This course is part of the Leading People and Teams Specialization

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Maxim Sytch, Ph.D.

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Leading People and Teams SpecializationUniversity of Michigan

About this Course

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This course will improve your ability to influence people in situations where you cannot use formal authority. You will learn about effective ways to build, develop, and sustain a power base in your organization. You will also learn influence tactics that enable you to be more persuasive and influential in working with your superiors, peers, and even subordinates. In addition, you will learn how to build and maintain high-quality relationships to further maximize your informal power and ability to influence others. Importantly, you will distinguish between influence and manipulation and learn how to protect yourself from the unwanted influence of others.
The influence strategies you learn in this course will make you a more confident and influential leader, presenter, and decision-maker. You will more effective in pitching business ideas to your superiors, influencing customers, and building coalitions across stakeholders. This course will not only give you strategic guidance on how to develop and maintain your network for influence and power, but we will also equip you with specific tactics and strategies that are proven to work for gaining power and influencing people.

Flexible deadlines

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

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Course 3 of 5 in the

Leading People and Teams Specialization

Approx. 11 hours to complete

English

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Skills you will gain

Leadership
Management
Social Skills
Influencer Marketing

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Course 3 of 5 in the

Leading People and Teams Specialization

Approx. 11 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.73/5 (344 Ratings)

Maxim Sytch, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Management and Organizations Michael R. and Mary Kay Hallman Fellow

Management and Organizations, Ross School of Business

417,700 Learners

15 Courses

Offered by

University of Michigan

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(20,112 ratings)

Week

Week 1

3 hours to complete

Building Your Base of Power

To lead effectively, you must have power. Your power can be formally defined, for example your position or job title. Your power can be informal, for example your expertise or charisma give you power that enable you to influence others. In this module, we will explore the meaning of power and where it comes from, helping you identify your bases of power and opportunities to increase you power over time.

3 hours to complete

14 videos (Total 117 min), 5 readings, 1 quiz

14 videos

01.01 - Welcome9m

01.02 - What You Will Learn in this Course4m

01.03 - Defining Power in Organizations11m

01.04 - The Benefits of Power15m

01.05 - The Dark Side of Power (Part 1)13m

01.06 - The Dark Side of Power (Part 2)7m

01.07 - Bases of Power: Structural, Personal and Cognitive (Part 1)7m

01.08 - Bases of Power: Structural, Personal and Cognitive (Part 2)7m

01.09 - Strategies for Building Structural Power (Part 1)5m

01.10 - Strategies for Building Structural Power (Part 2)4m

01.11 - Strategies for Building Your Personal Power7m

01.12 - Strategies for Building Your Cognitive Power9m

01.13 - With Power Comes Responsibility9m

01.14 - Recap: Building Your Base of Power4m

5 readings

Help us learn more about you!10m

Youtube links10m

Course Syllabus5m

Notice for Auditing Learners: Assignment Submission10m

Unit Lecture Slides

1 practice exercise

Building Your Base of Power30m

Week

Week 2

3 hours to complete

Influencing People Without Relying on Formal Authority

In this module, you will acquire a rich arsenal of influence tactics that will help you change people’s viewpoints and behaviors. These influence tactics will enable you to influence up in organizations (e.g., when you have to influence your boss) and laterally, such as when you have to influence your peers. More generally, these tactics will allow you to execute effectively in those situations when you either do not have or cannot rely on formal rank and formal power.

3 hours to complete

9 videos (Total 54 min), 7 readings, 2 quizzes

9 videos

02.01 - Social Proof10m

02.02 - Informal Influence and Power2m

02.03 - Authority and Influence4m

02.04 - Cognitive Biases and Influence10m

02.05 - Liking, Scarcity, and Reciprocity8m

02.06 - Message, Speech, and Influence3m

02.07 - Non-verbal Influence7m

02.08 - Time of Day & Influence1m

02.09 - Your Influence Toolkit3m

7 readings

Social Proof Videos11m

Introduction to Jeff Brodsky, Chief Human Resources Officer at Morgan Stanley2m

Stanley Milgram Video3m

Alex Laskey Opower Video2m

Hans Rosling TED Talk2m

Handshake video1m

Unit Lecture Slides

1 practice exercise

Influencing People Without Relying on Formal Authority30m

Week

Week 3

1 hour to complete

Developing High‐Quality Relationships to Enhance Influence and Power

1 hour to complete

10 videos (Total 43 min), 2 readings, 1 quiz

10 videos

03.01 - Networks and Power8m

03.02 - Power and Dependence6m

03.03 - Resources in Social Exchange5m

03.04 - Jeff Brodsky on Building Relationships (Part 1)3m

03.05 - Jeff Brodsky on Building Relationships (Part 2)3m

03.06 - John Beilein on Building Relationships (Part 3)1m

03.07 - Building a Reputation3m

03.08 - Energy and Influence6m

03.09 - Building Relationships for Influence3m

03.10 - Building Influence From Day #1 on the Job1m

2 readings

Introduction to John Beilein, Head Coach, University of Michigan Men's Basketball Team2m

Unit Lecture Slides

1 practice exercise

Developing High‐Quality Relationships to Enhance Influence and Power30m

Week

Week 4

4 hours to complete

Protect Yourself from Unwanted Influence

As a leader, people will try to influence you to make a particular decision or take a particular course of action. It is essential you are able to protect yourself from the unwanted influence of others, especially when those others might be attempting to manipulate you in ways that are not in the best interest of your team or organization. In this module, you will learn specific strategies and tactics that you can use to protect yourself and your team from the unwanted influence of others.

4 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 55 min), 3 readings, 2 quizzes

8 videos

04.01 - Why You Must Protect Yourself and Your Team5m

04.02 - The Difference Between Influence and Manipulation4m

04.03 - What is the Difference Between Influence and Manipulation3m

04.04 - Strategies and Tactics: Minimize Biases That Allow Others to Influence14m

04.05 - Strategies and Tactics: Flip the Influence Tactic13m

04.06 - Strategies and Tactics: Reframing the Power Relationship7m

04.07 - Protecting Yourself from Others' Manipulation3m

04.08 - Recap: Protecting Yourself from Unwanted Influence3m

3 readings

Unit Lecture Slides

Post-course Survey10m

Keep Learning with Michigan Online!10m

1 practice exercise

Protect Yourself from Unwanted Influence30m

Reviews

4.7

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TOP REVIEWS FROM INFLUENCING PEOPLE

by AHDec 26, 2015

Thank you very much for the course. It was very good - would have been perfect if the slides would have been provided :)

Would be great if there would be a course: Influencing People part 2

by RAJun 21, 2017

I generally like the aim of the course and how the instructor leads with the course with a lot of discussion with peers helping to learn more and understanding different perspectives

by TAMar 24, 2019

A very useful course, presented in a very simple and structured way, using an easy English language with a lot of subtitles.

You shall like and get a huge benefit from the materials and the course.

by TSJan 17, 2016

You could ignore this course and probably get stuck in your current job or you could risk a few evenings for a career boost. (And you'll know what I did here, after the course ;-) )

View all reviews

About the Leading People and Teams Specialization

In this specialization, you will learn essential leadership skills, including how to inspire and motivate individuals, manage talent, influence without authority, and lead teams. In this specialization, you will not only learn from Michigan faculty. You will also learn directly from exceptional leaders including Jeff Brodsky, Global Head of HR for Morgan Stanley, and John Beilein, Head Coach of the University of Michigan Men’s Basketball Team. We will share with you our research on how to lead people and teams effectively, and work with you to apply these insights to your own teams and leadership. In every course, you will have an opportunity to apply new leadership skills by working through a series of practical leadership assignments. In addition, the capstone will enable you to work on live leadership challenges faced by senior leaders from premier Fortune 500 firms and receive their feedback on your ideas and solutions.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

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