While leading the gaming division at Future, I learned about the NPC - non-playable characters who are like film extras in games. In my son's rugby team an NPC is a player on the field who barely touches the ball. It's an 'ouch' of an insult.

For much of the twentieth century, leadership in business was about authority: hierarchy, job titles, and the power to direct resources. The top dogs decided whether you featured in their orbit. If not, you were an NPC - even though you could bring real value to the team.

Nowadays there's a new way to level up from NPC to playable character, and it's called influence.

Organisations in financial services, technology, and science are increasingly networked, fast-moving, and porous. Regulators, partners, investors, employees - and now algorithms - all shape outcomes. In this environment, what really matters is influence, regardless of title or role.

I saw this first-hand working with the global coverage team at a European bank. They had a clear mandate, yet struggled to be get heard by the client-facing bankers who held the relationships.

The turning point came when they began building influence:

• Visibility: showing up consistently in the right internal forums, so their expertise was harder to ignore.

• Narrative: reframing their role as strategic advisers who could unlock opportunities, rather than a support function.

• Relationships: investing time with the Pilot Bankers to understand their pressures and priorities.

The result was a shift from marginal players to trusted advisers. Authority gave them the right to be in the room; influence made their presence count.

That’s the new leadership dividend. Influence pays out in ways authority alone cannot:

• It earns discretionary effort from colleagues.

• It attracts partners and investors who want to be part of the story.

• It accelerates progress because decisions stick when people believe in them.

Authority will always matter - no organisation can run without it. But authority without influence is brittle. Influence without authority, on the other hand, can still move mountains.

So the question for leaders and their teams now has moved beyond “What’s my mandate?” to “What’s my influence?". It's time to level up!