Who's Really Running Your Business?

Your org chart says one thing. Reality says another. Discover how to find, and work with, the real power players inside your business.

Here’s a scenario: you’ve invested considerable resources in preparing to launch an initiative that sets a growth path for your company. At the launch meeting, everyone nods and is excited to get moving. The plan has been finished, the budget signed off, and then…nothing happens. Why?

The answer is often simple: those who really pull the strings within your business weren’t involved, or if they were, they weren’t fully invested in the initiative.

The Limits of an Org Chart

Almost all leaders will be familiar with an organisation chart. They show team structure, reporting lines, and key decision makers. An “org” chart is neat and serves as the official devolution of power throughout a company. Yes, cue enigmatic italics to demonstrate a point – an org chart does not show who holds the actual power.

The truth is that in many companies, particularly those led by a founder or those that have a relatively lean management structure, trust networks and unofficial gatekeepers are those who really drive outcomes, rather than those with the most aligned job titles.

The question for you to consider is this: is this informal structure serving your company correctly?

Informal Power: The Real Drivers of Progress

There are very real risks to not acknowledging this reality within your organisation. Key decisions can be accelerated or stalled entirely behind the scenes. New leaders often don’t realise they need to map this unofficial network — quickly.

If they don’t, they’re at significant risk from underperforming through no fault of their own. Some will be carrying a large invisible workload because of their unofficial power, others will hoard influence without any tangible accountability.

The risks are stark. You essentially have two organisations operating at once: one visible, one invisible. Only one of them is moving things forward. Removing this dual power system is critical to the long-term success of an organisation. Clear lines of responsibility and accountability coupled with access to the right data should be the aim.

A Question Every Leader Should Ask Themselves

The first step is to fully map the de facto power network within your company. A great place to start is asking yourself this powerful question, once posed to me many moons ago by a mentor:

“If you were made CEO of a new company tomorrow and could bring just one person from your current team to help you succeed, who would it be?”

Most people will be able to name this person easily; they’re the person they trust to navigate, influence and unblock. They hold the real power – not just seniority, but a winning combination of capability, trust and interpersonal connectivity.

So, who is your person?

Once you have this answer, you can start to map how they go about making progress.

Who is the first person they trust to deliver?

How do they go about moving things forward?

Spotting The True Influencers

There are several other simple ways to find the movers and shakers within your company. A few key considerations are:

• Who do people go to, to sense-check or verify things before they start doing?

• Who gets made aware or copied into everything, even when it’s not within their remit?

• Who can quietly kill an idea without explicitly saying no?

• Who do you often lean on when plans start to drift, or are faced with unforeseen obstacles?

There’s nothing fundamentally wrong about these individuals holding this unofficial power – it’s more that a lack of control or leadership over it can lead to damaging blind spots.

Turning Insight into Action

The most constructive steps you can take are as follows:

1. Map it – observe, note who has power, and who is trusted

2. Validate it – recognise those who are driving performance in the company, especially those who are acting above or outside of their usual remit in a positive way

3. Align it – make sure informal influence doesn’t outstrip accountability, or undermine it

4. Balance it – seek to change the formal structure to both respect people’s influence, while also avoiding the consolidation of power around one or two ‘untouchable’ employees

Bringing your official and shadow organisation charts closer together creates a much more open and trusting environment for everyone, setting the scene for more sustainable growth and progress in the future.

So – who is really running your business?

More importantly, do they know that you know?

If you need help with this critical activity – get in touch.