Learning how to gain more authority and learning how to use it can have a transformative effect on our lives no matter what we choose to focus on. If that sounds hard to believe, this article should help explain why authority is important and why it is worth understanding even if there is no immediate application:
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15 Benefits of Authority – Why Authority Is Important?
In this article, we have researched & shared the 15 practical benefits of authority in our lives and concluded on why it is an important element of any society or individual’s life.
We have also included a handy image for you to have an overview, so let’s get started.
1. Authority Allows Us To Influence Others
We need authority to be able to influence others and change their perceptions a little. If we can’t change someone’s mind, we’d have a lot of trouble getting through to them, which means they won’t take us seriously as a person. In other words, unless you have authority over someone else, they won’t make an effort to listen or pay attention to you – which is not something we’d want, right?
2. Authority Makes You Seem Credible
Authority is also important because it is a form of credibility. If someone says something, it will have more weight if they are seen as being in authority over whatever topic they are speaking on or whoever is listening to them. If someone seen as authoritative tells people that something is true, that claim is likely to be accepted as being true by those who hear the words from the perceived source of authority.
3. Authority Allows Us To Take Control Of Our Lives
Another thing that makes having authority so essential is that it allows us to take control of our own lives, presents us as noticeable individual and someone who should be taken seriously.
If someone doesn’t take us seriously, we can’t really expect anything worthwhile out of the interaction. It is only when we have some kind of prior standing or established track record for how well our ideas and thoughts are received by others, that we are listened to and can get things done the way we want to. Since being listened to is something we all want for ourselves, it is definitely a truth that we all want to have some level of authority.
4. Authority Is Needed To Ensure Peace and Security
Authority is needed to ensure peace and security. People constantly have the option of breaking the law, fighting with each other over who is in control, or taking control themselves. Instead, they choose to obey authority figures because they know that doing so brings greater benefits than not doing so.
An authority figure or body is in the perfect place to dictate others on what to do, what not to do, and in some cases, how to do a thing. Authority can also punish the people when they misbehave, and help society run smoothly. Society couldn’t function without authority, just as a body couldn’t function without a nervous system to send messages from the brain.
5. Authority Is A Force That Can Change The World
Authority is a power that can change people’s minds or actions. This type of power comes from someone because they are an expert about something or have some kind of edge over other people. For example, parents have authority to tell their children what to do. A teacher also has authority over students. In a business, managers have authority over other employees.
In sports, coaches have power over the players that they coach. All these people have the power, needed to change what others do because they are an expert in the topic or have some other kind of power over them. With all the authoritative figures being capable of performing their role in bringing some sort of a change, in the bigger picture, it is authority that’s changing and moving the world for sure.
6. Authority Lets Us Manage Conflicts Peacefully
Authority is needed to let people manage conflicts peacefully. When two sides are in conflict over resources or beliefs, authority can step in to distribute resources or protect important rights. In a conflict, an authoritative party allows the conflicting parties to save their energy for more productive things while still protecting themselves and ensuring peace.
7. Authority Brings Along A Sense of Protection
Authority is not always a bad thing. According to an American Nurses Association study, most people feel safer and more secure when they are supervised by authorities such as nurses. Authorities provide safe homes for children, safe food to eat, and safe communities. When an organization comes with authority, we are likely to favor it in comparison with an organization that has no such impactful aura. So, with authoritative figure, the association of a feeling of safety is something easily conceivable.
8. Authoritative People Automatically Sound Well-aware
When someone has enough knowledge and degrees on something and says they can speak about a relevant issue with authority, we are more likely to believe. Compared to this, someone who just makes the claim themselves without any perceived standing on the matter is not really listened to.
This is because authority gives us a form of reassurance. If someone has knowledge, experience, or expertise in a field, we often believe that they’re more likely to know the right answer than someone without such qualifications. This is often considered a law of nature; we more readily believe something if it is said by an authority figure, and we tend to describe their statements with phrases like “it’s always been like this” or “it has always been true.
9. Authority Gives Us Confidence
Don’t we all like to speak our heart out without having to fear anyone? We sure do. But, it isn’t always that we can speak whatever there is on our mind. Thanks to some level of authority that we hold in some scenarios, we can speak with confidence without fearing anyone interrupting us or disregarding our ideas fully.
10. Authority Lets Us Bring Revolutionary Changes
Sometimes we have an idea that we know has the power to change a lot of lives only if it is pursued well. Unless we have some authority, we can’t bring that idea to reality. However, using authority, we can surely motivate others to follow our ideas and bring about amazing changes in our society.
11. Authority Can Be Used To Improve Someone’s Life
Sometimes, having the power to be someone’s savior can be a great thing to have. You can positively use your authority to get someone their due rights, the respect they deserve, or any other material thing that they can’t otherwise have access to. This makes their life great alongside helping you becoming a better human.
12. Authority Can Give You A Reputation
One of the most dangerous things in life is making mistakes and facing people’s criticism for it. But, what if we can use authority to cover up those mistakes? That would be ideal to save our reputation and improve our self-respect as well. With authority, we can silence or make fools out of our critics.
13. Authority Can Save Our Lives
At times, what really saves us isn’t luck but the power of authority. At places like hospitals where people are dying to get proper treatment despite availability of good doctors, it all relies on who has the authority among them. If that person is someone who has authority, then the dying people can be saved.
14. Authority Can Make You Famous
We all have the power to make ourselves famous by doing something good for others or by creating a great work of art. But, do our names reach as many people as those who hold some form of authority? Yes, they do. That’s why famous people are always called by their names even though most of the commoners are unknown to them.
15. Authority Gives Us Courage to Speak Out
We sure do like to speak our mind out without fear of being stopped. But, it isn’t always that we can speak what we want to without a doubt. Luckily authority can be used in scenarios where we need to share some new ideas or opinions with the others.
Why Authority Is Important – Conclusion
The ones shared above were just a few reasons why authority is so important. Besides these, you can also define your reasons behind holding authority so valuable for yourself and keep these in mind so you’re pushed to work towards attaining authority.
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