Overview

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What does it take to understand and use power effectively? Understanding Fundamental Power Dynamics challenges common assumptions about who has power, where it comes from, and how it works. Learners examine power as a relationship of dependence, explore the resources and alternatives that shape the balance of power, and learn strategies for shifting that balance. They also consider personal, positional, and relational sources of power and examine how humility, empathy, and structural safeguards can help prevent power from being misused. By the end of the course, learners will be better prepared to recognize power dynamics, develop the power needed to create change, and use that power responsibly in pursuit of positive impact.

Syllabus

Seeing Power Clearly: From Fallacies to Fundamental Elements
- Power shapes our ability to influence others, navigate relationships, and create change. In this module, you'll explore the nature of power, challenge common misconceptions about who has it and how it works, and learn how resources and dependence shape the balance of power in relationships. You'll examine strategies for shifting that balance, distinguish among personal, positional, and relational sources of power, and consider how to build and use power responsibly to create positive impact.
Analyze and Shift the Balance of Power
- Power does not come only from who you are or the position you hold. In this module, you’ll explore how relationships can become a critical source of power and examine how the structure and quality of your networks shape your ability to influence others. You’ll learn to assess your own network, identify opportunities to strengthen your relational sources of power, and build relationships that can help you advance your goals and create positive impact.
Use Power Without Being Corrupted by It
- Power can be essential for creating positive change—but gaining power also creates risks. In this module, you’ll examine how power can lead to hubris and self-focus and explore how humility, empathy, and structural safeguards can help counteract these effects. Through the story of Vera Cordeiro and Instituto Dara, you’ll consider how to build and use power in service of a higher purpose while remaining accountable to others.
Recognize Personal and Positional Sources of Power
- Power does not come from a single source. In this module, you’ll examine personal, positional, and relational sources of power and explore why their effectiveness depends on the context in which they are used. You’ll consider how individual attributes and skills can create influence, why formal authority has important limits, and how organizational culture and power dynamics shape what different sources of power can accomplish. Finally, you’ll bring these ideas together to assess the sources of power available to you and identify practical steps for developing the power you need to achieve your goals.
Power and Influence Course 1 Synthesis Activity
- In this final module, you will bring together the frameworks and ideas you have developed throughout the course. You will revisit power as a relationship of dependence, the fundamentals that determine its balance, strategies for shifting that balance, the risks that accompany power, and the personal, positional, and relational sources from which power can arise. You will then apply these ideas to an integrated organizational situation before demonstrating your understanding in the final course assessment. The goal is not simply to remember individual concepts, it's to see how they work together as a practical framework for understanding, developing, and using power responsibly.

Taught by

Harvard Business School Online

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