One of the first mistakes I made when promoted to a department head for an IT consultancy firm was asking my boss what authority I had. I was rebuffed with the response that told me “You have as much authority as you think you have.” It was if I was asking for authority to be handed to me in a bundles package with a ribbon on. I was naïve. It doesn’t work like that.
Authority is not something that can be handed over easily, and isn’t zero-based. Authority is a function of trust and competence, as it is influence and gravitas. Authority is earned.
Of course, taking on a new role in the upper echelons of management gives one accountabilities, and one must ensure that they can fulfil them. Whether you have the authority to, is up to you. One wise manager of mine once said (and probably still does) “Assume authority until told otherwise.”
So to end this snippet, I say you must want authority, and if you do, you have it. If you think you are an authority on your technical area in its application to business, then take it. If you think you have authority to lead change in how technology is delivered, its yours.
