13 Types of Authority in the Real World

Authority is an integral part of society which needs to be followed if one wants to live in society. Not following in the charity with invite a corrective action.

Authority ensures that rules are maintained and if there is a breakdown of the order they can be reinstated back. In simple words, authority is the obedience of rules are orders given by a person, an entity or an authority.

There are 13 Different types of Authority

1) Academic authority

This authority is not the one which is found in colleges held by teachers and professors. Academic authority means to motivate your juniors’ colleagues or followers by helping them with a good theoretical knowledge of a particular subject.

Normally it involves studying and understanding of the material in question which employs that the authoritative person has knowledge of it. But the person does not have to be an expert in the subject and should require only enough knowledge to guide his colleagues on juniors.

It so happens on an average that what we studied in the book might not be applicable in real life situations and this exactly is the disadvantage of academic authority. In the business world, academic authority is held by someone who understands and knows the subject and also shares it with the others who are usually beneath him in the corporate structure. This is one of the most widespread Types of Authority because Education is one of the largest industries out there.

2) Charismatic authority

The charismatic authority of leadership is based heavily on the characteristic of a certain individual and not on the knowledge and expertise of that person. A person with unique, exemplary and glorious character can possess charismatic authority.

They are often considered about the other people all the most of the times that perception is deemed to be incorrect. For example, Adolf Hitler was considered to be charismatic by a lot of people but the entire world knows that he was not. Walt Disney also was considered to be a Charismatic leader. There are many different such leaders over the years who represent different Types of Authority.

Narcissism is found as a significant rate in charismatic authority. It is found that people serving under a charismatic leader often leave the company once the leader is gone thereby proving that they were merely blind followers of the charismatic leader.

3) Expert authority

When a person is an expert in a particular subject or subject area, he or she possesses an expert authority. These Type of authorities tend to specialize only in one area and that is the reason why the opinions of these people are extremely valuable.

Experts may or may not be charismatic but they certainly influence others. A person who is an expert and a charismatic is very hard to find and retain. To put an argument, it can be said that these people are smart and talented only in one particular area than other people.

In other words, they are ace of one and not a jack of all trades which does not necessarily mean that they are superior to others. The primary characteristics of export authorities are that they have an intense and deep interest in the subject, they also know how the subject really works and their understanding of the subject matter is deepest. These characteristics make them unbeatable in their subject.

4)  Founder authority

Generally held by a founding member of an organization this authority is seen with the person who has motivation devotion along with immense expertise to manage people and organization. Founders have well-defined roles they are self-motivated and they have a deep interest and thirst for knowledge in their particular organization which makes them involved more than any other person in the organization.

The past experiences and superior knowledge of the founders are what makes then possess the founder authority. It can be said that found does our heart and brain of the organization without which the organization may or may not survive. They have a good hold over not only the employees but also the senior leaders of the organization.

5) Legal governing authority

A lawyer may be present in legal governing authority but that does not mean that a non-lawyer cannot be, meaning legal governing authority is not strictly related to lawyers or law profession. It simply indicates the official position or status that you exert in that particular position that you are assigned to, which most of the times is a high one. The Chairman of a society is also a legal governing authority. There are various such positions in a legal Type of Authority.

It is simply the status that makes you feel that you hold authority over others. It is seen as a good thing that there is a control over other people in the company unless and until it becomes dominating other people and suffocating them of their rights. The downside of a legal governing authority is it can make you feel distant from every day ongoing of your company. Board of directors general managers are the examples of a legal governing authority.

6) Organizational position authority

The people who are in charge of a major project are conferred with organizational position authority. It refers to the authority granted only for that particular project which implies that once the project has successfully ended or for some reason terminated, the authority and ends along with it.

However, some organizations ensure that even after the competition of the project the position of the person is retained in one way or the other to avoid loss of an employee.

It is seen that many people feel stressed because they are unable to handle the load of the particular project since they may handle such a project for the first time. This authority is believed to be a good one to have and there is a lot of learning involved for the first time people who are given this authority.

7) Ownership authority

The authority that belongs to people who own an organization or a company in its entirety and because of this ownership they are entitled to make decisions for the entire organization is called ownership authority. Owners of a sports team are the best example of ownership authority.

Although they possess a huge amount of authority the organizational skills amount to almost nothing and their decisions always affect everyone involved in the organization. Since they possess only the ownership and not the knowledge and tools necessary to manage the ownership more often than not the end of harming the organization rather than progressing it.

People with this kind of authority in need to have a good head and should be able to take right decisions at right time in order to be a successful owner. If you are a sole proprietor, then you belong to this Type of Authority.

8) Prophetic authority

As the name suggests this authority is spiritual in nature but it applies to people who possess gifts that include creating visions and teaching that have been rooted in scriptures from a long time. In spite of possessing excellent prophetic abilities, these self-proclaimed modern-day prophets never fail to take their studies seriously of the scriptures.

This authority is found very rarely but all the parties involved in this kind of authority that is the prophet and his or her followers take this very seriously. People with prophetic authority never shy away from doing what is best even if it may be derogatory to their position. They are bold and headstrong in their beliefs and that is why their followers have respect for them which is undying in most cases.

9) Punitive authority

Knowing that you have the ability to punish someone if the person has done something wrong is called punitive authority. The bad thing the person has done may or may not harm and be an ‘evil’ thing but nevertheless, the person has an intention to punish him that is why the name punitive. An umpire in a cricket match can exert a punitive authority over the players.

Simply the fact that the empire possesses authority over the players makes them respect him during the game. A Judge in court is another example of punitive authority wherein a judge’s sentence can make or break the life of the defendant. The judge has legal right and capability to punish someone if found guilty.

10) Relational authority

People that are interrelated within certain groups and the group is related in such a way that any action any member may take with the effect the entire group is said to have a relational authority. An example of this would be any sports team of more than two members like a hockey team. Any action of one member might affect the entire team.

In the case of businesses, the best example would be an individual sales contributor who if does not perform and achieve his target will affect the target of the organization entirely. More often than not the team members forgive each other’s mistake but things get really bad if one of the members possesses grudge against another.

11) Results authority

Consider a peak performer who always achieves his targets. That person they said to have results authority. It is to be noted that a person who has achieved results only once will not have that authority why the person who is regularly achieving the results and has been consistent in this performance for a long time is set to have results authority.

These people get respect because of their fantastic success stories and they are often put in charge of the projects where they can be successful. The skill set is fully utilized within the organization. Organization’s go to an extent, to consider this person’s an asset and will do everything in their ability to retain the person with results authority.

12) Reward authority

School teachers and college professors are seen as the most common people who hold reward authority. They have the power to give a certain specific type of rewards which matter a lot in the lives of the people. The can be tangible or intangible for example marks are grades given by teacher are valuable and is considered a reward.

This makes students listen to the authority of the teacher. In professional terms in HR of a company possesses reward authority who decides monetary appraisal for an employee. The other side of reward authority is that they also possess punishment authority if things do not turn out to be the way they need.

A person does not have to be expert or possess any kind of specialized knowledge to be an expert in reward authority. In most of the organizations, the HR is unaware of the technicalities of the products of the company and still is considered as reward authority.

13) Traditional authority

Following customs and traditions, the authority that is being given to someone is called traditional authority. Patriarchy is one of the best examples of traditional authority wherein the male is considered as the master of the house and dominates the entire household. The inheritance is often passed to the succeeding male. University history the examples of traditional authority include Kings and Emperors.