Is Informal Leadership Taking a Toll on Your Employees?

You may offer informal leadership opportunities to promising team members who lack management or supervisory experience. For instance, you might assign a go-getting team member to lead a project, even if they don’t hold a position of authority. 

Alternatively, you may find certain members of your team have become informal leaders because they have considerable knowledge and experience, and others look to them for guidance. 

“Informal leadership is when an individual does not have official status as a group’s leader, but other group members see them as and consider them to be a leading force…Often, they’ve earned the status of informal leader by developing strong relationships with the people around them and proving themselves, through actions, to be reliable and trustworthy,” explains Indeed. 

For instance, team members might turn to an informal leader seeking advice about how to implement a policy.

Informal leadership is an important way for less experienced team members to gain skills that add to their management potential in the future. What’s more, this type of leadership is valuable to the organization. 

But according to a recent study from Harvard Business Review, informal leadership roles can take a toll on those who hold them. The study surveyed 500 students and professionals who held informal leadership roles in the United States and Taiwan. They were asked questions about how these positions affected their energy and work satisfaction. 

“As an informal leader on my team, I’m often responsible not just for meeting my own goals, but also for managing and making decisions on team tasks. Even though these tasks are not mine to complete, I have to put in extra work to help my peers deal with them — and that can be really exhausting,” said one respondent. 

Specifically, informal leaders noted having energy levels that were 11 percent lower than their non-leader peers. Low energy levels, in turn, affected job performance and satisfaction. 

This study doesn’t mean that informal leadership is inherently problematic, however. Rather, managers made an impact on how energetically taxing informal leadership roles were. 

For instance, informal leaders who had supervisors who responded to their questions with advice and thoughtful comments saw no negative impact on their energy levels. Alternatively, participants whose supervisors ignored their requests for help had energy levels that were 20 percent lower than their peers. 

So, there are clearly ways that managers can make informal leadership positions effective, rather than draining. Here are some ideas. 

Create explicit expectations – and boundaries

When informal leaders demonstrate their capacities to lead, they may find that they are called upon to take on more and more responsibility. This motivation may be internal or external, as colleagues or peers may ask them to lead again and again.

“[C]ompanies prioritize hustle cultures and encourage employees to take on informal leadership roles. But these ‘good eggs’ need to be protected from being exhausted—and it’s their formal leader’s responsibility to support and energize them,” said Paul Tesluk, dean of the University of Buffalo School of Management.

With that goal in mind, informal leaders should know exactly what they’re supposed to do in their roles. Managers should offer clear expectations, timeframes, and work hours. What’s more, let them know you won’t be disappointed in their leadership abilities if they don’t work themselves into exhaustion.

Mentor informal leaders

Informal leaders need guidance and support. For instance, they may not know everything about interfacing with clients or engaging with company policies. Rather than making them feel like they have to acquire this knowledge on their own, managers should make sure that they respond to team members’ questions and even make time for more formal mentorship. The more supported informal leaders feel in their positions, the more likely they are to maintain their energy. 

At the same time, avoid micromanaging and offer decision-making opportunities

One of the ways informal leaders can become overburdened is through micromanagement. If they are given a leadership role, but don’t have enough information to be successful, they will have to turn to their manager at every fork in the road, whether the manager intends this or not. Some managers may even stop the informal leader from making decisions on their own. 

So, you want to guide informal leaders, not peer over their shoulder at every turn. If it takes multiple steps to make a single decision, these informal leaders will burn out even more quickly. 

Informal Leadership Should Be Meaningful, Not Draining

Informal leadership can be taxing, even as team members gain supervisory experience and organizational knowledge. However, by setting parameters for the position, offering support and guidance, and promoting these leaders whenever possible, they can find these roles more meaningful – and less draining. This way, they’re not taking on more and more responsibilities – informally – but can serve in their roles effectively without becoming energetically overwhelmed. 

Related: 9 Ways to Keep Your Star Workers From Burning Out