gengwall

2. That is kind of tough. I would say it is the power to cause your desire to occur. It may be overt – you may have the power to punish and reqard to bring about your desired result. Or it may be subtle – you may be able to bring about your desired result just by virtue of your “position”, “title”, or “role”. And it may even be unsolicited – people may give in to your desired result simply because they view you as wise and “good”. In any case, you have “authority” over others.

Now, we have discussed authority in a number of aspects. We have talked about “having” authority, “granting” authority, “holding” authority, and a number of other such ideas. But the bottom line is that the authority itself, regardless of how it came about, is a form of power over others.