Mastering Executive Influence: Neuroscience-Driven Leadership Strategies
Redefine leadership through cognitive science
Benefit from up to 14 percent savings on this learning journey
Embark on a comprehensive learning journey with Wharton Executive Education, blending two impactful programs to refine your leadership influence and leverage neuroscience insights for improved decision making and team effectiveness.
Anchor leadership in neuroscience. Apply cognitive insights. Drive enterprise impact.
In an era where leadership effectiveness defines organizational success, executives are expected to project confidence, influence stakeholders, and drive impact on high-stakes projects as well as in day-to-day operations. Achieving this requires more than experience — it calls for a purposeful integration of executive presence and science-based influence.
The Mastering Executive Influence: Neuroscience-Driven Leadership Strategies program from Wharton Executive Education brings together the Executive Presence and Influence program and Understanding the Brain program into a comprehensive learning journey. This experience equips you with a science-backed playbook to refine executive presence for credibility and trust and to leverage neuroscience-driven influence techniques informed by psychology. You will also learn to leverage cognitive persuasion frameworks to advance strategic objectives and elevate decision making through an advanced understanding of how the brain processes information.
This immersive 12-week program enables you to:
Cultivate an unshakable executive presence to inspire trust and authority
Strengthen your strategic communication skills for high-stakes leadership
Apply neuroscience-driven persuasion techniques to shape decisions
Navigate power dynamics and secure stakeholder alignment
Make high-impact decisions informed by cognitive insights
Acquire science-backed frameworks and leadership insights to project your executive presence, influence with intent, and drive lasting organizational impact.
Why choose this multiprogram learning journey?
By enrolling in the Mastering Executive Influence: Neuroscience-Driven Leadership Strategies program, you will gain the tools, strategies, and insights to elevate your leadership presence, influence outcomes, and make more informed decisions. This comprehensive learning journey offers:
Assignments, case studies, playbook activities, and industry examples
An opportunity to create a pitch
Interactive discussions
Leadership development
Industry relevance and demand
Cost and time efficiency
A global peer group
A comprehensive skill set
A range of case studies
Who is this program for?
The Mastering Executive Influence: Neuroscience-Driven Leadership Strategies program is designed for senior executives, emerging leaders, and enterprise influencers seeking to elevate their executive presence, influence outcomes, and lead with cognitive precision. It is ideal for:
C-suite executives and senior leaders: CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CMOs, VPs, and directors seeking to project executive presence, engage boards and investors, and shape enterprise strategy through science-backed influence
High-potential leaders and rising executives: Senior managers and leadership-track talent preparing for expanded roles by cultivating presence, building strategic capital, and navigating complex decision environments
Founders and growth-stage leaders: Entrepreneurs and organization owners aiming to strengthen credibility, mobilize investors and partners, and steer negotiations and high-stakes discussions with precision
Advisors and consultants: Management consultants, executive coaches, and financial and legal advisors seeking advanced influence strategies to build trust, drive client alignment, and elevate advisory impact
Commercial and business-development leaders: Heads of sales, CMOs, negotiators, and senior business development executives looking to apply neuroscience-backed persuasion to secure buy-in, drive market growth, and close high-value deals
What will you learn?
The Mastering Executive Influence: Neuroscience-Driven Leadership Strategies program is designed specifically to help you:
Identify mission-critical leadership principles and refine mindset and behaviors to strengthen executive presence
Understand brain anatomy and physiology and assess techniques for applying cognitive insights in leadership
Leverage rhetorical strategy and the social brain to advance agendas, build social capital, shape culture, and drive change
Apply strategic networking to build authentic connections and craft a personal leadership narrative that defines vision and character
Synthesize business decision making using normalization, choice overload, decoy effects, and evidence accumulation enhanced by neuroscience tools and insights
Examine brain processes underlying exploration to boost creativity and drive organizational innovation
Curriculum
Module 1: Introduction and Informal Influence
Module 2: Leading with Persuasive Communication
Module 3: Strengthening Your Leadership Presence
Module 4: Cultivating Informal Networks
Module 5: A Framework for Persuasion
Module 6: Persuasively Communicating Your Vision and Strategy
Module 1: Introduction to Neuroscience
Module 2: Building Culture and Relationships
Module 3: Neuroscience of Decision Making in Leaders
Module 4: Neuroscience Applications in Marketing
Module 5: Powering Innovation and Creativity
Module 6: Future Trends in Neuroscience
Practical applications
Create a pitch
With Wharton's Understanding the Brain: Using Neuroscience to Deliver Better Business Results program, you will get a chance to pitch a startup that develops and commercializes a novel application of brain science to business or pitch an application of brain science relevant to your current organization.
Create an action plan
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
Meet the faculty
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...
Michael Platt
Director, Wharton Neuroscience Initiative; James S. Riepe University Professor; Professor of Marketing, The Wharton School; Professor of Psychology; Professor of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania
Scientist Michael Platt is known for asking some of the most challenging neuroscience questions in the 21st century — and formulating innovative ways to answer them. He focuse...
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...
Guest Contributors
Sorin Patilinet
Global Director, Mars Marketing Communications Lab
A self-proclaimed marketing engineer, Sorin Patilinet leads the Mars Marketing Communications Lab, where he spearheads the creation of future marketing capabilities using a co...
Certificate
Upon completion of this program, you will receive three digital certificates from Wharton Executive Education. These include a certificate of completion for the Mastering Executive Influence: Neuroscience-Driven Leadership Strategies program, a certificate of completion for the Understanding the Brain: Using Neuroscience to Deliver Better Business Results program, and a certificate of completion for the Executive Presence and Influence: Persuasive Leadership Development program.
Note: Wharton Executive Education will issue your digitally verified certificate in your legal name and will email it to you, at no additional cost, upon completion of the program, per the stipulated requirements. All certificate images are for illustrative purposes only and may be subject to change at the discretion of Wharton Executive Education.
FAQs
How do I know if this program is right for me?
After reviewing the information on the program landing page, we recommend you submit the short form above to gain access to the program brochure, which includes more in-depth information. If you still have questions on whether this program is a good fit for you, please email learner.success@emeritus.org, and a dedicated program advisor will follow-up with you very shortly.
Are there any prerequisites for this program?
Some programs do have prerequisites, particularly the more technical ones. This information will be noted on the program landing page, as well as in the program brochure. If you are uncertain about program prerequisites and your capabilities, please email us at the ID mentioned above.
Note that, unless otherwise stated on the program web page, all programs are taught in English and proficiency in English is required.
What is the typical class profile?
More than 50 percent of our participants are from outside the United States. Class profiles vary from one cohort to the next, but, generally, our online certificates draw a highly diverse audience in terms of professional experience, industry, and geography — leading to a very rich peer learning and networking experience.
What other dates will this program be offered in the future?
Check back to this program web page or email us to inquire if future program dates or the timeline for future offerings have been confirmed yet.
How much time is required each week?
Each program includes an estimated learner effort per week. This is referenced at the top of the program landing page under the Duration section, as well as in the program brochure, which you can obtain by submitting the short form at the top of this web page.
How will my time be spent?
We have designed this program to fit into your current working life as efficiently as possible. Time will be spent among a variety of activities including:
Engaging with recorded video lectures from faculty
Attending webinars and office hours, as per the specific program schedule
Reading or engaging with examples of core topics
Completing knowledge checks/quizzes and required activities
Engaging in moderated discussion groups with your peers
Completing your final project, if required
The program is designed to be highly interactive while also allowing time for self-reflection and to demonstrate an understanding of the core topics through various active learning exercises. Please email us if you need further clarification on program activities.
What is it like to learn online with the learning collaborator, Emeritus?
More than 300,000 learners across 200 countries have chosen to advance their skills with Emeritus and its educational learning partners. In fact, 90 percent of the respondents of a recent survey across all our programs said that their learning outcomes were met or exceeded.
All the contents of the course would be made available to students at the commencement of the course. However, to ensure the program delivers the desired learning outcomes the students may appoint Emeritus to manage the delivery of the program in a cohort-based manner the cost of which is already included in the overall course fee of the course.
A dedicated program support team is available 24/5 (Monday to Friday) to answer questions about the learning platform, technical issues, or anything else that may affect your learning experience.
How do I interact with other program participants?
Peer learning adds substantially to the overall learning experience and is an important part of the program. You can connect and communicate with other participants through our learning platform.
What are the requirements to earn the certificate?
Each program includes an estimated learner effort per week, so you can gauge what will be required before you enroll. This is referenced at the top of the program landing page under the Duration section, as well as in the program brochure, which you can obtain by submitting the short form at the top of this web page. All programs are designed to fit into your working life.
This program is scored as a pass or no-pass; participants must complete the required activities to pass and obtain the certificate of completion. Some programs include a final project submission or other assignments to obtain passing status. This information will be noted in the program brochure. Please email us if you need further clarification on any specific program requirements.
What type of certificate will I receive?
Upon successful completion of the program, you will receive a smart digital certificate. The smart digital certificate can be shared with friends, family, schools, or potential employers. You can use it on your cover letter, resume, and/or display it on your LinkedIn profile.
The digital certificate will be sent approximately two weeks after the program, once grading is complete.
Can I get the hard copy of the certificate?
No, only verified digital certificates will be issued upon successful completion. This allows you to share your credentials on social platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
Do I receive alumni status after completing this program?
No, there is no alumni status granted for this program. In some cases, there are credits that count toward a higher level of certification. This information will be clearly noted in the program brochure.
How long will I have access to the learning materials?
You will have access to the online learning platform and all the videos and program materials for 12 months following the program start date. Access to the learning platform is restricted to registered participants per the terms of agreement.
What equipment or technical requirements are there for this program?
Participants will need the latest version of their preferred browser to access the learning platform. In addition, Microsoft Office and a PDF viewer are required to access documents, spreadsheets, presentations, PDF files, and transcripts.
Do I need to be online to access the program content?
Yes, the learning platform is accessed via the internet, and video content is not available for download. However, you can download files of video transcripts, assignment templates, readings, etc. For maximum flexibility, you can access program content from a desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile device.
Video lectures must be streamed via the internet, and any livestream webinars and office hours will require an internet connection. However, these sessions are always recorded, so you may view them later.
Can I still register if the registration deadline has passed?
Yes, you can register up until seven days past the published start date of the program without missing any of the core program material or learnings.
What is the program fee, and what forms of payment do you accept?
The program fee is noted at the top of this program web page and usually referenced in the program brochure as well.
Flexible payment options are available (see details below as well as at the top of this program web page next to FEE).
Tuition assistance is available for participants who qualify. Please email learner.success@emeritus.org.
What if I don’t have a credit card? Is there another method of payment accepted?
Yes, you can do the bank remittance in the program currency via wire transfer or debit card. Please contact your program advisor, or email us for details.
I was not able to use the discount code provided. Can you help?
Yes! Please email us with the details of the program you are interested in, and we will assist you.
How can I obtain an invoice for payment?
Please email us your invoicing requirements and the specific program you’re interested in enrolling in.
Is there an option to make flexible payments for this program?
Yes, the flexible payment option allows a participant to pay the program fee in installments. This option is made available on the payment page and should be selected before submitting the payment.
How can I obtain a W9 form?
Please connect with us via email for assistance.
Who will be collecting the payment for the program?
Emeritus collects all program payments, provides learner enrollment and program support, and manages learning platform services.
Are there any restrictions on the types of funding that can be used to pay for the program?
Program fees for Emeritus programs with Wharton Executive Education may not be paid for with (a) funds from the GI Bill, the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Act of 2008, or similar types of military education funding benefits or (b) Title IV financial aid funds.
What is the program refund and deferral policy?
For the program refund and deferral policy, please click the link here.
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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