When Expertise Authority and Executive Authority Clash

Photo: Christina Morillo

Some folks believe that having that big title equals carte blanche decision-making. A communications colleague of mine ran into this when he was working on a public relations crisis. His phone rang one day, and the voice on the other end insisted that he handle the crisis in a specific way. It was his boss. My buddy gently pushed back, to which his boss responded, “Well, am I not the CEO?”