Who’s Really Leading Your Team? How Informal Influence Shapes Your Culture
Reflect on this scenario (and see if it hits home). You’re rolling out a process change — whether it’s a new way of running meetings, a shift in how the team handles handoffs, or a value you want embedded into how things actually work. You’ve thought it through. Your leadership team is bought in. You have an implementation plan. You’ve thought of everything, and then you explain why this matters at an all company meeting.
People nod. The meeting ends. You think you’ve got buy in, but you notice everyone talking to Bob (and they’re not asking you questions).
Bob doesn’t manage anyone. He’s not on your leadership team. He’s been there nine years, knows where everything is, and somehow ends up being the person everyone checks with before they decide whether something is really happening or if it’s just talk. If Bob’s on board, the team falls in line. If Bob isn’t sure, you will be fighting an uphill battle for months — and nobody will tell you that’s what’s happening.
You didn’t put Bob in charge of anything. But he’s leading your team’s response to this change more than you are. How is that happening? You’re the C-suite executive and Bob isn’t even a manager.
Manager and leader aren’t the same word
It’s easy to assume the people shaping your culture are the people with titles. Manager. Director. VP. C-suite Executive. But title and leadership aren’t the same thing, and treating them synonymously is a common mistake.
Not all leaders are managers (but all managers need to be leaders). Many managers lead from a position of authority, in front of the group. They lean into the authority given to them with that title; they direct, they approve, they decide, they sign off, but people aren’t following them. They comply because of the authority the manager holds, but they don’t believe in the mission and they aren’t fully bought in. Conversely, there are plenty of people with no direct reports and nothing on the org chart who are silently (and not so silently) leading.
I wrote about this idea last year, in a post about leading without a title. That one was about you. This one is about everyone else who’s doing it too.
John Maxwell maps this out in his framework on the five levels of leadership. The first level is Position — people follow you because they have to, because of where you sit on the chart, because of the rights you hold as part of your position. It’s the only level that comes free with a title. The other four — Permission, Production, People Development, Pinnacle — all have to be earned. People follow because they want to, because of what you’ve delivered, because of what you’ve done for them, because of who you are.
Bob’s operating somewhere between permission and pinnacle. He’s built that influence and people are voluntarily looking to him, rather than by position and obligation.
Robin Sharma wrote an entire book on this idea, called The Leader Who Had No Title. His point is simple: leadership is a choice, not a position. You can lead from wherever you’re standing, with or without a title behind you.
I’ve lived both sides of it
For years, I worked at a tech firm where I never managed a single person. No one directly reported to me and by the org chart, I had no formal authority. I couldn’t direct anyone to do anything.
Yet, I was absolutely a leader in the organization. If we want to move through Maxwell’s levels:
Permission (relationship – because they want to): I ran several culture initiatives and people respected how I acknowledged their contributions.
Production (results – because of what I had done for the organization): I built leadership development programs to teach them skills, regardless of their position.
People development (reproduction – because of what I’ve done for them): I sent them anniversary emails and taught them leadership skills and was respected for how I treated them.
I’d like to believe I reached Pinnacle (respect — because of who I am and the qualities I possess), but that’s harder to measure.
I’ve also led several volunteer organizations where I technically held a title — president, chair, whatever the role was called. But a title on a volunteer board doesn’t come with real authority. Nobody on a volunteer committee has to do what you say. If you want anything to move, you build it through trust and relationship, the same way Bob does. The title didn’t give me authority; my accomplishments, values, skills and passion contributed to why people listened. When I was leading a playground replacement committee, they bought into my vision of an inclusive, accessible playground for all students. When I chaired school councils, they respected my knowledge and history and the fact that I wanted each person to have a voice in the education of their child(ren).
How to spot the Bobs on your own team
Leaders like Bob are in your organization; you just need to look for them.
A few signs to watch for:
People check with them before they commit to anything, even after you’ve already announced it.
New hires get quietly pointed their way in the first week — “talk to so-and-so, they’ll tell you how things really work here.”
Their reaction in the room sets the tone for everyone else’s, whether they say much or not.
Complaints and concerns tend to flow through them informally, long before they reach you.
They step up to run projects, initiatives and teams that produce results.
What to do with this
Once you can name your Bobs, the instinct might be to manage around them, or to worry they’re a threat to your authority. Resist that. Instead, involve and engage them.
Loop them in early, before the rest of the team hears the announcement. Give them real information instead of letting a vacuum fill in with rumour. Ask what they’re hearing on the ground, because they’ll know things you don’t. Work with their influence, rather than fighting against it.
This doesn’t mean every informal leader deserves a promotion or a new title. Some people genuinely don’t want one, and that’s fine. What it means is recognizing that culture isn’t only shaped by the people with authority over others. It’s shaped by the people others choose to follow — title or no title.
A couple of questions worth asking yourself
Who on your team is leading without a title?
If you weren’t in the room, whose reaction would tell you how something really landed?
Culture is being shaped in conversations you’re not part of, with or without your permission. The only question is whether you’ve noticed who’s leading them.
What’s Next
Read this Blog Post:
Check out John Maxwell’s work on levels of leadership
Sign up for my Free Leadership Toolbox
Need help figuring out who's really shaping your culture? Reach out — I'd love to help.
