ABSTRACT
This chapter considers to what extent leadership can be understood as a form of authority. The question of the relation between leadership and authority is not something that can be settled empirically: it raises philosophical problems. The term 'authority' stems from the Latin word auctoritas, which is derived from auctor. The term auctor, which is a derivative of augere, 'to increase, make big', literally means 'one who causes to grow' and is affiliated with the word 'author'. As Theodor Eschenburg, (1976) explains, the term auctoritas is crucial in the transition from the Roman Kingdoms to the Roman Empire. Charismatic authority is one of the three forms of authority in Weber's 'theory of authority', as it is known in English, next to legal authority and traditional authority. The idea of leadership without authority, and the related concept of 'lateral leadership', has become a fairly popular theme in recent years, especially within popular business literature.
