Authority

Authority is defined as the power, the right, the clout to influence people and get them to do what you want and need them to do. A leader has to have authority. The question or the challenge is how do they garner that authority? How do they capture that authority in the most productive way?

If authority is the ability to influence others – we can think about the different sources of authority – where we can glean our authority from as we work with others. What leaders need to recognize is that there will be different impacts, and a different level of effectiveness, depending upon where we have gained our authority from.

 

It has the following elements:

1. There exists a right in authority. The right is given by a superior to the subordinate. It puts the persons in a position to regulate the behaviour of his subordinates.

2. The right of giving of order is legitimate.

3. The right of decision-making also goes with authority. This will enable in deciding what is to be done, when it is to be done and who is to do it.

4. Authority is given to influence the behavior of subordinates so that right things are done at right times.

5. The exercise of authority is always subjective. It is influenced by the personality traits of the person on whom it is used.

Sources of Authority:

5 Sources of Authority

Legal: The ability to influence others based on your official authority and position

Expert: The ability to influence others based on your knowledge and expertise

Reverent: The ability to influence others based on your behavior, manner and approach Reward: The ability to influence others by giving or withholding rewards

Punitive: The ability to influence others by imposing a penalty for fault, offense or violation

 

Legal Authority When a leader uses their position and title as the primary source of their authority, people often do what they need to do because they “have to” not because they want to. This results in a lower level of motivation and engagement. Many new leaders think once they have a title people will automatically respond to them and respect them. What they often learn is that respect has to be earned and authority that comes from a place of respect is much stronger. Depending on your title/position as your source of authority often leads to an authoritative leadership style, and the resulting consequences of that approach. A title doesn’t do much – it’s what you do with it. However – there are some organizational cultures that are very title driven. So this would have an impact on one’s authority.

Expert Authority Being an expert and “knowing your stuff” is important. People will respect that. However, as a leader of people your main goal is not to know everything. Your main priority is to bring out the best talents and skills of all of your team members to achieve the best results. Knowing all the answers and being an expert may be comforting to some, but is not an effective long term strategy to be able to influence people to get them to do what you want them to do. You certainly need some subject matter expertise to gain respect – but not as a primary source of your authority.

Reverence Authority This is how you “conduct yourself” as a leader – how you behave, your manner, in general your approach. This is a very effective and important source of authority. Certainly leaders need to “know their stuff” (expert), and it doesn’t hurt to hold an important title (legal), but how one conducts themselves is most important. Reverence is the human component. How you interact with others, communicate, listen, engage, respond, etc. If people feel valued by you, they will respond in kind.

Reward Authority Garnering influence because you can reward people. Overreliance on using rewards to influence people leads to multiple problems. • People begin to only do what they need to do based upon the reward associated with the task. • People may also get “fussy” and particular about the rewards, continuing to want something more, or more to their liking. This is not a sustainable approach as a primary source of authority. Certainly important from time to time. And most important is that the rewards given are significant and meaningful to the individual recipient.

Punitive Authority Most people agree that taking a punitive approach on a regular basis is ineffective. Constantly finding fault, criticizing, imposing restrictions, etc. decreases motivation, creates a poor working environment and provokes fear. Some people believe fear can be an effective motivator. If so, only sporadically and in certain circumstances. Ex. if one has fear of losing their job because of poor market conditions – this may be an effective motivator. However, fear of ridicule from one’s boss is wrong.

WEBER’S TRIPARTITE CLASSIFICATION OF AUTHORITY

Some persons are of the view that it flows from upward to downward subordinates, others feel that it goes from bottom to upward because of its acceptance by those on whom it is to be used, the theories of authority are discussed as;

1. Legal/Formal Authority:

According to this theory authority is based upon the rank or position of the person and this authority may be given by law or by social rules and regulations protected by law. A law may grant authority to a policeman to arrest a person committing a crime. The president of a company may take an action against an employee for not complying with rules because company rules has bestowed this authority in him.

This authority is called formal authority. This type of authority is embedded in the bureaucracy where authority is bestowed upon contractually hired and appointed officials. In a company form of organization shareholders appoint Board of Directors to exercise all authority. The Board to Directors delegates its powers to the Chief Executive who delegates it to the managers and so on.

While bureaucracy is the purest form of legal authority, other forms may comprise of elected office bearers or office bearers appointed by the members. These persons follow authority since their roles are defined by the rules and regulations framed by such bodies.

2. Traditional Authority:

Traditional authority has evolved from a social order and communal relationship in the form of ruling lord and obedient subjects. The obedience results in traditional authority of the lord. The traditional chief rules as per his own pleasure and makes his own decisions. Generally, these decisions are based on considerations like ethnic equity and justice. The authority passes from the father to the son.

In a family system, father exercises traditional authority over members of the family. The traditional authority is generally followed in Indian family system. It is the father who guides the activities of the family and others obey out of respect and traditions. In traditional form of authority there is no formal law or structured discipline and relationships are governed by personal loyalty and faithfulness rather than compulsions of rules and regulations or duties of the office.

5. Charismatic Authority:

The charismatic authority rests on the personal charisma of a leader who commands respect of his followers. The personal traits such as good looks, intelligence, integrity influence others and people follow the dictates of their leaders because of such traits. The followers become attached to the leader because they feel that he will help them in achieving their goals. The charismatic leaders are generally good orators and have hypnotic effect on their followers. The religious and political leaders come under this category.