The informal leader lives in every aspect of our lives. Whether we are discussing school,
the office, the volunteer team, or church, these informal leaders are everywhere.
So why do many formal leaders choose to fight the unacknowledged opinion makers
rather than learn to harness their influence to work in the best interests of the
organization? You know who it is: the one employee that has persuasion and influence
over your staff, department, or organization. It doesn’t matter what your decision is, the
team will wait for the informal leader’s response before supporting or opposing your
direction. If you think these informal leaders don’t exist within your department or
organization, then you are either the only person in your department or you need to take
a closer look.
Three years ago, I was working for a client that owned a Fortune 500 collection agency.
The staff consisted of collectors, lead collectors, supervisors, and managers. The
supervisors and managers were fairly new to their roles, and although very
accomplished collectors, they did not know how to get the team from A to Z to reach the
monthly revenue goals. Collectors were paid hourly and relied on their commissions to
make the majority of their income. However, money is not necessarily a motivator when
the work environment isn't conducive to employees’ needs.
After assessing the organization, I identified two informal leaders that did not work well
together and were creating mass chaos in the call center as a side effect of their
interpersonal conflict. Both employees were excellent collectors, consistently met their
individual goals, and contributed significantly to their team goals. Working with the two
‘’camps”, management was able to create a synergy between the two informal leaders,
develop the formal leaders, and make a work environment that kept turnover low,
provided better training, and exceeded the financial expectations of that particular office.
This article discusses tried and true approaches to end these types of power struggles,
benefit your organization, and help rid your life of some sleepless nights. I assume you
want all the above, and although your quest to solve world peace on those sleepless
nights will need to be put on hold, you can become more effective with your students,
staff, and/or volunteers.
First, let’s have an honest discussion about your leadership style.
• Are you actively involved with your team?
• Does your team have access to you?
• Does the team know your value system and how they fit into it?
• Is the team loyal to you as the leader?
• And the hardest question of all… you can only be a leader if you have followers: who
is following you?
Second, let’s talk about the informal leader.
• Is he actively involved in your team?
• Is she engaged with the team on a regular basis?
• Is he trustworthy? Does she mean what she says and say what she means?
• And again, the hardest question of all… who is following him?
Ken Blanchard Companies report (2006) a survey of 1400 people identified
communication as the most important leadership skill that one can have. If I were to
facilitate a discussion within your organization, how would the team rank you as an
effective communicator? How would they rank your informal leader?
Informal leaders routinely have great communication skills but are not necessarily talking
all the time. The team listens because they feel they have been heard consistently by the
informal leader. Grant you, not all informal leaders are for the good of the overall
organization, but the point is that people yearn for leadership. They will take leadership
in whatever mode they can get it.
Many leaders recognize in today’s market that the team is vital for that competitive edge,
but they sincerely have no idea how to create the proper environment. They continue to
hit their head against the brick wall wondering how “he” (informal leader) got so much
power in the environment in the first place. Instead of trying to undermine the informal
leader, spend time building a cohesive unit for the organization’s best interest.
Try some of the following to build collaboration between the formal and informal leaders.
• Observe the informal leader. What does he do differently? Is she a listener? Is he a
doer? Is she quiet? Does he have charisma? Does she have the people’s best interest
at heart?
• Meet with the informal leader on neutral grounds. Get to know each other.
• Use a facilitator to work with all vested parties to identify the leadership skills needed
in the organization.
• Decide if you have these skills, and if not, are you teachable?
• Can the informal leader balance out your leadership style?
• Work with team members to identify the desired culture. What will it take to be the
group that can give a competitive edge?
The hardest part of this process is getting started. Make the decision to build a better
environment. You as the formal leader will determine the “climate”. Have a strong
facilitator that can create the synergy you want your team to have for that unique
competitive edge. Use the influence of informal leaders to assist in accomplishing the
overall goals of the organization. Assess yourself as a leader, and determine if you
reflect the leadership skills that a follower desires. Forward lead your organization into a
new dimension!
Blanchard, Ken (2006). Key traits that can make or break. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from www.kenblanchard.com
Web site: http://www.kenblanchard.com/img/pub/pdf_critical_leadership_skills.pdf
the office, the volunteer team, or church, these informal leaders are everywhere.
So why do many formal leaders choose to fight the unacknowledged opinion makers
rather than learn to harness their influence to work in the best interests of the
organization? You know who it is: the one employee that has persuasion and influence
over your staff, department, or organization. It doesn’t matter what your decision is, the
team will wait for the informal leader’s response before supporting or opposing your
direction. If you think these informal leaders don’t exist within your department or
organization, then you are either the only person in your department or you need to take
a closer look.
Three years ago, I was working for a client that owned a Fortune 500 collection agency.
The staff consisted of collectors, lead collectors, supervisors, and managers. The
supervisors and managers were fairly new to their roles, and although very
accomplished collectors, they did not know how to get the team from A to Z to reach the
monthly revenue goals. Collectors were paid hourly and relied on their commissions to
make the majority of their income. However, money is not necessarily a motivator when
the work environment isn't conducive to employees’ needs.
After assessing the organization, I identified two informal leaders that did not work well
together and were creating mass chaos in the call center as a side effect of their
interpersonal conflict. Both employees were excellent collectors, consistently met their
individual goals, and contributed significantly to their team goals. Working with the two
‘’camps”, management was able to create a synergy between the two informal leaders,
develop the formal leaders, and make a work environment that kept turnover low,
provided better training, and exceeded the financial expectations of that particular office.
This article discusses tried and true approaches to end these types of power struggles,
benefit your organization, and help rid your life of some sleepless nights. I assume you
want all the above, and although your quest to solve world peace on those sleepless
nights will need to be put on hold, you can become more effective with your students,
staff, and/or volunteers.
First, let’s have an honest discussion about your leadership style.
• Are you actively involved with your team?
• Does your team have access to you?
• Does the team know your value system and how they fit into it?
• Is the team loyal to you as the leader?
• And the hardest question of all… you can only be a leader if you have followers: who
is following you?
Second, let’s talk about the informal leader.
• Is he actively involved in your team?
• Is she engaged with the team on a regular basis?
• Is he trustworthy? Does she mean what she says and say what she means?
• And again, the hardest question of all… who is following him?
Ken Blanchard Companies report (2006) a survey of 1400 people identified
communication as the most important leadership skill that one can have. If I were to
facilitate a discussion within your organization, how would the team rank you as an
effective communicator? How would they rank your informal leader?
Informal leaders routinely have great communication skills but are not necessarily talking
all the time. The team listens because they feel they have been heard consistently by the
informal leader. Grant you, not all informal leaders are for the good of the overall
organization, but the point is that people yearn for leadership. They will take leadership
in whatever mode they can get it.
Many leaders recognize in today’s market that the team is vital for that competitive edge,
but they sincerely have no idea how to create the proper environment. They continue to
hit their head against the brick wall wondering how “he” (informal leader) got so much
power in the environment in the first place. Instead of trying to undermine the informal
leader, spend time building a cohesive unit for the organization’s best interest.
Try some of the following to build collaboration between the formal and informal leaders.
• Observe the informal leader. What does he do differently? Is she a listener? Is he a
doer? Is she quiet? Does he have charisma? Does she have the people’s best interest
at heart?
• Meet with the informal leader on neutral grounds. Get to know each other.
• Use a facilitator to work with all vested parties to identify the leadership skills needed
in the organization.
• Decide if you have these skills, and if not, are you teachable?
• Can the informal leader balance out your leadership style?
• Work with team members to identify the desired culture. What will it take to be the
group that can give a competitive edge?
The hardest part of this process is getting started. Make the decision to build a better
environment. You as the formal leader will determine the “climate”. Have a strong
facilitator that can create the synergy you want your team to have for that unique
competitive edge. Use the influence of informal leaders to assist in accomplishing the
overall goals of the organization. Assess yourself as a leader, and determine if you
reflect the leadership skills that a follower desires. Forward lead your organization into a
new dimension!
Blanchard, Ken (2006). Key traits that can make or break. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from www.kenblanchard.com
Web site: http://www.kenblanchard.com/img/pub/pdf_critical_leadership_skills.pdf
| The Influence of an Informal Leader by Penny Raney-Crow posted June 28, 2009 |
| Forward Leading Business Solutions -- Strategic Thinking for Business Success -- |
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