You don’t need to be Niccolò Machiavelli or The Godfather’s Don Corleone to wield power in the workplace. But it does help to study them — and scholars like Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Cialdini, as well as icons like Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and even Taylor Swift — if you want to be an effective leader, says Management Professor Lori Coakley, Ph.D. 

Students in Coakley’s “Power and Influence” course “learn that there are lots of different ways that we can persuade and influence others,” says Coakley, “and how they can enhance their skill set so they are more able to persuade and influence others.” 

Like Machiavelli, Pfeffer espoused occasional rule breaking by leaders who want to get things done in his book, Seven Rules of Power. “Students love Pfeffer because he’s so practical,” says Coakley.  

Cialdini focuses his research on the tools of psychological persuasion.  

“He talks about social proofing [how people are influenced by the actions and opinions of others in making decisions] and building a rapport that creates unity and coalitions,” Coakley says. 

In politics, power and influence often come across as domination. But wielding these tools in the workplace can be more benign.  

“Power is defined as the ability to influence others, to have them do what you need them to do,” says Coakley. “If we use it in a benevolent, pro-organization way, it's meeting the goals of the organization.” 

“Power is defined as the ability to influence others, to have them do what you need them to do."

As a leader, it isn’t enough to be right or to have all the data, says Kathryn Ostermeier, Ph.D., associate professor of Management, who teaches another “Power and Influence” section.  

“You have to convince people to follow you, to support you, and to sometimes take a risk on you if you want to accomplish your most important objectives and really make a difference,” she says. 

Whether it is better for a leader to be feared than loved is among the topics discussed in the class, which includes group discussions about which of Machiavelli’s beliefs remain applicable.  

For example, in The Prince, Machiavelli wrote that it is important for leaders to instill a certain amount of fear to get results from their underlings. Students compared such classic views of power to the realities of the modern workplace, where honesty, good communication, and a willingness to listen to employees and delegate responsibility are considered positive leadership attributes. 

“We exist in a time when we increasingly demand transparency, trust, and authenticity from our leaders,” says Ostermeier. “In this class, students develop their personal brand and conduct a presence audit to enable them to more effectively be their authentic self and leverage their unique strengths to influence others and affect real change.” 

John Boccuzzi III ’25, a Management major who delivered the Student Charge at Bryant’s 2025 Commencement, notes that he’s been trying to leverage the skills he learned in Coakley’s class.  

“Bryant is a very competitive place, and I see myself as a pretty competitive person, so I am hoping to use the skills from the class to be more powerful,” says Boccuzzi, who admits to some minor Machiavelli-inspired rule-bending of his own in pursuit of post-graduate success.

"I am hoping to use the skills from the class to be more powerful."

Class projects include simulations where some students play the role of a middle manager tasked with enacting a plan and have to get 19 organizational members to agree. Through this and other instruction, Biology major Jill Carline ’26 says she has learned that her physical stance and choice of words “can seriously impact how powerful others perceive me.” 

Carline, who also is captain of the Bulldogs’ women’s swimming and diving team, says the class has given her the leadership skills she needs to take command of a room.  

“Making the first move in initiating a conversation gives me great power,” she says. “I hope to continue learning more strategies to be one step ahead of every obstacle I meet. I knew Professor Coakley would challenge the class to speak openly, to challenge other classmates; ideas and opinions based on readings, and to leave at the end of the semester with a newfound confidence.”