Creating Building Blocks to Meet a Crisis

6/ The final building block in this series of thoughts on crisis leadership is the understanding of authority. It is not an exaggeration to say that every thriving organization has some form of authority over it. (I would argue that all humans have to recognize authority of some form. One only needs to think of despots to see narcissists and sociopaths, people who see themselves as the ultimate authority.)

Every organization has a legal basis for existence and that charter spells out the authority structure. In most US states, the state university President or Chancellor is appointed by. and continues in their position at the pleasure of, the Board of Trustees. The Trustees are appointed by the Governor, and the academic programs are regulated by a state body.

While the university is made up of silos, faculty, students, unions, and other organizational structures that have their goals, cultures, and leaders with a lot of freedom, the charter spells out the authority structure. Some decisions are made at the department level, others at a faculty senate level, and so on, but the university leadership led by the President cannot outrun the Trustees, the state higher education board, or the Governor. Even in a crisis.

In a thriving structure of shared leadership and shared governance, a proper respect and understanding of authority is key to making effective decisions when a crisis hits.