Course Objective & Scope
In matrixed organisations, getting things done depends on winning the time, priority and commitment of people who do not report to you. Relying on 'escalation threats' or project deadlines usually breeds passive compliance or stalls your request at the bottom of another team's backlog. Grounded in the Cohen-Bradford Influence Without Authority model and behavioral science, this course teaches how to drive cross-functional action through mutual value exchange and strategic framing.
Participants diagnose a live cross-departmental bottleneck and rehearse an influence conversation tailored to their counterpart's priorities.
Who Should Attend?
- Product managers, project leads, business partners (HRBP, Finance BP, ITBP) and agile coaches
- Mid-level managers and specialists operating in matrix or cross-functional structures
- Professionals who rely on peer teams for data, approvals or engineering capacity
- No technical prerequisites
Key Takeaways
- Leverage non-positional sources of power: expertise, network centrality, information and friction reduction
- Diagnose what your counterpart truly values using the Cohen-Bradford 'Influence Currencies' framework
- Reframe your request so it solves a problem or advances a KPI that matters to the other team
- Build social capital and reciprocity reserves before urgent requests arise
- Overcome 'we have no bandwidth' pushback without prematurely escalating to senior executives
Curriculum
Sources of Power & Influence Dynamics in Matrix Teams
- Five pillars of non-positional power: expertise, track record, network position, information and friction removal
- Balancing Push (logic, persistence) and Pull (listening, co-creation) influence styles
The Cohen-Bradford Model: Trading in Influence Currencies
- Stepping into your counterpart's world: decoding their metrics, pressures and career incentives
- Matching your ask with currencies they value: task support, visibility, air cover, data or workload relief
Reframing the Ask & Lowering the Cost of 'Yes'
- Shifting from 'Here is what I need from you' to 'Here is how this helps hit your quarterly target'
- Reducing cognitive and operational friction so saying yes requires minimal effort from peer teams
Behavioral Principles of Persuasion & Building Social Capital
- Applying Reciprocity, Commitment/Consistency (micro-commitments) and Social Proof ethically in the workplace
- Depositing into the relational trust bank before you need to make a high-stakes withdrawal
Handling 'No Bandwidth' Pushback & Joint Escalation
- Negotiating scope reduction, phasing or resource swaps when a peer team is genuinely overloaded
- How to escalate deadlocks collaboratively ('joint escalation for priority clarity') without burning bridges
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Managing high-stakes conversations, political resistance, defensive stakeholders and executive pushback with composure; participants rehearse their toughest live stakeholder scenarios.
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Power-interest grids, informal influence networks, hidden incentives and stakeholder engagement planning; participants build a multi-dimensional stakeholder map for a live project.
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