Understanding the difference between “formal” authority and “moral” authority. THESE are the character traits employees want for their managers.

1. LEADERSHIP IN THE TRENCHES
Bob Ross
Certified Professional Business Coach
Understanding the difference between “formal” authority
and “moral” authority
© Robert Ross 2019

2. Highland Ross
!2
So often, we thrust people into leadership positions and just assume (or hope) it will work out.
We ourselves aren’t clear on what we mean by “leadership”, so we aren’t good at identifying
good leaders. We assume that everybody just naturally knows what it (leadership) is. We
assume that people will naturally take our approach to “leadership”. We assume that technical
proficiency is directly correlated to leadership abilities.
…And then we are surprised when things spiral out of control and the
work culture becomes toxic.
WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
…perhaps I could never
succeed in intelligibly
[describing it]. But I
know it when I see it.
Potter Stewart
U.S. Supreme Court
Justice
“
”

3. Highland Ross
!3
YOUTH SPORTS PROVIDE A GOOD ILLUSTRATION
Imagine a new youth soccer coach.
Volunteering to coach a soccer team, you are
given a cast of characters from widely disparate
backgrounds and levels of athleticism…and
motivation. Very early on, you realize that for a
couple of your kids, it was not exactly their idea
to be out there. It is fair to say, these kids aren’t
exactly engaged at practice.
At the same time, the coach needs to quickly
evaluate kids for each position. It is inevitable
that nobody wants to be the goalie…or if they
do want to be the goalie, it's for the wrong
reasons.
So, we’ve got this kid who isn’t exactly into the
whole physical activity scene and at the same
time, you’ve got this hole in your lineup.
What is the coach to do?
I’ll just put this kid in the goal and solve both
my problems.” Now, the coach has to sell it to
the reluctant kid, so he might say something
like:
“Kid, the goalkeeper is the most important job
on the field and I think you would be a natural
at it.”
The coach might follow that up with “you know,
the goal keeper is the quarterback of the
defense.” And so on.
Fast forward to that first glorious Saturday
morning, the day of the first game. The game
starts and the ball and the horde of kids
migrate aimlessly for a couple minutes
until….one of the bad guys breaks through.
Our goalie recalls all the things she’s been
taught the last two weeks, that she is the QB of
the defense, which means “I’m a leader. “
The bad guys are driving, the ball is coming this
direction and then our goalie does the
unthinkable….
She barks out a command to one of her
teammates.
And the result is entirely predictable. Her
teammate, a similar-aged girl, whips her head
around indignantly and says with all the body
language you can imagine something to the
effect of
“Excuse me?!?!?!”

4. Highland Ross
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Our young goalkeeper had not earned the moral authority she needs.
FORMAL VS. MORAL AUTHORITY
Steven Covey might have used these terms to
describe what happened in our soccer
example. The coach anointed this goalie with
formal authority over her teammates and
basically gave her a title, goalie.
The problem is that our goalie failed
to understand that she needed to
earn the moral authority of and
from her teammates. Her coach
and her parents also failed to guide
her on how to earn that moral
authority.
The phrase “Moral Authority” is probably loaded
with some negative connotations, but all it
really means is that authority must be earned
rather than bestowed, and is very similar to the
word “respect”.
I’m sure you can think of countless examples in
your own personal and work lives where a
person was placed in a position of authority
over you and then lorded his or her title over
you. And you and your coworkers seethed with
resentment.
You may have a few first-hand examples where
you would follow a person in position of
authority to the ends of the earth. Lucky you.
I really like the distinction that Covey draws
between formal, ceremonial authority and
earned respect. It is the starting point for
identifying and recruiting leaders in your
organization. …but that’s all it is, a starting point.

5. Highland Ross
!5
Major C.A. Bach gave perhaps the best talk on “leadership” in 1917.
DESCRIBING “LEADERSHIP” SHOULDN’T BE SO COMPLICATED
Because we ourselves often don’t have a clear
picture of what “leadership” is, we shouldn’t be
surprised that we are similarly hamstrung in
identifying good leaders out in the wild.
There are plenty of resources out there which
lay down the ideal traits of a leader.
One study in Harvard Business
Review lists a whopping seventy-
four (74) distinct leadership
“competencies”!
How in the world is a manager living in the real
world supposed to cope with such a list?
Well, I stumbled upon a a much shorter, much
more actionable list, and I’d like to share it with
you for the benefit of your employees.
In 1917, Major Christian Albert Bach gave a
farewell speech to the graduating student
officers of the Second Training Camp at Fort
Sheridan, Wyoming.
The setting is World War I. As I understand it,
Fort Sheridan is what we know today to be
Officer Candidate School (OCS). The men at
Fort Sheridan were training to be deployed to
lead the men in the trenches in Europe.
The young men fighting for every inch in those
trenches were constantly bombarded They all
wanted one thing…to live to get home to see
their families.
Compounding this terror, more soldiers died of
infection than from their initial wounds. Trench
foot, disease, pneumonia were rampant in
those cold wet trenches.
Imagine the sheer terror of life in those
trenches. Imagine their mindset.
With The Great War as the backdrop, Bach
gave these men one of the greatest lessons in
leadership ever recorded.

6. Highland Ross
!6
In the words of Major C.A. Bach.
LEADERSHIP IS A COMPOSITE OF A NUMBER OF QUALITIES
Self-Confidence
To lead, you must know – you
may bluff all your men some of the
time, but you can’t do it all of the
time. Men will not have
confidence in an officer unless he
knows his business, and he must
know it from the ground up.
Moral Ascendency
Be an example to your men. An
officer can be a power for good or
a power for evil. Don’t preach to
them – that will be worse than
useless. Live the kind of life you
would have them lead, and you
will be surprised to see the
number that will imitate you.
Self-Sacrifice
You will give, give all the time.
You will give yourself physically,
for the longest hours, the hardest
work and the greatest
responsibility is the lot of the
captain. He is the first man up in
the morning and the last man in at
night.
Paternalism
Soldiers are much like children.
You must see that they have
shelter, food, and clothing, the
best that your utmost efforts can
provide. You must be far more
solicitous of their comfort than of
your own.
Initiative & Decision
Any reasonable order in an
emergency is better than no
order. It is better to do something
and do the wrong thing than to
hesitate, hunt around for the right
thing to do and wind up by doing
nothing at all.
Dignity
Your men should stand in awe of
you – not fear. If you are worthy
of their loyalty and respect and
devotion they will surely give all
these without asking.
Courage
Adhere without faltering to a
determined course of action which
your judgment has indicated as
the one best suited to secure to
secure the desired results.
Fairness
When one of your men has
accomplished an especially
creditable piece of work see that
he gets the proper reward. Turn
heaven and earth upside down to
get it for him.

7. Highland Ross
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Or, more importantly, to searching for and cultivating leadership talent
in the wild and in the trenches?
CAN WE APPLY THESE QUALITIES TO OUR SOCCER GOALIE?
Self-Sacrifice
Moral Ascendency
Self-Sacrifice
Paternalism
Fairness
Initiative & Decision
Dignity
Courage
Let’s circle back to the opening story about the
reluctant soccer player.
Could things have turned out differently for her
and the team if her parents had instilled in her
these “qualities” continually?
Could her coach have “coached” her to
embrace some of these qualities? Could our
goalie have earned some credibility and
respect by doing things like getting to know her
teammates on a personal level, being the first
to suit up for practice, the most helpful in
picking up cones and balls after practice, and
in-between, showing that she’s willing and able
to work just as hard as her teammates?
OK, the soccer example might not be the
greatest since the whole scene played out over
just a few weeks.
But what of the real-world examples sure to be
swirling through your head? Would those bad
bosses be more effective if they displayed
these qualities on occasion?
More to the point, should we use these
qualities in identifying leadership potential?
And nurturing it?
I think, YES!

8. Bob Ross of Highland Ross serves as an
executive and business coach, working with
business owners and leaders who are stuck in
some aspect of their businesses.
Through his professional career in corporate
America, small business America, and in the
community, Bob has come to believe that our
community is stronger when its local
businesses are anchored with good leaders.
The businesses themselves are stronger.
Their employees feel safe and secure in their
roles in their companies. Business owners’
relationships with their spouses and significant
others are stronger when they are good
leaders. Their children are stronger and more
resilient. All of this positivity sends positive
ripples throughout the community in many
ways, shapes, and forms.
Highland Ross exists to help, to coach, to
enable, to challenge our local business
owners to be everything their significant
others, their children, their employees, and
their community need them to be.
Bob’s wife Dixie is Director of Campus
Financial Services at Wake Forest University.
They have three spirited, active kids. Rachel
recently graduated from UNC and will be
taking a job at Epic Systems, Abby is a rising
junior at ECU, and Ben is a rising freshman at
Auburn. All have been active in the
community, the church, and in sports. Bob
has led a truly charmed life.
www.highlandross.com
bob@highlandross.com
336-671-7640
linkedin.com/in/bob-ross/in
facebook.com/highlandross/f
ABOUT BOB