Manager: how to embody healthy authority?

For some managers or leaders, authority and power are, very often, mixed notions. As a professional coach, I often encounter managers and leaders who find it difficult to embody a positive authority, for fear of falling into “power”. Or on the contrary, when faced with people who fear being perceived as too authoritarian. Let's see the together Difference between authority and power and what it means to exercise management based in part on sound authority.

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Authority and power: what are the differences?

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Often mixed, these two concepts can also be very different from one person to another depending on their education or their managerial experiences. Today I am not pretending to share with you what, for sure, the exact definitions of authority and power are, but rather to share with you our conviction, at Talentis, of what these two concepts mean.

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What is power according to Talentis?

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In our opinion, it is easy to take power over someone, to impose, to give orders, to align everyone in a single way of doing things, to make all the decisions and to give very little leeway to the people who work with you... This is not necessarily negative. For example, in an emergency situation, a manager who is able to align the collective around rapid decisions using healthy power can make it possible to: save a situation or lives.

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What is authority according to Talentis?

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Authority is not something we take but something that is given to us. It is the others who decide whether or not we will be able to exercise authority. There are several elements to this:

• You are able to develop your collaborators, to challenge them.
• You them Learn Things
• You know decide.
• You are able to set up the frame in such a way equitable.
• You know co-build : “I know but you know too.”

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The pitfalls of authority:

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For managers or leaders, showing authority involves a risk, that of taking on the role of “little chef” or, on the contrary, that of the “buddy”. The “little boss” decides, orders and leaves little room for freedoms. Some people cope very well with this situation: “The boss said it, I'm doing it.” Others will be more hampered by this lack of freedom and will give less and less credit to the authority of their manager. More recently we are seeing the concept of “friend” appear. Younger generation managers have, for some of them, Struggling with the idea of exercising healthy authority. Why? Because that means accepting:

• Of not always being liked.
• To make difficult decisions.
• To referee.
• To be fair instead of being egalitarian.

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The role of a leader and/or manager is to be just and not necessarily to be loved.

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Embodying healthy authority as a manager: what to do?

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P for protection

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Am I in a position to create a framework that I make respect ?

• Are the goals clear?
• Is the feedback regular?
• Do people know where they are?
• Are the results monitored?

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P for permission

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Does everyone feel free to give their opinion, to challenge decisions? It is a Balance to be found for the leader in order to build the power of the team and the power of their own authority. Too much permission leads to anarchy; too little permission can lead employees to take few initiatives for example. Achieve embody healthy authority is essential for the leader or manager who wants to evolve with his team on the path of performance. At Talentis, through our professional coaching programs, we Let's support managers and leaders in order to work on the skills that will allow them to be fair and respected on a daily basis.

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Dossier: team coaching, a little-known and yet so powerful process.