How to Become Influential (Wharton Business School)
By Oriental Support
Categories: Career Development, Communication, Marketing, Negotiation, Personal Development, Pro, Soft Skills, Succeed At Work, Success
About Course
What does it mean to be influential? How does one persuade others to pursue a unified goal? How does one leverage power? In this course, you’ll learn how to develop influence and to become more effective in achieving your organizational goals. Professor Cade Massey of the Wharton School has designed this course to help you understand the framework of power and influence and the dynamics of effective networks, and shows you how to develop your skills of persuasion and leverage. By the end of this course, you’ll know your own strengths and how to use them to get what you need, how to gain power and influence, and how to leverage relationships and alliances to achieve your goals in both business and in life.
Course Content
Week 1
In this module, we’ll begin by defining influence. You’ll weigh the pros and cons of proactivity and political ability, and find the right balance to get any job done within your organization. You’ll learn different models of power structures and dynamics, and discover the importance of flexibility, situational awareness, and agency. By the end of this module, you’ll be better able to analyze organizational structure, recognize processes within your organization that need improvement, and use your power of influence to optimize these processes.
Learning Objectives
Define influence
Assess the pros and cons of proactivity and political ability
Recognize the importance of flexibility, situational awareness, and agency
Course Introduction – video
02:00What Is Power? video
07:00Just-World Fallacy – video
06:00Case: Sergio de Mello – video
12:00Themes from de Mello – video
04:00Foundations of Social Power: French & Raven – video
08:00What About You? – video
03:00Situation Awareness – video
07:00Case: Cuban Missile Crisis – video
07:00Allison’s Three Models of Power – video
13:00Implications – video
09:00Case: Robert Moses – video
09:00The Sources of Moses’ Power – video
03:30Themes from Moses – video
11:00Module 1 Lecture Slides
Week 2
In this module, you’ll examine social networks and relationships, and learn how they can help you accomplish your organizational goals. You’ll be able to differentiate between dense and disconnected networks, and weigh the benefits and costs of diversification within your networks. Then you’ll learn about both successful strategies and common pitfalls in cultivating a network, and see how authentic generosity will build reciprocity in your networks and vice versa. You’ll also explore coalitions and how alliances between parties with different perspectives can be very effective and efficient in achieving mutual goals. By the end of this module, you’ll learn effective strategies for networking, coalition-building, and leveraging, and will be able to form strong alliances and relationships both inside and outside your organization.
Learning Objectives
Differentiate between dense and disconnected networks
Evaluate the benefits and costs of diversification within your network
Apply effective strategies for networking, coalition-building, and leveraging
Module Introduction: Relationships
01:09Seating Chart Exercise
04:00Resource Dependence and Social Capital
04:00Network Structure
15:00Applications
10:00Cultivating Networks
12:00Organizational Perspective
05:14Common Mistakes
03:00Closing Thoughts on Social Networks
03:00Introduction to Coalitions
05:00Types of Coalitions
12:00Coalition Examples
03:00Prescriptions for Coalitions
09:00Case: Washington Square
07:00Module 2 Lecture Slides
Week 3
This module was designed to help you develop your persuasive tactics and rhetoric to increase your influence. By discussing historical examples of classical principles of persuasion—from Aristotle to the six SUCCES factors—you’ll learn what makes ideas memorable and be able to craft effective messages of your own. You’ll assess your own strengths and weaknesses in influence tactics by taking the Leverage Inventory survey. You’ll also explore statistical analysis examining the relative effectiveness of soft, hard, and smart power strategies. By the end of this module, you’ll be able to employ a toolbox of approaches to gain power and influence, and be prepared to bring the right leveraging skills to any situation.
Learning Objectives
Compose effective, memorable messages
Assess your own strengths and weaknesses in influence tactics
Interpret statistical analysis examining the relative effectiveness of soft, hard, and smart power strategies
Module Introduction: Tactics
01:00Introduction to Persuasion
22:45Heath & Heath
11:00Cialdini
05:00Aristotle
09:00Closing Thoughts on Persuasion
04:00Assessing Influence Tactics
04:00Leverage Inventory Survey
Assessment Content
14:00Basic Results
11:00Performance Results
07:00Cluster Analysis
05:42Path Forward and Prescriptions
04:30Module 3 Lecture Slides & Additional Reading
Week 4
n this module, you’ll examine the ethical implications of persuasion and the responsibilities that come with having a powerful leveraging toolkit. By looking at examples of our own unconscious biases, you’ll gain a better understanding of where your perspective and values stand. You’ll learn how to find the right balance in making the necessary tradeoffs while exerting sustainable influence. Through exploring different hypothetical scenarios in the Hard Questions Survey, you’ll form strategies to avoid common pitfalls while leveraging influence. By the end of this module, you’ll have a deeper understanding of the ethics of persuasion and influence, and be able to make difficult decisions that are more aligned with you and your organization’s values.
Learning Objectives
Identify your own unconscious biases, and better understand where your perspective and values stand
Calculate the right balance in making the necessary tradeoffs while exerting sustainable influence
Develop strategies to avoid common pitfalls while leveraging influence
Module Introduction: Pitfalls
02:00Introduction and Behavioral Ethics
05:40Hard Questions Survey
Hard Questions Survey Explained
16:00On Principles
05:00Ethical Frameworks
11:00The Psychology of Status
10:40Notable Examples
07:00What Can You Do About It?
07:00Closing Thoughts on Status
02:00Seven Habits of the Influential
08:00Course Conclusion
00:33Module 4 Lecture Slides
Survey for those who have finished the Specialization
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