The Science of Influence: Why Some Voices Naturally Rise (And Why That's Good for Your Business)

For years, a comfortable story has persisted in leadership circles: early human societies were largely egalitarian, and hierarchy is a relatively recent invention brought on by agriculture and property.

But new research fundamentally challenges this view. There is now compelling evidence that inequality in social influence—who people listen to, copy, and follow—may have deep evolutionary roots in our species.

For business leaders, this isn't just an academic curiosity. It's a window into understanding the fundamental human dynamics that shape your organisation every single day.

Prestige vs. Dominance: The Key Distinction

The research draws a critical distinction between two forms of hierarchy: dominance and prestige.

• Dominance hierarchies are what we see in the animal kingdom—coercive structures imposed through physical aggression and fear. The strong force the weak.

• Prestige hierarchies, by contrast, are uniquely human. They emerge not from coercion, but from a voluntary, bottom-up conferral of status. Individuals freely choose to defer to, learn from, and follow those they perceive as skilled, knowledgeable, or esteemed.

This is the psychology that makes culture possible. We copy the successful hunter, seek out the skilled craftsperson, and listen to the leader with a track record of good decisions. It's a system designed to efficiently spread valuable knowledge and capability throughout a group.

The Model: How Prestige Creates Unequal Influence

The researchers built an evolutionary model to test how this prestige psychology shapes group structure. They found that a single factor, which they term "prestige sensitivity" (the degree to which individuals are attuned to and defer to prestige) is the primary driver of whether a group remains egalitarian or becomes hierarchical.

When prestige sensitivity is low, influence is evenly spread. When it is high, a sharp, predictable inequality emerges. A small number of individuals accumulate significant social influence, becoming the individuals others look to for direction, information, and cues on how to think and act.

Crucially, this is not a failure of the system. It is the system functioning exactly as evolution designed it. Prestige-based hierarchies are adaptive. They allow groups to efficiently leverage the knowledge and judgment of their most capable members, improving collective decision-making and group success.

What This Means for Modern Leaders

This research offers a profound, evidence-based lens through which to view your organisation.

1. Hierarchies of influence are natural and inevitable.
Stop trying to pretend they don't exist. Every organisation has an informal, prestige-based hierarchy. There are the people others naturally turn to for advice, the voices that carry weight in meetings, the individuals whose opinions shape decisions. Acknowledging this reality is the first step to leading it effectively.

2. Prestige is earned, not appointed.
Your formal org chart (dominance hierarchy) may list who reports to whom. But your actual influence structure (prestige hierarchy) is determined by who demonstrates competence, insight, and value. People freely confer influence on those they believe can help them succeed. Your high-prestige individuals are your most powerful cultural assets.

3. Healthy prestige hierarchies are prosocial and performance-enhancing.
Unlike coercive dominance structures, prestige hierarchies benefit the entire group when functioning well. They concentrate decision-making influence in the hands of those most likely to make good decisions. The goal is not to flatten this dynamic, but to ensure it is based on genuine capability and is accessible to all.

4. The danger is when prestige and dominance decouple.
Problems arise when formal power (dominance) is held by individuals who lack informal prestige. This creates friction, distrust, and resistance. Conversely, when your appointed leaders are also your most prestigious individuals—those others would freely choose to follow—you have alignment. Your culture and your structure are pulling in the same direction.

The Leadership Imperative

This research reframes the leader's role. You are not just a manager of tasks, you are an architect and steward of your organisation's prestige economy.

This means:

• Identify your true influencers. Who do people naturally turn to? Who shapes thinking beyond their formal authority? These are your informal leaders.

• Ensure prestige is earned fairly. Are your mechanisms for recognising capability and insight accessible to all? Or are they biased toward certain presentations, backgrounds, or styles? A healthy prestige hierarchy requires fair competition for influence.

• Align formal power with earned prestige. When you promote, are you promoting the people others would freely choose to follow? This is the definition of legitimate leadership.

• Leverage your prestigious individuals. Give them platforms. Listen to their insights. Let them mentor others. They are your most effective vectors for spreading capability and shaping culture.

The research is clear: inequality of influence is not a bug in the human operating system. It's a feature that has helped our species learn, adapt, and thrive for millennia.

Your job is not to pretend it away, but to ensure the hierarchies of influence in your organisation are based on genuine prestige, are open to all, and are harnessed for collective success.

Because when people are freely choosing to follow the right voices, everyone wins.