Managing the Informal Leader in your Project

By Steven Bebout, Senior Consultant

As a former Officer in the US Army, I know the importance of leading a team, creating esprit de corps, and providing communications (upward and downward).  Whether in a training exercise, in a forward area, or back in garrison, leadership and understanding are vital to achieve success and prevent dissension among the ranks (regardless of the mission).

You may ask, ‘what does this have to do with business intelligence’, I would say a lot.  The project team is composed of many different players: Project Manager, Technical Lead, Lead Architect, Lead Business Analyst, along with many others.  As in the military, these leaders set and manage expectations, create alignment with other leadership within their own company (or for consultants with the client).   Working in a vacuum is not an option.

One player may emerge during your project is the 'informal leader'.  The informal leader holds perceived or real power over rank and file and potentially higher level stakeholders in an organization.  This persuasive and typically respected individual can derail a mission, project or change success criteria. This individual’s agenda and their influence with the rank and file can put a fork in the road to success in a military or a project in corporate America.

How do you prevent the emergence of an informal leader in your BI Project?  You can’t; you can only manage them and bring them on board immediately!  How do you do this? Prior to the project kick-off you are provided a list of interviewees; this list comprises individuals for a multitude of reasons.  The project sponsors and leadership have identified the list; I assure you, the ‘informal leader’ is part of the list.  Interviewees can be:

• Highly Influential
• Visionary
• Mover and Shaker
• Supporter
• Naysayer
• Politically Necessary

Under one of the interviewee types lies your informal leader; typically a naysayer.  Manage their expectations, incorporate them within the decision-making process, and empower them.  Remember to apply the adage of Sun-Tzu’s to "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

How have you dealt with informal leaders in your projects?  Are there key triggers to identify this individual?  If so, what are they and have you ever found there to be multiple informal leaders?

photo by The US Army via Flickr

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Steve Bebout is a consultant with over 15 years of experience in information technology in the areas of application development, business requirements, data analysis, and project management.  He has experience in the Communications Media and Entertainment, Financial Services, Life Sciences, and Insurance vertical markets; spending the majority of his efforts on customer data integration initiatives.

Comments

[Charles Blyth]

As I was reading this I was thinking of Sun-Tzu. Great blog! In today’s times, when jobs are scarce, people are trying harder to prove their worth, and stick out from the crowd, and are only focused on their own agenda, I like the 'informal leader tag'. Keep your eyes open.

[Don Frederiksen]

Hi Steve,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

I find a couple of elements of your post challenging. Perhaps it's the definitions and labels where we differ.

I feel that leadership from anywhere on the team is desirable. Anyone can and should lead. You can lead from anywhere on the organization chart. I cite this concept and supporting resources in some of my posts, e.g. http://www.leadquietly.com/2008/02/leading-from-below.html or http://www.leadquietly.com/2007/06/leadership-no-title-required.html

I would tend to call this type of leadership, the leadership that occurs without authority or title, informal leadership. Or my blog refers to it as quiet or shared leadership. This is desirable and should be nurtured and cultivated.

I agree that some types of informal leadership could be derailing. The naysayer is a good example of leadership that needs to be managed. I agree with you on this.

I would feel better about your position if we would agree on a different label, an alternative to "informal leader." Leadership from within the organization, that I think of as "informal" because it comes without title or authority is not necessarily bad.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. It renewed some of my own leadership thinking.

[Steven Bebout]

Charles and Don,

Thank you for your insightful comments about my post.

Don - I understand that leadership at any level on a project is a good asset, but the point of this blog was focusing on an 'informal' leader.

Typically, an informal leader has a specific agenda; it is not one that supports the project. It is important to understand that an informal leader can derail the project and potentially lead to its' demise.