Which is better? Authority or Leadership?

Leadership IS NOT Authority. That’s Exactly Why It Works.

We still confuse these two. Authority is just the job. Leadership is the influence; it is what people are willing to follow, by choice. And pretending they’re the same is why mediocre managers coast while the best of us go unrecognized; until something breaks and people finally see who was holding it all together.

“Authority is just a position; leadership is a reputation”

What is authority?

It is the power to finalize certain decisions and enact consequences.

In all cases, authority is given by a person or group with more authority. The manager is promoted by the GM; the VP is chosen by the CEO; the CEO is hired by the board. If you start a business, your right to hire & fire people is granted by some government body that signed off on your business. Any way you slice it, authority is given.

What is leadership?

All the ideas and behaviors that enable you to understand and organize people.

No one can give you this. You will either put in the work to learn it and earn it; Or, not have it. Good luck with that.

“Leadership outlasts your stupid meeting”

Setting goals and strategies is fine; it is important. But what are the conversations in the hallway after? Do you finish a thirty-minute meeting of specific objectives…and afterward half your team dismisses all of it? They go through the motions, but the follow-thru doesn’t meet their potential? Poor Leadership Skills. Authority isn’t fixing that.

All people are probabilities; learning leadership skills will give your ideas the best possible chance of being considered and accepted by other people. This is a long-term endeavor, as well it should be. Leadership doesn’t guarantee the Impossible; Only the Best-Possible.

Authority is short-term; for quick fixes. Authority allows you to make the decision. Making the decision takes seconds. You need people to be engaged with that decision for as long as it takes. That requires leadership.

“Authority comes cheap; nobody respects cheap”

Anybody can have authority. How many jobs have you had where one of the managers was a friend with the general manager? Or some related scenario? Exactly. Getting promoted doesn’t tell us anything.

Being a person that others look to when they need help, a person to give others advice; someone who is really listened to when they speak, someone whose ideas are considered and taken on. A reputation like that, cannot be appointed to anyone.

Your authority lets you make decisions. The extent to which they are followed is determined by your leadership.

There is no such thing as "Too much leadership"

Authority is a zero-sum game. Only so many titles to go around. Too many chefs and the broth, or something.

Leadership isn’t like that. You can have a company full of skilled leaders.

And when you do, execution speeds up, quality goes up. People improve each other. That’s what high-trust environments look like. This is not kumbaya perfection; Not fake-nice, no ginned-up emergencies, no bullshit praise; Real support, real accountability, lasting resolve. People give their best.

How?

Because they don’t need the final word. They know when to step in or step back.

They don’t perform, they recruit help, they don’t over-promise and under-deliver.

They’re not addicted to being seen for its own sake. They wanna help make shit work.

And because of that, they spot good ideas regardless of where they come from. They don’t need to be the genius. They need the team to be sharp.

Quotes from important people:

"What a man dislikes in his superiors, let him not display in the treatment of his inferiors"

-Tsang Sin (The Great Learning)

"A leader is a dealer in hope."

-Napolean (Maxims)

"To do great things is difficult; but to command great things is more difficult."

-Nietzsche (The Stillest Hour)

“If you ever have to refer to your authority to get shit done, you’ve failed. No exceptions”

-Steven Cochran (A bunch of times)