Executive Presence and Influence: Persuasive Leadership Development

Master leadership skills to inspire, empower and influence outcomes

Program overview: The Wharton Executive Presence and Influence program

The Executive Presence and Influence program from Wharton Executive Education enables emerging leaders and senior professionals to develop executive presence, build executive influence, and strengthen persuasive communication to lead with impact. In today’s business environment, where leadership credibility and communication shape outcomes as much as strategy, professionals must adopt a strategic approach to inspire teams and drive organizational success.

Led by renowned Wharton faculty, this six-week online program blends experiential learning, live webinars, practical exercises, and real-world applications to help participants improve communication and craft their personal leadership narrative. You emerge with the tools, confidence, and mindset to become an impactful leader who can influence outcomes and create measurable change across your organization.

15.4 times

the likelihood of employees to be high performers if they report to effective managers

SOURCE: GARTNER HR SURVEY, 2023

13 times

the rate at which companies with effective leadership outperform their competition

SOURCE: HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

Faculty insights: The Wharton Executive Presence and Influence program

Discover how the Wharton Executive Presence and Influence program enables participants to develop essential leadership skills, accelerate professional development, and project confidence while strengthening presence to build trust and drive impact.

Key takeaways: Executive Presence and Influence program

Effective leadership requires more than intuition — it calls for the right skills, strategies, and influence to inspire teams and navigate complex challenges. The Wharton Executive Presence and Influence program will enable you to:

Enhance mindset and behaviors to expand presence as an impactful leader
Understand the critical principles of effective leadership
Analyze rhetorical strategy towards shaping the ability to advance agendas
Apply strategic consideration to networking opportunities as well as build and maintain authentic connections
Construct a personal leadership narrative to set actionable goals

What you will learn in the Wharton Executive Presence and Influence program

The Executive Presence and Influence program is designed with the needs of busy senior executives and emerging leaders in mind. You will learn through video lectures, live webinars, case studies, and interactive discussions guided by Wharton faculty. The six-week online program’s curriculum combines experiential learning, practical applications, and collaboration within a diverse network of leaders, allowing you to improve communication, develop executive presence, and expand your leadership influence for meaningful career impact.

1Module 1: Introduction and Informal Influence

2Module 2: Leading with Persuasive Communication

3Module 3: Strengthening Your Leadership Presence

4Module 4: Cultivating Informal Networks

5Module 5: A Framework for Persuasion

6Module 6: Persuasively Communicating Your Vision and Strategy

Seamless Learning, Anywhere

Program highlights

Video lectures

Live webinars

Real-world examples

Assignments and case studies

Polls and quizzes

Playbook activities

Peer review and discussion

Wharton’s Executive Presence and Influence in Action

With Wharton’s Executive Presence and Influence program, you will be ready to display your leadership skills in real time with real impact. During the program, you will receive relevant tools to create your leadership narrative through:

Informal influence — Recognize the factors influencing your ability to achieve meaningful impact
Communication of vision — Use your vision for your future self to strategize your success
Informal networks — Identify techniques to diversify your network strategically
Leadership narrative — Strengthen your leadership presence
Framework for persuasion — Understand the foundations of successful persuasion

This program features 6 months of free Premium Access to Emeritus Insights—a mobile app with 5,000+ bite-sized, business-focused videos to help you meet your daily learning goals on the go.

Program Faculty

Michael Useem

William and Jacalyn Egan Professor of Management; Director, Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management

Michael Useem is professor of Management and faculty director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management and McNulty Leadership Program at the Wharton School, Universi...

Cade Massey

Practice Professor, Operations, Information and Decisions, The Wharton School

Cade Massey is a practice professor in the Wharton School’s Operations, Information, and Decisions Department. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago and taught at...

Certificate

Upon successful completion of the program, you will earn a digital certificate of completion from the Wharton School.

Note: After successful completion of the online program, your verified digital certificate will be emailed to you in the name you used when registering for the program. All certificate images are for illustrative purposes only and may be subject to change at the discretion of the Wharton School.

This online certificate program does not grant academic credit or a degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Hear from past participants of the Executive Presence and Influence program

The best part about the program were the case studies, content and exercises — I was able to relate most to my actual work.

Sreenivas Annavazzala

Senior Success Manager

Salesforce Inc.

The content and framing of the specific elements of influencing were terrific. The breakouts and getting to meet and learn from people who were in the same shoes I was were also tremendous.

Charlie House

Manager , FP&A, Customer Satisfaction

AutoZone, Inc.

The content provided by Professors Mike and Cade and hearing them speak was the best part of the program. They dispelled the notion of executive presence as some mythic quality, and they aptly identif...

Claire Wood

CEBS, PHR, SHRM-CP, Senior Manager

Benefits and People Operations, Indigo Ag

Professor Massey and Useem's videos were excellent. The playbook and other assignments tied well into the material and helped me identify how it applied to my development.

Russell Carey

Senior Communications Strategist

Southwest Power Pool

I found the activities useful because they forced me to face hard truths and engage in personal reflection. I also enjoyed the networking opportunities, which were totally unexpected. I was shocked th...

Anne Haines

Consultant

Diamond Strategies

Each module’s content was relevant to the changing market conditions, leveraging social media and networking. The presentations by both professors were thoughtful, their ideas and examples were impact...

Sreerupa Sengupta

Workforce Planning Leader

CGI

The Executive Presence and Influence program was a unique and valuable experience. I developed stronger persuasion skills and became more assertive and effective. The modules delivered by the professo...

Lindsay Steedman

Finance and insurance leader

The Executive Presence and Influence program was a transformative experience, positively shifting my attitude and highlighting the importance of leveraging technology for internal processes and custom...

Professor Nelia Cruz Sarcol

Education and training leader

This program deepened my understanding of internal company relationships and how to strategically position myself for optimal results. I can now navigate peer and leadership interactions more effectiv...

Renan S. Fernandes

Technology and innovation leader

Through the Executive Presence and Influence program, I gained the confidence to create change and apply learning broadly. I greatly value the opportunity for meaningful interaction with peers and ins...

Stan Zerkowski

Executive director, Fortunate Families

Receive an executive certificate with this learning journey

Didn't find what you were looking for? Write to us at learner.success@emeritus.org or Schedule a call with one of our Program Advisors or call us at +1 680 205 5118 (US) / +44 185 845 9995 (UK) / +65 3135 1422 (SG)

Flexible payment options available.

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