Having Authority or Being Authority?

Having authority requires little more than a title and the power to punish and reward. As Dr. Laurence J. Peter so cleverly pointed out in his 1968 best-seller "The Peter Principle", people often rise to the level of their incompetence. Most of us have worked for people who have authority by virtue of their longevity, or their corporate/political gamesmanship, or who hoard, withhold, and distort information, etc.

Being authority requires "authenticity", empowerment skills, and genuine wisdom (expertise). Authenticity means letting your behavior, as you execute your jobs, be informed by your personal values and ethics, rather than solely from the norms of your company or society.

When we are being authentic we strive for "knowing" or understanding. We share information and ideas, focusing on goals that support the corporation's goal of returning value to the stakeholders, while also supporting our own desire for personal growth and for doing meaningful work.

It is my contention that, corporate cultures that encourage and reward authenticity have lower employee turnover and are better able to recover from catastrophic circumstances like the current recession.