authorityplays

Authorityplays are strategic actions and sequences intended to establish, project, or test authority within an organization, institution, or governance context. The term emphasizes legitimacy, procedural control, and predictable maneuvering over raw coercion. In this sense, authority plays differ from more openly confrontational power struggles by focusing on built-in processes, signaling, and accountability mechanisms.

Core features include planned sequencing of moves, stakeholder alignment, and the use of formal procedures to anchor authority. Common instruments include policy announcements, organizational restructurings, budget reallocations, compliance regimes, and symbolic acts that communicate competence and resolve. The aim is to deter dissent, guide behavior, and create a recognized basis for decision-making.

Contexts span corporate governance, public administration, non-profit management, and academic leadership. Examples include a CEO centralizing decision rights through a management overhaul, a government issuing a broad regulatory directive to demonstrate decisive capability, or a university increasing oversight and reporting requirements to reinforce accountability.

Implications vary with level of legitimacy and transparency. When well grounded, authority plays can improve clarity, speed, and legitimacy; when perceived as overreach, they may provoke resistance, compliance burdens, and legitimacy challenges.

See also governance, organizational behavior, strategic communication.