Making the Invisible Visible: Informal Technology Leadership in Higher Education

Much of the most impactful innovation work on campus is driven by “unofficial leaders,” individuals who coordinate technology, pedagogy, and policy without formal roles or recognition. While these informal leaders are essential to institutional progress, their work is often invisible, unsupported, and unsustainable. This session examines how informal technology leadership functions across higher education and why making it visible matters. Participants will explore how influence is built through trust, cross-unit relationships, and problem solving rather than positional authority, and how institutions often rely on this hidden labor without acknowledging or supporting it. The session also addresses the risks of invisibility, including burnout, inequitable workload distribution, and stalled innovation when informal leaders leave or disengage. Through guided discussion and reflection, participants will identify patterns of informal leadership at their own institutions and consider structures that better support this work, such as recognition practices, sponsorship models, workload alignment, and leadership pathways. Designed for an online interactive format, the session emphasizes shared learning and peer exchange. Attendees will leave with concrete strategies to recognize, legitimize, and sustain informal technology leadership as a strategic institutional asset.