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Many managers (owners) have the authority to make decisions and manage their business. They also believe that they have the power. Unfortunately, they are working under a misconception. There is a vast difference between having the authority to manage and having the power to manage.

Authority according to the dictionary is the ability to exercise (administrative) control over others. It is granted to a manager by the company or organization in keeping with the position that position holds.

It is a right to settle disputes, to control operations, to make and implement decisions and to administer or manage.

Power is the measure of your personal effectiveness. It is a skill that you develop in the everyday use of your authority. You earn your power; it is granted to you by those over whom you have exercised your personal ability and capacity to influence their behavior. Power places few limits on your available lines of action and implies a flexibility of behavior suitable to a variety of situations. It is a form of individual freedom to be creative, innovative, and responsive to the needs of others who will assist you in reaching your goals.

Authority, on the other hand, defines limits and action that you have the contractual right to take or use. It is granted to you by the organization as part of the organization’s attempt to control.

Managers who frequently have to resort to using authority diminish their personal power and ultimately their ability to influence and lead others.

They often find themselves having to use coercion to get things done. As a manager, if you possess power, you need only use authority as a last resort to accomplish your ends.

Managers, who create a climate of trust and cooperation, help their subordinates maintain their dignity, pride, and autonomy. Employees working under such conditions have been found to be happier, highly productive, and personally motivated.

Therefore, it should be the goal of an effective manager, to create conditions wherein individuals can set and achieve personal goals while achieving the goals of the organization.

In the words of Dwight David Eisenhower: “Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.”

For more information on this and other leadership issues contact Hank Sullivan at Strategic Solutions 510-432-7596 or email:hsullivan@stratsolutions.net

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