When the sky falls in, people don’t instinctively run to the org chart. They run to the person who calms them, the one who acts, the one they trust. In crisis, influence, not title, becomes the most valuable currency. Organizations built on authority can stagnate under pressure; networks built on influence move, adapt, and save lives.
This post explores why influence outpaces hierarchy during chaos, how leaders build a following through a shared vision, and concrete practices you can adopt so influence can be the engine of your crisis response long before the crisis hits.
Why influence beats hierarchy when everything is uncertain
Formal authority is essential: it gives structure, assigns responsibilities, and can mobilize resources. But authority is brittle in the face of chaos. When communication lines are down, when routine procedures fail, or when people are frightened, a formal role alone does not make someone a leader. Influence, earned through trust, competence, and connection, does.
From the fieldwork described in The Crisis Leader, three observations are obvious:
- Proximity matters. People closest to the problem often see the first workable solutions. A frontline nurse who knows the ward layout, a shopkeeper who knows which roads are passable, or a local volunteer who knows community leaders can act fast, and hierarchy delays. Influence enables.
- Trust beats titles. In Padang and Haiti, people followed those they already trusted, not those with the biggest brass on their lapels. Influence is a reservoir that leaders fill long before disaster: small, consistent acts of competence and care that people remember when it matters most.
- Adaptability is social. Influence spreads because people copy and follow. A person who models calm, decisive action spreads that behavior. Hierarchies require permission; influence creates momentum.
In short, hierarchy tells people what they should do; influence makes people want to do it.
The mechanics of influence in a crisis
Influence in crisis looks and behaves differently from influence in ordinary times. Here are the mechanisms that make it potent:
- Credibility through competence. People follow those who demonstrate capability under pressure. Competence is visible: decisions made, problems solved, resources moved. In The Crisis Leader, we repeatedly see that practical skill, not rhetoric, builds influence fast.
- Emotional anchoring. In chaos, emotional states spread quickly. Leaders who regulate their own emotions and express empathy help others do the same. This emotional leadership is contagious and forms the basis for moral authority.
- Rapid reciprocity. People are more likely to make an effort and provide help when they are asked and trusted. Influential leaders ask the right people to act and then back them up. That reciprocity compounds quickly in tight timeframes.
- Narrative alignment. Stories shape meaning. A short, vivid explanation of what must be done, framed around a future state people can imagine, focuses action and builds voluntary alignment. Stories replace complex directives with a clear purpose.
- Decentralized action. Influence enables distributed decision-making. When people at every level are empowered, they make many small decisions that together produce a fast, coherent response.
These mechanics explain why the “two women” in Padang, described in the last post, modestly graded on paper but highly influential on the ground, were able to hold together government–international collaboration when formal systems faltered.
Influence is not manipulation — it’s moral authority
A crucial distinction: influence is not coercion. In crises, people are vulnerable; influence used without integrity becomes manipulation and destroys trust. The kind of influence that holds during disasters is ethical, transparent, and service-oriented. It is built on these pillars:
- Integrity: your actions match your words.
- Intent: your motives are aligned with the common good, not hidden agendas.
- Capability: You can deliver results.
- Accountability: You accept responsibility for outcomes.
These pillars mirror the four cores of credibility I use in the book. Build them intentionally; they are the bedrock of durable influence.
Building a following through shared vision, the how-to
You don’t create influence overnight. It’s a function of daily choices and repeated behaviors. Here’s a practical sequence to intentionally build influence so it can be activated in a crisis.
1. Start with clarity of purpose
People will follow a leader who makes sense of chaos. Your purpose is the glue that turns disparate actions into a coherent response. It doesn’t have to be long; a single sentence that defines what success looks like in the immediate term is sufficient.
Example: “Get all injured to triage within the first 8 hours.” Or for an organization: “Protect our people and restore essential services in 72 hours.”
A clear, narrow purpose focuses energy and makes it easy for people to take aligned action without constant instruction.
2. Tell a sharp, emotional story
Vision without feeling is paper. Use short stories, real examples, not abstractions, to show what success looks like and why it matters. Stories do two things: they make the future feel real, and they make the cost of inaction visible.
When you tell a story: show the stakes, name the enemy (disorder, hunger, fear), and illustrate the desirable future. Repeat the story in various formats, such as a brief mention in a meeting, a photo on a message board, or a short video for the team.
3. Demonstrate competence publicly
Do the work where people can see it. Influence grows when others witness you solving problems. That doesn’t mean performing grandstanding; it means being visible in practical ways: coordinating a logistics pick-up, sitting in a field clinic for an hour, or staying until a plan is implemented. People value leaders who ‘get their hands dirty.’
4. Model calm and decisive behavior
Your emotional responses are contagious. Calm, decisive leaders reduce panic and create a space where rational action can occur. That calm must be authentic, a practiced steadiness, not denial. Use simple rituals to anchor this: short, regular briefings; named communication channels; and visible timelines.
5. Listen first, then act
Influence is reciprocal. Listening builds rapport and surfaces essential information. In a crisis, frontline workers often hold the keys to pragmatic solutions. Ask two quick questions in meetings: “What’s the single biggest constraint?” and “What would you try right now if I backed you?” Then remove barriers to let them act.
6. Distribute authority, and take responsibility
Influence thrives when leaders give it away. Push decisions to the closest competent actor. But with that distribution comes the duty to take responsibility for outcomes publicly. When things go wrong, defend your people; when they succeed, let them shine.
7. Create small wins that are visible
Influence compounds through momentum. Identify small, high-impact actions that will be seen and felt quickly. Each success becomes social proof: people observe results, and their willingness to follow increases.
8. Recognize and amplify local leaders
The people who emerge in a crisis, such as the shopkeeper who clears the road or the schoolteacher who organizes shelter, are influence multipliers. Recognize them publicly, provide them with resources, and establish simple liaison roles to facilitate their connection to broader coordination. This recognition multiplies trust.
Practical patterns from the field
The book contains multiple field examples where influence, not rank, made the difference. Here are distilled patterns you can apply.
Pattern: The Trusted Liaison
In many successful responses, a single trusted local person connected international teams and government actors. Their authority came from existing social capital and the ability to translate between cultures and systems. Create roles that intentionally serve this bridging function before a crisis: community liaisons, cultural brokers, and local focal points.
Pattern: The Visible Doer
Leaders who moved supplies, opened gates, and stayed on site built enormous influence. Visibility matters more than proclamation. In planning, identify tasks leaders will do publicly in an early response, even symbolic acts that reduce fear (opening a shelter, delivering water).
Pattern: The Rapid Feedback Loop
Teams that listen and iterate succeed. Set up a tight loop: brief, act, observe, adjust. The loop is powered by influence when people trust that reporting problems won’t be punished, and that their input will lead to change.
Pattern: The Narrative Anchor
A single line or image that explains the mission works wonders. “We will have power back to the hospital in 48 hours,” or “We will open five safe spaces by sundown,” are anchors that align behavior and reduce ambiguity.
The pre-crisis work: building influence before it’s needed
Influence is earned, not ordered. The moment you are crisis-ready, you should already be investing in it.
- Practice small acts of competence and care. Respond to routine problems quickly and publicly. People remember patterns more than promises.
- Build cross-cutting relationships. Influence flows across strong, diverse networks. Sponsor joint exercises and interdepartmental projects so that trust exists between groups in peacetime.
- Cultivate storytelling as a habit. Share short narratives about everyday wins and losses. This trains the organization to hear and repeat the language of purpose.
- Teach decentralized decision-making. Train teams to make decisions under constraints; practice with simulations and after-action reflections.
- Reward initiative. When someone takes responsible action, acknowledge it. Influence grows fastest in cultures that celebrate leadership at every level.
Think of influence-building as resilience work: small, consistent deposits that yield large withdrawals when needed.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Even well-intended leaders can undermine their influence. Watch for these traps:
- Over-controlling from the top. Micromanagement kills initiative. If you feel the urge to control everything, ask: “What will be lost if I don’t decide this now?” If the answer is low, delegate.
- Performative empathy. Empty phrases that sound caring but lack action erode trust. Pair statements of concern with immediate, concrete steps.
- Failing to protect your people. Blaming frontline staff for failures destroys trust fast. Always investigate, learn, and defend; fix systems, not people.
- Ignoring local knowledge. External experts who dismiss local leaders sap credibility. Integrate local voices early; influence is always multiparty.
- Over-promising. Declare what you can deliver; overreach and you break credibility.
Avoid these pitfalls by defaulting to transparency, humility, and rapid correction when you err.
Measuring influence, simple signals to watch
You can’t measure influence like a KPI, but you can watch for signals:
- People volunteer before being asked.
- Informal leaders seek you out for advice.
- Teams propose solutions rather than waiting for orders.
- Messages travel faster horizontally than vertically.
- Mistakes are reported candidly and addressed.
If these are absent, influence is thin and must be rebuilt in peacetime.
Your next step
Influence is learnable. Start today by making one public small win, by meeting one colleague in a different function, and by practicing a short story that explains what success looks like in a crisis. Repeat these actions until they become habits.
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Lead from where you are. Empower others to do the same.
By Gisli Olafsson, Author of The Crisis Leader
