Recently, I received a pithy pearl of pragmatic coaching from Marjorie Melzer.
Marjorie and I were discussing the topic of accepting critical
feedback, and my discomfort over the years with authority figures.
Marjorie challenged me to do some mindstorming and journaling about
the subject--which I did. She also encouraged me to look for the “gift
(s)” that that authority had to offer--I found several.
Since
my primary value in life is freedom/liberty I am often, skeptical,
critical, and even a bit irreverent about institutionalized power. So, I
did a little research. It turns out that the word authority is derived from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In philosophy, authority refers to a claim of legitimacy, or the justification and right to exercise power.
The
results of this research were insightful. The “advice and influence”
aspects of authority gave me a new perspective. These were the gifts
that I found through the mindstorming/journaling exercise. The
legitimate exercise of power also resonated with me. In my own
circumstances, it is no small irony that I exercise parental authority
within the family, as well as informal/formal authority of leadership in
my small team at Princeton.
What I discovered through through exercise is that gifts often far exceeded the discomfort. That said, in a free society a strong dose of skepticism about the exercise of institutionalized power is healthy. I’ll tone down the irreverence.
