Mr. Mehra, the manager, has been screaming at his team to speed up the work and wind up the project within the approaching deadline. He tried everything from commanding the employees to literally beseeching them, but to no avail. Yet, all it took is some calm validation from Ritesh, an otherwise ordinary team member, and voila! The project is all wrapped up, ready to be submitted.
Well, every company has its own share of influential people. They may be hidden in the nooks and crannies, but carry enough clout to influence people’s perception, thinking and views. This is not to say that they carry any formal power, authority or status, no they are not even labour union heads or anything equivalent. Yet, they are highly regarded, respected and wield influence, much more than the exalted and designated organisational leaders. These informal, uncrowned leaders are dubbed ‘opinion leaders’, courtesy their ability to sway opinions and actions. Employees admire them and accept their ideas and judgement, sometimes even blindly!
Yet, one can’t help but wonder what it is about such people that they are held in such enviable esteem and develop such a mass following?
Well, it is a unique combination of courage, talent, knowledge, experience or sometimes plain level-headedness with a solid dose of personal charisma that attracts people.
The ‘it’ factor may even rest in other personal qualities like intolerance for unfair practices or rebelling against blindly following the established norms. Moreover, as an opinion leader is actually a peer/colleague, employees tend to trust and identify with him as one of their own.
Irrespective of the reason, followers willingly act on what they say and emulate how they behave.
Therefore, such parallel leaders set the tone of the workplace and shape the general attitude, thinking and behaviour. This also has a direct impact on the company environment, efficiency and productivity.
As Nigel Nicholson, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School says, “In any organisation, there are opinion leaders. They are not necessarily bosses, but they are at the centre of informal networks. They have charisma and magnetism, possess strong opinions and express them forcefully. They therefore have considerable social power and can influence morale”.
People will automatically turn to their opinion leaders for input, advice and even interpretation.
They even eagerly tune into what the leaders have to say and their words carry a very decisive influence. Consequently, no organisation can afford to ignore or dismiss its consensual leaders, even though they don’t carry any formal status.
They are the role models and the change agents of the workforce and should be given their due.
What’s more, such leaders can easily mould people and change their mindsets. It makes practical sense for companies to tap into their credibility, power and influence.
Therefore, management should first identify the opinion leaders and keep an eye on them. Moreover, they have a wide social network and are a veritable storehouse of valuable employee information. Understanding their views, beliefs, interests and what’s important to them will prove quite beneficial as they represent the norms of the workforce.
In fact, top companies actually conduct ‘Opinion Leader Research’ to identify their opinions, attitudes and behaviours.
Employers should also develop a specific strategy to reach out to the opinion leaders and get them involved. It makes sense to consult them on policy decisions, as their endorsement will generate better acceptance.
Similarly, solicit their participation in other areas as they can quickly spread ideas, diffuse knowledge, inspire confidence and even persuade others to perform a desired action.
For instance, it will be advantageous to first build consensus with opinion leaders about an impending change, company decision or other critical issue.
This is because their significant testimonial will carry weight and influence other employees to accept the change. But, if the company does not bother to assuage an opinion leader’s resistance or align his opinion, all efforts at implementing the change are bound to fall flat. This is because the general workforce will definitely decide based on the verdict of their opinion leaders!
Therefore, it is absolutely essential for organisations to keep their opinion leaders positive and on board. To sum up in the words of Devashish Ghosh, Executive Vice President, Global Operations, Aptara, “Opinion leaders at various levels add to the intellectual capital of the organisation. This is especially helpful when the organisation is poised for growth!”
PAYAL CHANANIA
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