Day #772 - Contexts of Leadership

Formal and Social Authority

Our ‘Formal Leadership’ is that which is held within the system: within the hierarchy. Formally defined in your contract and role, visible and quantified. Around this lies your ‘Social Leadership’, the authority held within the arms of your Communities, through your reputation and webs of social currencies such as trust, pride, and belonging.

Neither is fixed over time (your formal authority can be given to you, or taken from you by the Organisation, and your social authority is at the whim, or gift, of your communities).

Use your sixty seconds today simply to see yourself in this space: between the formal and the social, between that which is given, and that which is earned.

The greater our ability to understand and navigate this dynamic context, the better able we are to lead at the intersection of systems.