Influence changes everything.

Manipulation is all about hiding what you really want. It’s when you try to steer people into doing something they might not choose if they knew the full story. Influence is the opposite. It’s open, honest, and upfront. It builds trust because people know exactly where you stand.

When you influence well, you get things done and strengthen your relationships along the way. You hit your goals – the end-of-year report, the team restructure, the new client onboarding – without burning bridges or leaving people feeling used.

But here’s the thing: if you start using influence to manipulate others, trust disappears fast. You might get away with it once, but keep doing it and your reputation will catch up with you. Real influence isn’t about controlling people – it’s about earning their trust so they want to move with you.

It might look that way from the outside, but true influence isn’t about winning or forcing people to agree with you. Because if you win, someone else usually loses – and that’s competition, not influence.

Real influence means everyone walks away feeling they’ve been heard and can live with the outcome. You might not be swapping Christmas cards, but you can still share a slice of cake in the canteen and feel good about how things turned out.

Positive influence isn’t a zero-sum game.

If only it were that simple. Having a title or authority doesn’t automatically make you influential. Sure, you can tell people what to do – that’s compliance – but it’s not the same as real commitment.

Influence is what turns ‘I have to’ into ‘I want to’. It’s what gets people genuinely on board, not just ticking boxes.

Your role and expertise definitely help, but if you stomp around in your big boss pants, you’ll crush trust faster than you can say ‘team meeting’. Influence gets people walking with you, not just behind you.

Data’s a great start! Facts and figures can be super persuasive, especially when you know your stuff. But here’s the catch – people don’t always make decisions based purely on logic.

If emotions are running high, or someone’s just as much (or more) of an expert than you are, data alone might not land.

Real influence is about knowing when to lean on facts and when to use other skills – clarity, curiosity, storytelling. The magic happens when you can adapt your approach to both get results and strengthen relationships along the way.

Pretty much everyone – from board members and senior leaders to rising stars and early-career talent.

With over 20,000 learners (and counting), it’s hard to think of a role, level, function, or sector we haven’t worked with.

This year alone, we’ve helped people strengthen their influence skills in organisations across retail, banking, pharma, tech, and the voluntary sector – from CEOs and Global Heads to Team Leaders and Project Managers.

You’re probably wondering whether it’s better to work with people horizontally or vertically – and the honest answer is… it depends.

Do you want to help a dispersed team gel and build habits that actually stick? Are you trying to create a leadership approach that drives the whole organisation? Or are you looking to shift the culture in a key function?

When you bring a group of people together, strip away the hierarchy, create a safe learning space, and give them the chance to put new behaviours into practice, the potential goes far beyond just developing influence skills. You can create visible change that lasts.

You want to see real impact – and so do we.

We’re not going to sugar coat it though. This stuff isn’t easy, and that’s why we work with you to understand the visible change you want to see and find out what you already measure.

Then we build an impact and evaluation strategy together.