Values › Leadership › Authority
Core value · Leadership family
Authority
The standing to make decisions
What does authority mean as a core value?
Authority as a core value means having clear, legitimate standing to make decisions, using it openly and well, and wanting that standing to be earned and respected.
Authority matters to you because ambiguity about who decides wastes time and wears people down. You’re comfortable being the person who makes the call, and you want that role to be clear, earned and respected. For someone who holds authority as a core value, the real frustration comes when responsibility is handed over without the standing to act on it, or when decisions get reopened by whoever shouts loudest.
What does authority look like in practice?
- You ask “who owns this decision?” before a discussion goes round in circles.
- You make a call with the information you have and put your name to it.
- You push back when you’re accountable for a result but someone else holds the budget.
- You back the decisions of people you’ve delegated to, even when you’d have chosen differently.
- You set clear rules at home and hold them, so bedtime doesn’t get renegotiated every night.
- You build real expertise so people defer to what you know as well as to your title.
When is authority overplayed?
Overplayed, authority starts to lean on position more than persuasion. “Because I said so” replaces explanation, dissent feels like disrespect, and people stop bringing you bad news because it sounds like a challenge. You end up deciding with less information than you think. Healthy authority is secure enough to be questioned, and uses its weight sparingly, which is why it carries weight when it’s used. One thing you could try is inviting challenge before your next big call, then explaining your reasoning afterwards.
Often confused with
Authority vs Leadership
Authority is the right to decide. Leadership is bringing people with you, and it often works best when you lean on your authority least.
Authority vs Power
Power is the capacity to make things happen, formally or not. Authority is power that has been granted and is seen as legitimate by the people it affects.
Authority vs Control
Control is wanting things to go a particular way. Authority is having clear standing to decide, which can include deciding to let others decide.
Questions to sit with
- Which decisions do you hold on to that someone closer to the work could make better?
- When someone challenged one of your calls recently, what was your first internal reaction?
- Where do you have responsibility without authority, and what have you done about it so far?
More values in Leadership
Standing, influence and setting direction.
About the author
Matt Rutherford is a Career and Leadership Coach. The Values Finder is the same exercise he uses with his coaching clients. He also writes Stuff that MattRs, a weekly newsletter with practical ideas to help you think clearer and work better.
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