Influence can be strongest where nobody officially recognizes it.

Formal structures rarely describe how things actually work. The person everyone consults before deciding, the one whose approval is sought unofficially, the one who sets the tone of a room, none of them may appear on any chart. Unrecognised influence is harder to hold accountable precisely because it is not named.

In any group you are part of, ask who is actually consulted. If it is you, take the responsibility that goes with it, even though nobody has assigned it.