| Informal leadership has been recognized in organizational development, yet there is limited research available on this topic beyond references to informal leadership in groups and work team environments. The lack of literature suggests a need for further research on this topic. There is substantial research on formal leadership, leadership development, and training. However, the concept of informal leadership is still "leading edge." There have been a number of quantitative studies on the topic, but few qualitative studies on the role of informal leaders in organizations. Informal leaders are individuals without formal title or authority, who serve as advocates for the business and heighten the contributions of others as well as their own self primarily through influence, relationship-building, and knowledge and expertise.; The purpose of this study was to explore the role of informal leaders in an organization from their perspective and to understand how and why they do what they do. The research design was a qualitative case study that used focus groups and in-depth interviewing methods. Purposeful sampling was used on the target population. The findings were organized and presented using theme and clustering analysis.; The results of this study indicated that informal leaders are a hidden source of value creation and competitive advantage in today's organizations. However, informal leaders are not being used to their full potential by management. They are the primary leaders of the informal organization: the system that is not included in organizational charts or official blueprints. It was found that these leaders without formal authority exerted a strong and positive influence within their groups, were critical links in the informal organizational network, and acted as enablers and motivators for driving the business forward. The study also identified pertinent themes and categories that can serve as a template for management in organizations. It can also help identify and manage informal leaders, and may be useful in furthering organizational leadership development.; This study contributed to the ongoing conversation on the role and impact of informal leaders in organizations and added to the limited body of research on informal leadership. |
