Lead With Influence From Where You Are

- Interactive Course with Recorded Webinar
- Created in February 2025
- 1 hour training
- FREE for YIPA members
- 100% approval rating
- Become A Member
- Already a member? Log in to your YIPA LMS to access this training
Your Training Description
In the context of youth work, leading with influence means guiding and inspiring young people in a way that motivates them to take positive actions, adopt new perspectives, and grow personally without relying on your authority as an adult or your positional power. Whether you are a youth worker or in a youth work leadership role, the work you do requires certain leadership characteristics. Developing those characteristics in yourself and learning to lead with influence will create lasting change in you and the young people you work with.
This interactive course blends YIPA-created learning content with a recorded video learning segment created by the featured trainer.
Your Learning Objectives
- Explore the values and characteristics of people who lead with influence
- Learn what leading with influence means in the context of youth work and why it matters
- Recognize that we all lead in some way, regardless of our role or title
- Identify key strategies to help you lead with influence in your youth work
- Consider how being authentic can expand your impact as you learn to lead yourself and others
Your Trainer

Michelle Nelson has over 25 years of experience leading, managing, and training professionals in the human service industry. In addition to her leadership skills, she is well-versed in team, program, and organizational development to include strategic planning. She is a certified trainer for the Crisis Prevention Institute, The National Council for Behavioral Health, Thera International Rising, and ACES interface. She has delivered numerous trainings at local, state, and national conferences. Michelle also provides consultation services for several private and public businesses. Michelle’s education includes a Masters in Management, Bachelors in Criminology/Sociology and a certificate in Leadership and Change.
Your Competency Focus Area

Each of YIPA’s trainings are designed around a broad framework of eight youth work competencies. The competency focus of this training is: COMMUNICATIONS.
Gain communication flexibility which allows you to develop healthy, productive work relationships, engage in collaborative problem solving with youth, and improve individual and group facilitation.
This training will count as 1 CE hour for most boards. Please contact your board directly with questions on submitting. You are encouraged to print or save this training information as a PDF for your records.