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@article{207979,
        author = {Dr. Savitha G R},
        title = {Leadership Beyond Titles: Examining the Influence of Informal Leadership on Employee Engagement and Job Performance},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {3},
        pages = {3589-3594},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=207979},
        abstract = {Leadership in contemporary organizations increasingly extends beyond formal designations and hierarchical authority. Employees who do not occupy managerial positions often emerge as influential members of teams by providing guidance, sharing expertise, facilitating problem-solving, supporting colleagues and influencing collective decisions. Such informal leadership may represent an important but less visible organizational resource.
This study examines the relationship between informal leadership, employee engagement and job performance. Drawing upon Social Exchange Theory and leadership-emergence perspectives, the study proposes that informal leadership positively influences employee engagement and job performance and that employee engagement acts as a mediating mechanism through which informal leadership contributes to performance. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design is adopted with a sample of 350 employees for demonstrating the analytical model. Reliability analysis, correlations, multiple regression and mediation analysis were used to examine the relationships.
The results demonstrate positive relationships between informal leadership, employee engagement and job performance, with employee engagement partially mediating the relationship between informal leadership and performance. The paper highlights the importance of recognizing leadership as an influence process that can emerge independently of formal position and discusses implications for leadership development, succession planning and talent management.},
        keywords = {Informal Leadership, Leadership Emergence, Employee Engagement, Job Performance, Social Exchange Theory, Leadership Development},
        month = {August},
        }