Finding, Executing, and Succeeding with Informal Leadership: A Knowledge Share Session

Informal Leadership (IL) can be a “heavy lift.” What are the trade-offs–how do you determine whether this (often undercompensated) labor is right for you? If it is, how does one identify or develop IL opportunities, and what professional development strategies or career experiences can help prepare you for the challenge? On the ground, what are the best strategies for turning vision, courage, and ability into IL success in real-life situations (Baker 1995)? An essential part of this is understanding what it takes to “lead from among,” on a level playing field--to inspire peers toward action (Robinson 2002). Perhaps most importantly, how can you wrangle support and leverage an understanding of organizational culture to minimize burnout when taking on what is typically above-and-beyond labor? In this “knowledge-share session,” participants of varying levels of experience will learn from each other about how IL plays out in real life. Provided information about challenges and strategies, participants will reflect on and rate their own levels of experience on a scale of 1-4. Relative novices and veteran Informal Leaders will work together in small groups to develop questions and provide stories of success and failure based on specific prompts related to opportunities, how to “do” IL, managing those peer relationships, and difficult lessons learned. This is an excellent opportunity to learn from each other and support individuals who may be very new to this type of work.