How to increase your authority among the subordinates?

Leonid Zverugo

wrote this on Май 26, 2014

As a well-know great person said, all the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players. And one man in his time plays many parts. Someone more, someone less. At home - husband / wife, father / son etc. At work - head / subordinate,  formal / informal leader, database expert and so on.

We often ask others to do something for us. Sometimes people meet our requests instantly, without questions, but more often they enter a discussion, argue and sometimes completely fail to satisfy us. In this regard we can't but mention a saving genie. It's a fairytale, you say. In this article we proof that it is not. Authority is a genie, which helps you to significantly speed up the implementation of tasks given to your subordinates. Quick decision-making in business is not only sufficient, but also necessary condition for the success of the enterprise. Therefore, the authority must be constantly developed and kept in shape. This is what our today's article is about.

The authority of a person increases loyalty to him. Person who does not have authority, has no right for mistake. Moreover, if a leader is an authority among subodinates, he does not make mistakes at all. That's how the staff perceives skillful and authoritative management.

Authority is a skill of a person, which determines his ability to influence the opinions, beliefs and behavior of people around. The basis of authority is respect, reverence, belief in the correctness of the actions of the respected person. If the level of authority is high - the impact is significant, if it is low - the impact is slight.

The leader is the one who has power and competence to determine the  work of other people. Authoritative leader is respected, has the ability to influence decisions, beliefs, opinions of others. What to do to be that kind of leader?

There are several ways to increase authority.

1. "Personal"

It is creation of a reasonable beliefin positive personal qualities of the leader among the subordinates. Such as:

• Active position of the leader. Remove from your vocabulary words and expressions of a victim, such as "necessary, forced, I did not succeed..." Victims of circumstances are not authoritative. Keep track of your speech - both written and oral. Your authority as a leader depends on such seemingly small details.
• Confidence. Terms of confident communication:

1. Stop requesting - start offering. You can ask for help when it is known that the other person is happy to fulfill the request. If you offer something, it must be such an offer, that can't be rejected.
2. Replace the word "need" with the word "want" or "demand". The word "need" is impersonal and not specific. Compare: "We need to conclude more contracts" and "I demand that you conclude more contracts". In the first case "need" is a sign of uncertainty, in other words: "I ​​am sorry that I ask, but it is necessary". In the second case - the claim is confident.
3. Replace the request with the statement. Requests are allowed in business communication, but confident person often makes statements to hifhlight the importance of what has been said. For example: "Could you bring me a report?" Another option is: "I ​​need your report, bring it to me, please".
4. Do not look for approval, evaluate yourself. Limit the use of phrases seeking approval, such as "Do you understand what I mean?" or "Everything is correct, isn't it?". So when you use them, you are in fact begging for approval. For authoritative leader it is not necessary. You must be confident in what you are saying.

• Responsibility, discipline and dedication. Such leaders do what they promise, ask for execution of their tasks, get the result if they set a goal. Authority increases with the confirmation of the correctness of the decisions, achievement of each goal.
• Emotional stability. A leader should not be exposed to uncontrolled emotions, he must be able to adjust to the situation and easily create the desired atmosphere for work. If the leader shouts with  red face, employees listen, not because they like it, but because their salary depends on him. But negative emotions are bor in response. As a result, negative emotions are splashed out on clients. Emotional stability is a quality of authoritative leader.

2. "Official"

It is the authority of the position, which is perceived as significant, important and responsible.

• External attributes (demonstration of power).

1. Good office.
2. Technical equipment.
3. Company car.
4. Limitation of the reception of visitors.
5. Awards and diplomas, marks of distinction.
6. High material rating of a person in certain position.

• The functional responsibilities of the leader - the rights needed to successfully manage subordinates. The higher power the leader has, the higher is the authority of his position. Here it should be noted that the presence of "respectable" position is not a sufficient condition for the authority of the leader, but it is necessary.

 3. "Professional"

It is creation of the authority through the possession of skills and abilities at a high level. Subordinates must be convinced in the competence of the leader. What helps

• Large amount of knowledge on all issues arising in the course of work.
• Experience - abilities and skill. The leader must have personal experience of solving professional problems.
• Rapid understanding of subordinates and the ability to correctly respond to them.

One of the key moments in the formation of the subordinates' opinion about the leader  is the correct method of giving instructions and directions. People often form their opinion at the emotional level, so the effective management is not just transmission of the information from the leader to the subordinates. It is a system of emotional, verbal, motivational influence that shapes the belief in the authority of the leader, his competence.
Each order must be another step towards raising of the authority.

1. Attraction of the subordinate's attention. Typically, companies with a good corporate culture have an established scheme of calling the subordinate to the leader. It can be a call through the secretary or assistant, through the selector, local network, telephone etc. The main thing is to form a clear understanding that the subordinate is called to the leader at the specific time and place. This means that he must get away from current affairs and turn his attention to the forthcoming communication with the leader. The attraction of attention must be accompanied by calm, business-like, solid intonation. In some cases, to highlight the importance of the upcoming conversation, it may be useful to express the emotions which convey seriousness, urgency, for example, slight discomfort on face, quick voice, short sentences. Accordingly, these emotions can be meaningful only in a personal conversation of a leader and a subordinate. If the call comes through the secretary, the immediate emotional impact is impossible.

2. Demonstration of power. It quickly orients personnel in subordination and corporate etiquette established in the organization. Typically, the leader's office demonstrates his authority and power. Besides, the powers can be demonstrated with the voice and emotions. For example, affable frase "come in, sit down" sounds friendly, but actually it is demonstration of power. The one who gives orders has power.

3. Specifying the behavior at the moment. For example, "I will speak and you should write it down" or "I have an important task for you, I formulate it, you listen, note and if something is not clear, ask questions". Emotions - business cooperation, caring, interest.

4. The general formulation of the problem. It  is ascertaining of facts, circumstances and events. A problem is presented in a calm tone, unless there is a specific tasks to provide emotional impact on people. If you want to influence the subordinates at this stage, to show the seriousness of the problem, you can use dramatization of the information, accompanied by excitement, concern and urgency.

5. Setting a task. Subordinates can solve problems, but it is better to deal with the concrete tasks, so the leader should set not problems, but tasks. The formulation should be clear. It is useful to talk about the problem in a firm tone, expressing confidence in the ability of its solution.

6. Specification of the problem step by step. If the task is big, it is better to give directions, concrete steps to do to fix it.

7. Designation of the amount of time allotted to the task. There are time-oriented people, they clearly understand how many days, hours, minutes, they need to perform a certain task. Other people are process-oriented, they do not solve problems considering how much time they need to do it. The task of the leader is to establish and agree on time frame for solving the problem.

8. Warning of possible errors. The leader knows more, so it is better to prevent possible errors that may occur during the performance of a task by the subordinate in advance. It is better to speak about the possible errors showing care, attention and do not focus on the qualities of the subordinate, which can lead to these errors. It is important for two reasons: first, to optimize the performance and secondly, to motivate the employee, because, speaking openly about the possible difficulties the leader shows the complexity of the task and confidence in the ability of the subordinate to deal with all difficulties.

9. Motivation through benefit and / or the potential negative consequences. In other words, what will  the employee receive after completing a task or what will he lose in case of failure to cope with the task. It's important to accompany positive motivation with the emotions of joy, success, pleasure and to express possible negative consequences with the emotions of frustration, regret, sadness. Depending on the subordinate, the leader can use only positive or only negative motivation, as the leader should be aware of what kind of impact on the employee is the most effective.

10. Positive finish, motivation "the first step". When the subordinate has realized the importance of a task, it's important to finish the conversation positively. It can be gratitude for cooperation, confidence that everything will happen the best way, because the employee is professional, competent and promising. Emotional lift, encouragement, confidence in success will be very appropriate. At the end it is useful to ask what will the employee do first and foremost to achieve the objective to endorse this decision and to finish the conversation with emotional words, such as: "Come on, let's do it!".

Many managers have difficulty with positive affirmations. It turns out that negative  is born itself, but it can be difficult to reformulate it in the opposite direction. Therefore it is useful to master the rules of making positive statements.

1. Use energetic short phrases. They are better remembered as slogans. Energy gives them weight. Emotions of confidence, serenity, significance make a compelling phrase.
2. Use the present and future time, all the actions should occur today and result in the successful and attractive future. The past time directs attention to what has already passed. It's better to talk about what happens now and what willhappen.
3. Use positive terms. Say what you need to do and not what to avoid. For example, do not say "you shouldn't set unreal goals", it's better to say: "you should set realistic goals".
4. Create eye-catching images. You should use pleasant words while talking about the project.

The authority of the leader in the fast-paced world can not be earned once and forever. It can be used for a while, but you must constantly evolve and learn to confirm your right to be respected by your subordinates.