Lead with Influence
Updated August 2025
"I would highly recommend Lead with Influence to others. The program is exceptional in building confidence, improving communication skills, and fostering leadership abilities. The practical techniques and interactive exercises are designed to be immediately applicable in both professional and personal settings, making it a valuable experience for anyone looking to enhance their soft skills and overall effectiveness."
– Participant, Fall 2024
Participant Testimonials
The course was active and engaging | 4.7 / 5 |
I received valuable coaching that helped me in achieving my goals. | 4.6 / 5 |
I have learned new skills and concepts as a result of this course. | 4.6 / 5 |
I was able to achieve the goals I set for the course. | 4 / 5 |
I am confident that I will have a positive performance change as a result of this course (e.g. performance improvement) | 4.6 / 5 |
Dale Carnegie demonstrated an understanding of my industry and business. | 4.2 / 5 |
The benefits of participation in the training are worth the investment. | 4.4 / 5 |
- "It was very refreshing to use the skills we practiced in this course and see how it changed my interactions with people, both personally and professionally. I never knew how much easier it could be to get people on board with new ideas by better understanding what was causing their hestiation and knowing how to understand and navigate that hesitation" - Spring 2023
- "The overall content was very valuable and easy to understand how the process works... I identified opportunities where I was able to utilize some of them already and opportunities where I will be able to use them again later. There were two that stood out to me the most that I will be working on first was the Disover the Stakeholder Context and second was the Present Recommendations and Ideas" - Winter 2020
- "I really enjoyed the practical application of being able to take a project or experience that we are dealing with or preparing for work and utilizing the tools in the class and feedback from peers to hone that preparation." - Fall 2024
- "The classes were very informative and provided useful tips and tricks to address a lot of issues that come up when you have to influence without authority (i.e. responding to difficult, hostile questions - PTP). I liked the variety of each class, the combo of worksheets, breakout sessions, and open dialouge, and verbal overviews." - Summer 2025
- "I loved the breakout sessions. They gave me a chance to talk about my experiences and examples from my day-to-day work life, which made the training relatable and easy to connect with. After this training, I can already see changes in myself — I’m opening up more, and I no longer hesitate to ask questions." - Summer 2024
Lead with Influence by the Numbers
Since September 2020 Lead with Influence has been run 18 times.
Industry
Since 2020 we have worked with various Industries. The top industries that have attended our Lead with Influence include Manufacturing, Engineering and Construction.
Company Size
Leadership and Influence has been utilized by companies of all sizes.
Since September of 2020 there have been over 221 Graduates of Lead with Influence.
Reasons People took Leadership and Influence
- 1.Develop Leadership Skills (55.2%)
- 2.I wanted to improve my overall job performance (13.8%)
- 3.My Company/Organization sent me (13.8%)
- 4.Improve communciation and presentation skills (10.3%)
- 5.I wanted to improve my relationship with my co-workers (6.9%)
Career Level of Participants
Why the Leadership and Influence?
- Build trust and strengthen relationships across organizational lines
- Gain credibility and visibility for teams and projects
- Collaborate with internal and external clients productively
- Become a true consultant to stakeholders
- Develop a personal reputation that will expand influence
- Move from addressing tactical needs to developing strategic partnerships
- Proactively listen to earn respect and trust
- Evolve to a deeper understanding of the broader organizational context
- Present persuasive, convincing points-of-view
- Provoke stakeholders to consider new approaches
Organizations achieve results when individuals are able to work effectively together across the enterprise – regardless of formal leadership role or department. It is essential to earn buy-in from stakeholders affected by the proposed change or initiative. The Leadership and Influence model shows the four phases of successful partnering. The first phase focuses on stakeholder trust, leadership presence, and developing rapport.
Second, we discover stakeholder context through informed, thought-provoking questions and analysis of stakeholder's point of view.
Third, we facilitate discussion and recommendations through a clear framework that maximizes buy-in. And finally, managing resistance and conflict is paramount to persevering trust and keeping lines of communication open.
Millions of subject-matter experts, functional leaders, requirements gatherers, and problem solvers have opportunities to influence every day. Instead, too often they merely respond to requests and take orders from their stakeholders. By not exercising their unknown superpower, they miss opportunities to break down silos, improve collaboration, and accelerate the best decisions for the organization.
Organizations desperately need more positive leadership and influence to innovate, solve big challenges and develop a healthy culture. If more people could discover how to use their superpower, they’d not only drive impact, but they would elevate their own perceived self-worth, leading to higher engagement and better mental and emotional wellbeing.
Lead with Influence is designed to help people discover the most impactful approach to influencing without authority, coercion, manipulation or force. It is a practical guide to influence that builds trust and relationships. It provides clear patterns and mental models, grounded in neuroscience, for communicating in a way that generates engagement, buy-in and cooperation.
Lead with Influence is an invaluable guide that provides keys to garnering commitment from others and outlines effective strategies to influence individuals in transitioning from tactical needs to fostering a strategic partnership.
- Deena Ghazarian, CEO, Austere
Lead with Influence provided our technology leaders with actionable, relevant skills to drive more value across the enterprise. The learning approach was structured in an engaging and interactive way, plus the facilitator's coaching made all the difference.
- Rahoul Ghose, Chief Information Officer, ECMC
Lead with Influence provides helpful and practical strategies that leaders can use to improve communication and build trust with key stakeholders enabling a deeper focus on meeting the needs of consumers and quality of care.
- Todd Gustin, CEO Genoa Healthcare
The FMH Marketing team was able to gain valuable insights from the Lead with Influence training they received and able to deploy these new skills right away. Since the course, the team has been able to continue building stronger collaborative internal relationships and more effectively position FMH as a consultive partner with our external stakeholders.
- Dave DeCapp, Sr. Vice President, Marketing, Farmers Mutual Hail
The Lead with Influence program has been super appropriate for what we’ve needed to help our leaders develop both hard and soft skills as our business has grown rapidly.
- Jim Glomstad, CEO, Sportech
Lead with Influence offers excellent strategies to help anyone gain cooperation and support for their ideas. The concepts are very relevant in APAC and build upon proven Dale Carnegie principles.
- Hei, Yu Lung 黑幼龍, Founder of Chinese Dale Carnegie Training
Our directors talk about how relevant Lead with Influence has been for them. So much so that they’ve asked, “Did you somehow schedule this training today specifically for me?” You’ve nailed it in meeting them where they are.
- Anthony Hoang, Chief Technology Officer, CleanChoice Energy
Dale Carnegie’s Lead with Influence teaches invaluable leadership insights by giving strategic guidance with practical application. Under the facilitator’s expert guidance, our people have advanced their careers with newfound confidence and impact. Highly recommend!
- Gary Bridgewater, CEO, Baker Group
Leaders across our organization have found the Lead with Influence playbook extremely applicable as they enhance their skills to influence across the company, build more strategic relationships with key stakeholders and ultimately, achieve our goals.
- Lisa West, Talent & Leadership Development, Securian Financial Group
Based on decades of research and work with clients, Lead with Influence offers a blueprint for the best way to move others to agreement, partnership and action. It closes the gap between leadership and sales.
- Christine Buscarino, Chief Operating Officer, Dale Carnegie & Associates
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Benefits to the participants
- Get a head start on the next session’s topics: are you someone who likes to jump ahead, or do you just want to be prepared for next week’s class? eVolve provides you with a heads-up of what’s coming. Videos, discussions, and interactive pages lay the groundwork for upcoming classroom topics, so you come to the next training session prepared with an introduction to some key concepts.
- Spend less time listening, more time “doing.” Pre-session introductions to key topics allow for more training-room time for you to discuss, practice, and receive real-time coaching and feedback.
- Learn at our own pace. All inter-session activities are on-demand, meaning you choose the time, location, and device that works best for you. Participate according to what fits your schedule.
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