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Becoming an Influential Leader

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November 18, 2027, 8:30am - 12:00pm CST
Virtual via Zoom
Fee: $15 full members; $60 partial members & non-members
Continuing Education Hours: 3.5
Register

Course Description

Sustainable organizational change requires more than authority—it requires influence. In this capstone session, leaders learn how to create lasting behavior change by understanding the multiple factors that shape motivation, performance, and engagement. Drawing on principles from Crucial Influence, participants explore how personal, social, and environmental factors affect behavior and how leaders can use these influences to support positive outcomes across teams and organizations.

Participants learn strategies for increasing engagement, motivating others, reinforcing accountability, and leading through change. The session emphasizes the leader's role in shaping organizational culture and creating conditions that support desired behaviors over time. By integrating concepts from across the series, participants leave with practical tools to strengthen accountability, support engagement, and influence sustainable change.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Explain the principles of influence and behavior change within organizational settings.
  • Identify motivational factors that impact employee engagement and performance.
  • Apply multiple sources of influence to encourage positive behavior change and improve outcomes.
  • Utilize coaching and leadership strategies that reinforce accountability, ownership, and professional growth.
  • Create conditions that sustain psychological safety, engagement, and high performance.
  • Design effective approaches for leading teams through change and organizational transitions.
  • Strengthen organizational cultures that promote collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
  • Develop a personal leadership action plan for applying influence strategies within their team or organization.

About the Trainer

Tess Parker, LMSW

Tess Parker, LMSW

Tess Parker is an accomplished trainer, clinical therapist, and educator. As a former program director in behavioral health, she leverages her Master of Social Work from the University of Denver in a career dedicated to serving individuals experiencing mental health emergencies in both outpatient, and residential settings. Tess believes authenticity and vulnerability are at the core of human connection, and this belief is the foundation of her clinical and consultative approach. Tess has an uncanny ability to strategically identify critical gaps in care and then create programs to bridge those gaps and truly save lives. She is also an avid writer, a minimalist at heart, and values meaningful connections with persons served, customers, and her community.
Adam Graham, LPC-MHSP

Adam Graham, LPC-MHSP

Adam Graham, LPC-MHSP, loves helping interdisciplinary groups find new solutions to challenging problems. From the medical, psychological, recovery, and law enforcement communities to government to the private sector, Adam has gained invaluable experiences and insights that, in dialogue, can move mountains to serve people experiencing a mental health crisis. Trained as a clinical therapist, Adam has served these groups in his 14 years in the community mental health system as a clinician and emergency psychiatric services director, as well as in the roles of professor, threat assessment consultant to federal law enforcement, and international volunteer aid worker. Based in Nashville, TN, he joyfully fulfills the local obligation to be a musician, as well as an experienced trainer, presenter, problem-solver, and leader.