An informal
leader is someone within an organization or work unit
who, by virtue of how he or she is perceived by his
peers (or others in the organization) is seen as worthy
of paying attention to, or following. The informal
leader does NOT hold a position of power or formal
authority over those that choose to follow him or
her.
Informal leaders
can be exceedingly valuable to organizations and to the
success of formal leaders; OR, if informal leaders do
not support the formal leaders, their agendas and
vision, they can function as barriers in the
organization.
So, how do
we maximize the positive influences without compromising
the informal leader?
1.
Communicate to
them effectively about your vision that aligns with St.
Francis Health Services’ mission and core values;
and
2.
Communicate your
decisions, your goals and plans to them.
Because of the nature of many
informal leaders (independent thinking, critical
thinking, integrity, etc.), you will find that they need
to have an understanding of where the organization is
going, why it is going there, and how you plan to take
it there in order for them to support you, pull with you
and not against you.
It’s not necessary to provide
informal leaders with more information than one would
provide to other employees; however, the best way to
mobilize informal leaders is to communicate the facts of
decisions as much as possible and to show that you are
open, honest and compassionate about the issue.
You want your informal leaders to
recognize the absolute necessity of the change, for
example, and for them to support the change, if not
enthusiastically, at least with an acknowledgment of the
circumstances that caused the decision. When
they have this information (assuming it’s credible),
informal leaders are more likely to rally the troops in
a difficult situation, rather than lose confidence in
you as a formal leader.
-Some material
taken from Robert Bacal from the Leadership Development Resource Center.
