"Authority without Power" is concept all Community Managers (CMs) will come to terms with. I usually liken it to an office clerk with the responsibility of a manager but without the authority. Through out my journey as a CM, this concept have have always played out numerous times.
However, it should not always be the case. This material have stated out the route of building actual authority. Yeah, it is not given, it is earned😎😎
Route include but not limited to be reliable, present at the right moments, offering genuine help/answers to inquiries, and keeping to my word. It may look simple but consistently execute is where usual and exceptional CMs stand apart.
In summary, the key to having actual authority is to execute the aforementioned 'routes' before the 'free trial' authority runs out.
In the last community I managed, I unwittingly executed these routes consistently, thereby resulting in an engaging community that practically ran on its own, even without my 'presence'. New users were ushered in warmly, and even decorum was maintained. The result was that founder started allocating more responsibility as well as authority to make important decisions on my discretion.