Nothing prevents implicit authority from arising in absence of formal power structures. In fact, that this leads to a worse situation since there are no explicit rules regarding who holds authority or why, nor are there mechanisms for recall of such individuals.

An example of such an implicit power structure would be the admins of the is the anarchism community on Lemmy. This group of people decides on the rules of the community and who is allowed to participate in it. Majority of the decisions this group makes are not voted on by the greater community, and most of the participants aren’t even aware of what decisions are made on their behalf.

In effect, this group holds implicit authority over the community. Research shows that people who exhibit psychopathic tendencies are likely to end up in leadership positions. So, it is highly likely that such individuals would rise organically to positions of power.

It seems to me that it’s better to accept the fact that human organizations tend to form into hierarchies and to create clear rules about responsibilities of individuals in positions of power as well how these individuals should be recalled when they transgress.

The alternative results in hierarchies forming implicitly with many members of the group not even being consciously aware of the fact that these hierarchies exist in the first place.

Anarchists are free to try and make their system work, but they can’t force others to subscribe to it. If anarchism isn’t able to deal with adversity and other competing systems then it’s not worth much in practice.