ABSTRACT
Each word that is used or pronounced carries a part of the unconscious with it. As signs, words have two faces, the signifying and the signifier. Each word has a history, both conscious and unconscious. To use a specific word have never been neutral; to confuse two words—for instance power and authority—has significant practical consequences. This hypothesis is, of course, very fruitful for the work of a consultant because it suggests that to understand words is a primary resource to understand the life of people and institutions. This is why transformation of language and social transformation seem to be closely linked. This chapter provides some examples: authority, power, leadership, management, administrator, and consultant. In the work of consultant, and more generally in life, words such as leadership, authority, and power are leitmotivs. The word "authority" carries the idea of being the author of one's own life and to help others to grow up.
