Lead with Influence (February 2027)

Original price was: $599.00.Current price is: $499.00.

Apply Now
Lead with Influence (February 2027)

Lead with Influence (February 2027)

Apply by Jan. 8 for a six-week virtual leadership training program for professionals who manage critical initiatives, processes and platforms with no direct reports. This interactive course teaches influence strategies, feedback techniques and self-awareness through weekly live sessions, running Feb. 2 to March 9, 2027.

February 2, 2027– March 9, 2027

Overview

  • Submit your application by Jan. 8, 2027.
  • Join six interactive, two-hour online sessions from Feb. 2–March 9, 2027.
  • Designed for people who lead projects and initiatives without formally managing a team.
  • Learn directly from Poynter faculty Kerwin Speight and Megan Griffith-Greene.
  • Practice what you learn through hands-on exercises, peer discussions and weekly leadership challenges.
  • Build relationships with a cohort of peers navigating similar leadership challenges.
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Learning Outcomes

In this program, you will:

  • Identify your leadership style and use your strengths to lead effectively.
  • Adapt your communication to work effectively with different people and perspectives.
  • Give and receive constructive feedback with confidence.
  • Apply empathy, emotional intelligence and resilience to strengthen working relationships.
  • Navigate workplace challenges while supporting your wellbeing.
  • Advocate effectively for yourself, your ideas and your work.
SaleNew
Lead with Influence (February 2027)

Original price was: $599.00.Current price is: $499.00.

Apply Now

Overview

  • Submit your application by Jan. 8, 2027.
  • Join six interactive, two-hour online sessions from Feb. 2–March 9, 2027.
  • Designed for people who lead projects and initiatives without formally managing a team.
  • Learn directly from Poynter faculty Kerwin Speight and Megan Griffith-Greene.
  • Practice what you learn through hands-on exercises, peer discussions and weekly leadership challenges.
  • Build relationships with a cohort of peers navigating similar leadership challenges.

Training 5 or More People?
get consulting & coaching

Lead with Influence is for people who lead important work but don’t formally manage a team. If you’re a project or product manager or someone who regularly needs to get buy-in, coordinate colleagues or move projects forward without direct reports, this program is designed for you.

Apply if you’re responsible for results, but not direct reports

Over six weeks, you’ll build practical skills to communicate with confidence, give constructive feedback, set boundaries, navigate difficult conversations and influence others without formal authority. You’ll also gain a better understanding of your own leadership style, helping you succeed in your current role and throughout your career.

This virtual program will be offered twice in 2027:
Feb. 2-March 9 and Sept. 1-Oct. 6.

Why learn leadership with Poynter?

The Poynter Institute is a global nonprofit working to strengthen journalism to help address society’s most pressing problems. The world’s top journalists and emerging media leaders rely on the Institute to learn new skills, adopt best practices, better serve audiences, scale operations and foster trustworthy information.

Poynter’s leadership training draws on more than 50 years of experience strengthening leaders in media. Our faculty bring deep expertise in management, leadership, individual coaching, self-assessment frameworks, conflict management and more. Every program emphasizes practical, hands-on learning you can put to work immediately, along with intentional cohort building that creates space for meaningful connection and shared experience.

Lead With Influence is part of a broader Poynter leadership track, with programs for different stages and types of leadership in media. Whether you’re leading a project without formal authority, managing people for the first time or taking on greater organizational responsibility, there’s a program designed to help you grow.

The leadership track:

  • Lead with Influence: Lead projects and influence others without formal authority; no formal management experience required
  • Essential Skills for New Managers: Build the fundamentals of managing people; 0-3 years of management experience
  • Poynter Leadership Academy: Strengthen your skills as an experienced or senior leader; 3+ years of leadership/management experience
  • Leadership Academy for Women: Advanced leadership development centered on the experiences of women; 3+ years of leadership/management experience

Questions?

If you need assistance, email us at info@poynter.org.

This online group seminar takes place on Tuesdays between Feb. 2 and March 9 2027, with six live sessions taking place from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern. Participants will need to be available during these time slots or catch up by watching the recorded sessions after they air.

Below is a tentative schedule, subject to change:

Session 1: Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2027
Fundamentals of leadership
Discover your leadership style and learn how to use your strengths to influence, motivate and support others. We’ll also show how your existing work relationships can support your work and growth as a leader.

Session 2: Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2027
Communicating across the organization
Learn how to communicate effectively with different people, priorities and perspectives across your organization. Explore communication styles, empathy, emotional intelligence and resilience, then practice adapting your message to what motivates different stakeholders.

Session 3: Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2027
Giving (and receiving) better feedback
Build the skills to make feedback more useful, actionable and easier to hear, whether you’re giving it or receiving it. We’ll introduce a useful framework to explore what motivates different people and how to tailor your approach to get better results.

Session 4: Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2027
Managing up and across your organization
Learn how to build stronger relationships with managers, peers and partners across your organization. You’ll develop practical strategies for managing up, navigating competing priorities and building the trust and influence that can make a meaningful difference in your career.

Session 5: Tuesday, March 2, 2027
Sustainable work, sustainable you
Great leadership shouldn’t come at the expense of your well-being. Explore practical ways to manage your workload while protecting the time and space you need to think, breathe and grow. 

Session 6: Tuesday, March 9, 2027
My time to shine
Your work matters, but so does how you communicate its value. This session focuses on building an authentic personal brand and learning how to advocate for yourself and your ideas, both inside your organization and beyond it. You’ll leave the program with a personal action plan for putting what you’ve learned into practice.

Sessions take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern on each listed date.

Can’t make these dates? Join us for the next Lead with Influence, Sept. 1-Oct. 6, 2027.

Who should apply

This program is for people who lead important work but don’t formally manage a team. You may be responsible for projects, decisions or outcomes and need to influence others, build support and move work forward without having direct reports. No formal management experience is required.

That might include project or product managers, audience engagement specialists, editors, producers, senior reporters, communications professionals and others who lead through influence rather than formal authority.

If you want to become more effective at leading without formal authority, this program is for you. Enrollment is limited, so early applications are encouraged.

Application process

There is one application for all Poynter leadership programs; please indicate your preference to apply for this program in the application. The process to apply is straightforward and simple, and it should take no more than 20 minutes to complete. Please be prepared to answer questions about your professional experience, areas of interest and basic demographic information. The deadline to apply is Jan. 8, 2027. 

It typically takes about one week to select the final participants for this program. You should expect to hear back from Poynter about your placement by mid-January. 

Cost

Tuition for this online workshop, which includes six weeks of live instruction, is $499. Payment is due after we process applications and confirm your participation.

Instructors

Lead Faculty

  • Kerwin Speight
    Faculty, Poynter
    Kerwin Speight is an award-winning television journalist, with more than 20 years of journalism and leadership experience, and a strong track record of producing local...
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  • Megan Griffith-Greene
    Faculty
    Megan Griffith-Greene is a faculty member at Poynter whose work focuses on strategy, leadership and ethics. She works with media companies across the globe on...
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Contributing Faculty

  • Kristen Hare
    Faculty, Director of Craft and Local News, The Poynter Institute
    Kristen Hare is the Poynter faculty’s director of craft and local news and the author of Local Edition, Poynter’s weekly newsletter for and about local journalists....
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  • Tony Elkins
    Faculty
    Tony Elkins is a faculty member at Poynter. His portfolio includes Poynter’s leadership workshops Essential Skills for Rising Newsroom Leaders and the Leadership Academy for...
    Read More

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