That sort of authority I already had, before the Peerage, inside my areas of expertise. I didn't like it, but I had it.. I've strived not to take the attitude that other people are wrong in matters of opinion, and in some ways my years of being slapped down for being rude for disagreeing with authorities, whether they outranked me or just preceded me, helped me there.
The difference is that people of good will, who are interested in what I have to say and are not caught up in authority issues or control issues, will listen to what I have to say, and speak back to me as equals, for that is what we are. If they strike at me as an authority, either I am abusing my status/engaging in control behavior or they are attacking authority. I am always quicker to suspect myself than others.
The easy way to test this-- which I have done on multiple occasions- is to offer bait. If I offer the person a point of shared weakness, do they attack or do they use it to further the conversation. If they turn it into a weapon, I try not to take them seriously.
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timeasmymeasure
authority
Date: 2005-04-25 03:42 pm (UTC)The difference is that people of good will, who are interested in what I have to say and are not caught up in authority issues or control issues, will listen to what I have to say, and speak back to me as equals, for that is what we are. If they strike at me as an authority, either I am abusing my status/engaging in control behavior or they are attacking authority. I am always quicker to suspect myself than others.
The easy way to test this-- which I have done on multiple occasions- is to offer bait. If I offer the person a point of shared weakness, do they attack or do they use it to further the conversation. If they turn it into a weapon, I try not to take them seriously.