Presenter
Marshall Goldsmith
Key Takeaways
- 1.Learn a structured model to improve your odds of successfully influencing others.
- 2.Develop specific strategies for effectively influencing your direct manager.
- 3.Master techniques for impacting decisions made by peers when you have no formal authority.
- 4.Discern when to attempt to influence a decision and when to adapt.
- 5.Adopt a philosophy for making peace with uncontrollable situations to focus your energy.
- 6.Increase your overall organizational impact and effectiveness through improved influence skills.
Originally presented by Dr. Marshall Goldsmith
The Challenge of Influencing Without Authority
In any organization, professionals frequently ask two questions: "How can I do a better job of influencing my manager?" and "How can I better influence my peers when I don’t have direct line authority?" The ability to guide outcomes without formal control is a critical skill for career growth and organizational success. This webinar addresses this challenge directly, offering a clear framework for increasing your impact.
A Model for Effective Influence
Renowned leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith provides a robust model designed to improve your odds of success when trying to influence key decision-makers. This session moves beyond theory to provide practical strategies and techniques that can be applied in any business climate. You will learn not only how to influence but also when to engage in influence efforts for maximum effectiveness.
Core Learning Objectives:
- Influencing Upward: Learn specific strategies for effectively presenting ideas and persuading your direct manager.
- Influencing Sideways: Acquire techniques for impacting decisions made by peers and colleagues in cross-functional projects, even without formal authority.
- Strategic Engagement: Understand how to analyze situations to determine the most effective moments and methods for exerting influence.
The Philosophy of Action and Acceptance
In today’s tough business environment, it's equally important to recognize what you cannot change. A key part of this session is dedicated to a philosophy of "making peace" with unchangeable circumstances. Dr. Goldsmith shares how to strategically "play the cards that you are given" in a way that is most beneficial to you and your organization. This approach helps individuals avoid frustration and focus their energy on areas where they can make a tangible difference.
Who Should Attend
This webinar is designed for a broad audience across all organizational levels, not just managers. It is especially beneficial for:
- Individual contributors aiming to impact departmental or company-wide decisions.
- Managers seeking to influence peers in cross-functional projects.
- Leaders who want to refine their ability to persuade and enlist support without relying on hierarchy.
- Any professional looking to increase their overall organizational impact and effectiveness.
This session, led by renowned leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith, explores practical strategies for influencing key decision-makers within an organization, particularly when direct authority is absent. It provides a robust model to enhance one's ability to impact outcomes, a skill that remains critically important for career growth and organizational effectiveness in any business climate.
What you'll learn
- Strategies for effectively influencing your direct manager.
- Techniques for impacting decisions made by peers, even without formal authority.
- A structured model to improve your odds of success when attempting to influence.
- Methods for determining when and how to engage in influence efforts.
- A philosophical approach to accepting what cannot be changed and maximizing impact with available resources.
Who this webinar is for
This webinar is designed for a broad audience across all organizational levels. It is particularly beneficial for:
- Individual contributors aiming to impact departmental or company-wide decisions.
- Managers seeking to influence peers in cross-functional projects.
- Leaders at any level who want to refine their ability to persuade and enlist support without relying solely on hierarchy.
- Professionals looking to increase their overall organizational impact and effectiveness.
Why it matters now
Effective influence is a timeless leadership skill, but it is especially vital in today's increasingly complex, matrixed, and agile work environments. Organizations are flatter, requiring more collaboration and less direction from the top. The ability to advocate for ideas, align stakeholders, and drive initiatives without direct command-and-control authority differentiates high-impact professionals. Furthermore, understanding when to influence and when to adapt is crucial for resilience in rapidly changing business landscapes, empowering individuals to contribute positively rather than being paralyzed by circumstances.
How leaders can apply this
Leaders can immediately apply the insights from this webinar by:
- Consciously identifying key decision points where their influence could be valuable.
- Analyzing their relationship dynamics with managers and peers to tailor influence strategies.
- Practicing the provided model to frame arguments and proposals effectively.
- Developing a more strategic approach to building consensus and gaining buy-in.
- Cultivating a mindset of acceptance for uncontrollable factors, focusing energy on areas where influence is possible and impactful.
- Mentoring team members on how to articulate their ideas and influence upward and laterally within the organization.
About this session
Key takeaways
Watching this webinar gives you grounded, practical perspective on Competence. Expect ideas you can use in leadership conversations, not abstract theory, drawn from Marshall Goldsmith's direct experience.
Who this is for
CHROs, HR business partners, talent leaders, executive coaches, organizational development practitioners, and senior leaders who are responsible for killer achievement inside their organization.
Why it matters now
Workforce expectations, hybrid work patterns, and AI-driven change keep raising the bar on culture and leadership. Sessions like this help leaders make smarter, more evidence-informed decisions about Competence.
How to apply it
Use the ideas here to challenge a current assumption on your team, design a single concrete experiment in the next 30 days, and bring one finding back to your leadership group for discussion.
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