Managing vs. Leading: The Two Kinds of Authority Every New Manager Needs to Master

Stepping into your first management role is a big shift. As an individual contributor, success was about what you produced. Now, it’s about what your team produces—and that requires a different skill set. Many new managers struggle because they focus too much on either control or inspiration, but long-term success comes from balancing both.

In Why Managers Matter: The Perils of the Bossless Company, Nicolai J. Foss and Peter G. Klein outline two key types of authority:

• Mark I Authority: The ability to hire, fire, instruct, supervise, intervene, and hold people accountable.
• Mark II Authority: The ability to lead, create structure, align people around shared goals, and drive change.

To be an effective manager, you need both.

Mark I: Learning to Manage

At first, new managers often focus on Mark I authority—the traditional managerial functions. This is the part that feels most concrete:

• Setting expectations: Making sure people know what they’re responsible for.
• Giving direction: Assigning work and making sure it gets done.
• Holding people accountable: Addressing missed deadlines or performance gaps.
• Providing structure: Ensuring meetings, processes, and workflows run smoothly.

These skills are essential. If you avoid Mark I authority because you want to be liked or feel uncomfortable enforcing expectations, your team will struggle. Without clear direction and accountability, work slows down, and frustration builds.

But if you stop here, you’ll hit a ceiling. Teams need more than oversight—they need inspiration, alignment, and growth. That’s where Mark II authority comes in.

Mark II: Learning to Lead

Great managers don’t just manage work; they lead people. This means:

• Creating clarity: Helping your team understand the bigger picture and how their work fits into it.
• Building trust: Supporting your team, advocating for them, and making them feel safe to take risks.
• Fostering growth: Coaching and developing people instead of just assigning tasks.
• Driving change: Improving processes, navigating challenges, and inspiring people toward a vision.

This shift—from directing work to developing people—is the hardest part of becoming a long-term, successful manager. But without it, you’ll struggle to keep talented team members engaged and motivated.

The Long Game: Balancing Both

Some managers lean too far into Mark I, micromanaging every detail and becoming bottlenecks. Others focus too much on Mark II, inspiring people but avoiding the hard conversations about performance and accountability.

The best managers know when to switch between the two:

• When someone is new or struggling, they may need more Mark I structure—clear guidance, expectations, and accountability. 
• When someone is capable and growing, they need more Mark II leadership—autonomy, support, and opportunities to stretch.

Long-term success as a manager isn’t about choosing between managing and leading—it’s about balancing both.

Your Next Step

If you’re a new manager, ask yourself:

• Am I setting clear expectations, following up, and holding people accountable?
• Am I also coaching, aligning, and helping my team grow?
• Am I adapting my approach based on what each team member needs?

Stepping into management is a journey, and mastering both Mark I and Mark II authority takes time, practice, and support. If you're navigating this transition and want to build confidence in your ability to manage work and lead people, check out my 12-month IC to EM program. It’s designed to help new managers develop the skills, mindset, and strategies to succeed—not just in their first leadership role, but for the long haul. Ready to take the next step? Let’s talk!