the power relationships between different parties and identify different power-shifting strategies
Module 2: Building Relational Sources of Power	Understand how to read and diagnose an organization’s political landscape through power mapping Apply strategies for cultivating and maintaining professional relationships in an authentic and mutually enriching manner	Analyze patterns in your own professional network and the fit between your network composition and your aspirations
Module 3: Earning Trust and Exercising Influence	Understand how to earn people’s trust so that you can uncover and respond to what they value Apply a repertoire of behaviors for leveraging influence in relationships Navigate difficult conversations and interpersonal conflicts	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 Influence Style Exercise to identify which influence styles and behaviors you use most frequently in various contexts
Module 4: Encountering Entrenched Power	Explain how power hierarchies develop and perpetuate themselves Understand and apply organizational and cultural strategies for overcoming the impact of stereotypes	Identify and describe the mechanisms behind the power hierarchies you have experienced
Module 5: Leading Change in Organizations and Society	Understand the different roles that leaders can play and the sources of power they can draw from in launching and sustaining a movement for change Prepare yourself for the change-leadership roles introduced while recognizing the limits of individual influence Understand the importance of building collective support in order for change to happen	Analyze your environment and assess its readiness for change Perform a stakeholder analysis for a potential change initiative
Module 6: Managing Your Relationship to Power	Understand the personal consequences of gaining power and apply strategies for protecting yourself from abuses of power Apply strategies for democratizing power and for holding the powerful accountable	Create an action plan that will help you begin to achieve your aspirations, synthesizing what you’ve learned in the course

The HBS Online Advantage

• World-class faculty
• Edge-of-your-seat online learning
• Global peer collaboration and networking
• Real-world, case-based learning

Harvard Business School Online offers a unique and highly engaging way to learn vital business concepts. Immerse yourself in real challenges faced by a diverse group of experts from organizations like Barefoot College, Gramhal, Instituto Dara, Echoing Green, Up with Women, The Equity Alliance, VIDA, and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board.