When you think of a leader, what image comes to your mind?
Do you think of the quarterback on a football team, the fire chief at the scene of a fire, or the one sitting at the head of the table in the corporate board room?
Many of the people in those roles are leaders, but hidden in every organization there also exists what I call “informal leaders”.
Informal leaders are those people who don’t necessarily have a leadership title (quarterback, chief, president, etc) but they are influential within the organization. Informal leaders have their pulse on the people in the organization, and employees tend to listen and follow these informal leaders.
If you are a manager then look in your organization to find your informal leaders. Use your informal leaders as a way to stay in touch with what your employees really think about the organization’s strategy, effectiveness, viability, etc.
Don’t forget to reward your organizational leaders with activities that keep them tied into different parts of the organization such as key projects and leadership activities.
Informal leaders typically prove out to be your bench candidates for future development towards leadership roles. The best comment an informal leader will hear prior to their realization that they may have what it takes to take the leap….is “you know I wouldn;t mind working for you someday”.
If your not hearing that your not ready.