Get more out of your informal leaders
Informal leadership is an art that can strengthen your organization on multiple levels. It allows you to build trust, respect and followership - both within your teams and across the organization.
For a non-binding dialog about developing your informal leaders, contact Torsten Laursen on +45 53 80 08 80 or by email: t.laursen@decanus.dk.
What is informal leadership?
You might already know them. The people others listen to, even if they don't have an official leadership role. The people who can make things happen because they have influence and authority that isn't based on a title, but on relationships, experience, expertise and accomodating behavior. The people who are informal leaders.
Informal leaders are everywhere. They exist in all types of organizations and teams, and they play an important role in driving results and change.
But informal leaders aren't always easy to spot. They don't necessarily have a sign on their door or a name tag on their chest that says they're a leader. They are often the ones that others go to for advice, feedback or support. They are the ones who have a good network, relevant knowledge and a strong personal presence. They are the ones who have the trust and respect of their colleagues.
Informal leadership is about gaining influence without formal power
Imagine you have an idea for how your organization or team can solve a challenge, improve a process or create new opportunities for development and growth. Imagine that you know who needs to be on board to achieve the goal and maybe even how the task and work should be organized. However, you don't have a formal leadership position or title that gives you the right to decide or delegate, formally speaking. So how do you get your colleagues and your boss and perhaps other managers to listen to you, support you and follow you?
The answer is informal leadership.
Informal leadership is the art of leading without formal power. It's about creating influence and authority that's not based on a title, but on relationships, experience, expertise and behaviors that are tailored to the situations you're in - and the people you're with. It's about building trust, respect and followership among those you work with and depend on.
Where do we find the informal leaders?
Informal leaders are found in many places in both public and private organizations, including NGOs.
We typically find them working in finance, quality, HR, lean, marketing, business development and more, but you'll also find many in the business itself, where they typically work as project managers, in a coordinating or supervisory role or with a specific professional responsibility.
They often have titles such as project manager, HR or business partner, x-specialist, team coordinator, product manager, subject matter responsible, coordinator, supervisor and the like. They may also have completely different titles, but what they have in common is that they are responsible for "making things happen", even if they don't have formal management responsibilities.
Why is it important for an organization to have good informal leaders?
Informal leaders can be a great resource for a company when they use their influence and authority in a positive and responsible way. But they can also be a challenge if they use their influence and authority in a negative or destructive way. That's why it's important for a company to have skilled informal leaders who can help achieve shared goals and visions.
Informal leadership is an important and valuable skill in today's workplace, where organizations and teams are becoming more flat, flexible and cross-functional. Informal leaders can help drive results and change that formal leaders can't or won't. They can motivate and inspire others, and they can increase productivity and collaboration within teams and/or across the organization in projects, other cross-functional initiatives or working groups, or in cross-organizational responsibilities. They can also typically help resolve conflict, promote innovation and strengthen your desired culture.
You can develop your informal leaders either through internal development programs and/or by sending them on an external course. Read more about external courses HERE.
For a non-binding dialog about internal development of your informal leaders, please contact Torsten Laursen on +45 53 80 08 80 or by email: t.laursen@decanus.dk.