Left-Handed Authority
The word “sinister” originally referred to the left hand or left side of the body.
Left-handed people experience everyday challenges even now, including the dubious myth that they die 9 years younger than right-handed folks. But at least there’s an Old Testament of a left-handed assassin using their rare preference in the service of their country.
For most of us, doing things with our non-dominant hand is an exercise in futility. We’re clumsy, slow, and messy. Things that are otherwise straightforward become awkward.
For on leader I was advising some time ago using their authority was a lot like trying to sign their name with their left hand.
A growing majority of leaders are learning that authority is a tool to be used only when necessary. Like adding spice to a recipe, a little can go a long way but too much can ruin everything.
More and more leaders prefer to get results with persuasion instead of power. And the cultural shift away from trusting authority is dramatic.
The challenge often comes when a situation really does require the use of the leader’s positional power. Whether it’s urgency, disagreement, external pressures, or degrading internal dynamics, there are times when a leader needs to square their shoulders and make something happen.
Authority is a tool. Healthy leaders are able to use it well when the situation requires.
But for those who use it rarely, or who have not wrestled with (and resolved) our own relationship with power, it often feels like they’re working with the wrong hand.
Leaders who are typically collaborative, agreeable, and compassionate find themselves being demanding, directive, and undiplomatic when they use their authority.
It makes sense. By the time many leaders reach for this tool they have exhausted their preferred approaches, they are often tired/frustrated/discouraged, and the situation must be difficult or complex enough that all their accumulated skills of persuasion have been unable to set things right. A depleted leader using an unfamiliar tool in a particularly tough scenario isn’t likely to go smoothly.
So, what can we do?
First, we need to intentionally work through our own issues with authority. As much as most leaders I know are eager to oppose and challenge the many corrupt power systems in our society, there remains a difficult reality in which authority is simply a fact of life. I’m intrigued by the emerging models of flat organizations and decentralized power structures, but the large majority of us lead in contexts where as leaders we do hold greater power than those we supervise.
Second, don’t avoid your own authority. Accept it as part of the role and decide with intent how you can use it in alignment with organizational and personal values. Pretending that you don’t have greater influence than others doesn’t make it true, it actually makes it more dangerous.
Third, get to know some leaders who use their authority differently than you do. Seek to understand someone who is known as being tough or no nonsense; or someone who is remarkably gentle. Figure out the different way other leaders get things done and develop your own skills more broadly. Collaborative leaders should have at least one leader known for being really tough that can provide you some advice and encouragement to be more decisive when you might be avoiding it.
A key question I find myself asking leaders more often is “How much longer are you going to avoid doing what you know needs to be done?”
We can all quickly think of examples of leaders who exploit their authority in unhealthy, harmful ways. They get things done, but leave a lot of wreckage in their wake.
But the subtler danger is in not using our power when we should. The effects are less obvious, but that hesitance has a very real cost to the organization’s objectives.
Maybe it’s time to do a little work on becoming more comfortable with that left (or right) hand.
Contact me if I can be helpful to you and/or your organization.
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