The Illusion of Influence Without Hierarchy: Why Efficiency Always Wins

I want to put “influencing without hierarchy” to the test today. Partly because this concept was one of the reasons the hiring manager in my recent corporate interview used to reject me, and partly because, as an entrepreneur, I now believe even more in creating value efficiently. I want to make my point very clear, even if it means being a bit polarizing or exaggerating at times - after all, this is just one way of looking at leadership.

Let me give you a scenario to illustrate. Imagine you're about to launch a product that you’ve painstakingly developed. Now, you have two options for your launch strategy:

Plan A: Organically spread the word. You gather your friends and network, host small events, and encourage people to try your product. Over time, you collect feedback, refine the product, and eventually, your audience starts repurchasing because it’s that damn good.

Plan B: Do everything in Plan A - meet people, host gatherings, collect feedback - but you also run ads, offer incentives, and create a buzz through a well-executed marketing plan. The reach is bigger, the turnout is larger, and if your product is good (which we assume it is), the conversion rates will be similar to Plan A. But with Plan B, you’ve got a larger customer base from day one. Which would you choose?

Obviously, Plan B - right? You reach more people, faster, with the same product. That’s how businesses operate today. Yet, in corporate environments, we still have senior managers preaching about “influencing without hierarchy,” as if not leveraging resources is some noble path. They have the funds and the authority to implement a new idea - why take the hard route? It’s a bizarre illusion they live under, thinking they can influence people through sheer personal charm without using the obvious tools at their disposal.

Here’s what I find funny. These senior managers talk about influencing without hierarchy and then immediately use their hierarchy to call meetings with their direct reports to discuss their vision. What a joke. If they’re unwilling to use their position and the budget they’re sitting on to test new ideas at scale, what’s the point? How do they expect their employees to influence others without any formal authority?

It’s like they think everyone can be a Steve Jobs, waltzing in and mesmerizing everyone with an idea. But here’s the thing - Jobs still used hierarchy and resources to get Apple where it is. Influence without resources is just an empty exercise in self-hypnosis.

If I were the business owner, I’d be grateful for a senior manager who says, “Here’s the data from onboarding a massive group of users - look, it worked!” Or, “Here’s why this idea failed.” Either way, they saved time and brought results. But instead, some managers prefer to take the hard route and “influence” through charm and a slow, dragged-out process that adds unnecessary management overhead. You’re making the company bloated for what? To satisfy an ego that says you didn’t need to use hierarchy? Congratulations, you’ve wasted everyone’s time.

The bottom line is this: Influence without hierarchy sounds romantic, but it’s often just an inefficient approach. If you’ve got the tools, use them. Want to test yourself? Start a business and see how many people care about what you say when you don’t have hierarchy or resources. Influence without hierarchy? You’re kidding yourself. This concept might look good on paper, but in the real world, results matter - not your ability to charm people into compliance.

If you're a leader, save your charm for team-building and focus on creating impact by leveraging every tool you’ve got. Cut down the fluff, use what works, and get results.