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.
This course is part of the Leading People and Teams Specialization
Offered By
About this Course
Skills you will gain
- Leadership
- Management
- Social Skills
- Influencer Marketing
Offered by

University of Michigan
The mission of the University of Michigan is to serve the people of Michigan and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
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.
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.
Developing High‐Quality Relationships to Enhance Influence and Power
In addition to acquiring a tactical portfolio of influence tools that can be applied in group and individual meetings, effective leaders devote a lot of time to building and maintaining social relationships with various stakeholders. In this module, you will learn how build and maintain social relationships in order to maximize your informal power and influence in organizations.
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.
Reviews
- 5 stars79.80%
- 4 stars16.89%
- 3 stars2.31%
- 2 stars0.46%
- 1 star0.51%
TOP REVIEWS FROM INFLUENCING PEOPLE
It's great course which insights on Influencing people and protect team from manipulation. Indeed it helps me a lot in my professional career. Looking forward for more course and adopt in future.
It was an interesting course, learned a lot of concepts which I haven't heard of earlier with regards to Influencing People in the corporate world. Overall it has been a great learning experience.
Really useful course! I learnt many new ways to influence others and protect myself from other people's influence. P.S The cover is a deal-breaker. I joined this course after watching the intro.
Doctor Max Sytch is an excellent narrator of the psychology and strategy of business. his voice is easy to listen to, as well as his expressions, i am having a great time learning, thanks!
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.

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