Leaders and persons in position of authority share three basic functions: Direction, Protection, and Order. Leaders and persons in position of authority, however, deal with these three functions differently.

First, consult Figure 2-3 on The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, page 28. Review the differences between leaders and persons in position of authority. Then pick one of the three functions (direction, protection, and order). Can you think of actual examples? For instance, have you had a leader who exposed conflict to the followers in order to encourage them to deal with it? Have you had a leader who challenged the current norms and led a process towards changing them?