We hear it all the time – if you want to be more influential you need to be seen as an Authority and its true.  We spend an enormous amount of effort and funds investing in our domain knowledge and expertise, thoughtfully presenting it in a way that demonstrates we have superior knowledge and/or wisdom on a particular topic.  In the Principles of Persuasion Workshop we teach participants how to build and present their expertise in a manner that allows them to be seen as an Authority.   Rarely however do we address the issue of making sure you don’t blow your Authority once you have established it.

New research in the The Leadership Quarterly identifies that when seeking to appoint a leader selectors base their decision on several criteria, key among them are honesty and trustworthiness.  Both are critical elements in establishing someone as an Authority as opposed to someone who is in authority, i.e. the boss.

To recognise you as an Authority I need to know you know your stuff and I need to trust you.

The thing is, once leaders are in power or an Authority has attained that status do we simply trust them to exercise it in a prosocial manner?

For Australian readers I only have to mention the name Clive Palmer and you know what I am talking about.  For our international readers, Clive Palmer is an Australian businessman turned politician. A self proclaimed billionaire, Palmer has iron ore, nickel and coal holdings.  That wealth allowed him to establish a political party he named the Palmer United Party and buy a popular resort he renamed the Palmer Coolum Resort.

Many in his electorate have stated they voted for him because he was a successful business man.  An Authority on generating wealth and thinking differently if you like.  They believed he would help stimulate the local economy and give them an active voice in State and Federal parliament.  However since his election to federal parliament there have been numerous allegations of Palmer not attending sitting days, not representing his constituents and more recently running a political party accused of nepotism and cronyism because of his want to nominate candidates who are mates, business associates and family (Palmer’s wife Anna indicated during the week she would seek pre-selection with the party for the Gold Coast seat of Gaven).  Has Clive done his dash?  Has he blown what credibility he had?  Many are saying yes.

The premise of the research in The Leadership Quarterly as explained by study author John Antonakis  from the University of Lausanne was  “We looked to examine what Lord Acton said over 100 years ago, that ‘Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’” The study found  that those who measured as less honest in pre-study psychometric testing exhibited more corrupt behaviour, at least initially; however, over time, even those who initially scored high on honesty were not shielded from the corruptive effects of power.

Therefore the point I would like to make is, think about how much time and effort you put into establishing your Authority – are you doing things that could be eroding it?  I am not suggesting that you are taking a path like Clive Palmer, but it is quite easy to relax once the hard work is done – and that is where the mistake lies.

For me this was a great light bulb moment.  I have spent years building and developing my knowledge.  I have now published a book on the topic.  What things am I doing to erode my Authority?

I want you to honestly ask yourself the question, have you taken your foot off the gas?  Have you gotten comfortable being the “Go to person” and you are not necessarily doing what is expected of you?

In the research they found that power can corrupt leadership.  Are you making decisions, comments or actions now that you would have have dared while establishing your Authority?

My comment to you, is once you establish your authority, don’t blow it once you have it!  Keep your eye on the prize and make sure you regularly reassess the perception of your expertise and trustworthiness.

Tell me what are your thoughts on Clive Palmer, your own Authority or even on others you know who have blown it once they had it?  Let me know…

Source: Science Daily, Power can corrupt even the honest 

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