The correct answer to this open question is the following.
Although there are no options attached and you did not include the SSA case, we can only comment on formal authority.
When we use the term formal authority, we mean that is the kind of power that a company gives to a leader in a corporation. For example, when a new manager is hired by a company, he is granted the power to lead the company or any of its departments. At this moment, the manager has the power and influence over its employees.
However, there is another concept called informal authority, that does not come from the owners of the company or the high hierarchy. It comes from your employees, the people. It is the moment when people trust who you are and follow you for what you have shown, not for your position in the company.
That is why it is so important to have both kinds of authority because it is the best way to lead people under difficult circumstances.