ADMS 2511 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: John F. Kennedy School Of Government, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ronald Heifetz
1 May 2018
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ADMS 2511 Tutorial 16 Notes – Leading without Authority
Introduction
• Rosabeth Moss Kanter, in her book The Change Masters, discusses examples of
employees who saw something that needed changing and took on the responsibility to
do so.
• Employees were more likely to do this when organizations permitted initiative at all
levels of the organization, rather than making it a tool of senior executives only.
• Leading without authority means exhibiting leadership behaviour even though you do
not have a formal position or title.
• Neither Martin Luther King Jr. nor Nelson Mandela operated from a position of
authority, yet each was able to inspire many to follow him in the quest for social justice.
• The workplace can be an opportunity for leading without authority as well.
• As Roald Heifetz of the Haad Keed “hool otes, Leadeship eas takig
esposiilit fo had poles eod aoe’s epetatios.
• It also eas ot aitig fo the oah’s all.
• What are the benefits of leading without authority?
• Heifetz has identified three
• Latitude for creative deviance.
• It’s easie to aise hade uestios ad look fo less taditioal solutios he a peso
is not locked into the trappings that go with authority.
• Issue focus.
• Individuals can focus on a single issue, rather than be concerned with the myriad issues
that those in authority face.
• Front-line information.
• An individual is closer to the detailed experiences of some of the stakeholders and thus,
more information is available.
• Not all organizations support this type of leadership, and some have been known to
actively suppress it.
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