The 5 Levels of Leadership

How do you become an effective leader? One who leaves a legacy and is loved and respected by your people?

Perhaps an answer can be found if we begin by defining leadership. What is it exactly? We hear and read a lot about effective leadership and being a leader, but what really defines a leader?

As we attempt to unravel leadership, let’s think of it as a verb rather than a noun. It’s not something that once you attain, you have it forever. It’s defined by your actions, your behaviours and your ability to influence your surroundings. This is a lifelong journey and we can only grow our leadership, inextricably linked with personal mastery, by continuing our learning.

Here I’d like to introduce the 5 levels of leadership from John Maxwell. As you read through the 5 levels, think about where you are on your leadership journey, your road to personal mastery?

Level 1 – Position 

This is the entry level of leadership. At level 1 we meet ‘bosses’, not leaders.

People in Level 1 leadership abide by rules, policies and regulations in order to manage people. Their people generally do not follow them outside of their ‘bestowed’ capacity. 

In the greater scheme of leadership, this level doesn’t require much effort and can generate a level of frustration because people are barely engaged and rarely believe in what they do. People reporting to a Level 1 leader are just doing their job. Anyone can be appointed to this position. It’s a decent starting point, but every leader should aim higher.

Level 2 – Permission

The next level is permission. This is a step above level 1 because people do follow you out of free will and forms the basis for building lasting relationships. The added element here is connection.

A leader at level 2 seeks and appreciate the value in each person, which builds connection, engagement and trust, often achieved through clear and transparent communication.

BUT you can’t truly connect with others without connecting with and growing yourself first. As a leader, you need to understand that the first person you must get along with is you, the first person that must change is you, and the first person that can make a difference to you is you. 

Level 3 — Production

Level 3 is all about taking responsibility and getting things done. As a leader, you need to be able to motivate your people to help you produce results. When you achieve this, you build your influence and credibility. At this level, people follow you based on your accomplishments and track record, given that a connection has already been established from the previous level.

This is the level where leaders start to change their environment from the inside out. Work gets done, team morale heightens, profits go up, turnover goes down, and goals are achieved.

You move forward together and as a result, leading and influencing others becomes fun.

When you begin to feel comfortable at level 3, you begin to see the effectiveness of your leadership approach increasing.

Level 4 – People Development

At level 3, your emphasis is on creating a high-performing team and organization. Level 4, however, means a higher level of leadership ability than most people usually display. The focus is on developing people, a challenging area for most leaders.

So how do you acquire this level? Here you must shift from producer to developer because you understand that people are an organisation’s most important and tangible asset.

As a level 4 leader, you invest time, energy, money, and thinking into growing your people into leaders. This is accomplished by shifting your focus from the production achieved by others to actively developing their potential.

Maxwell suggests putting only 20% of your focus on your personal productivity and shifting 80% of it to developing and leading others.

How do you do this? It comes down developing your people to the point where you trust them to get the job done instead of constantly immersing yourself in every detail of the workload. This is the hands-off approach. Challenging but worth it!

Level 5 – The Pinnacle 

The highest level of leadership is the pinnacle. It’s not about working harder or gaining followers; it’s about producing leaders. 

The level 5 leader develops level 4 leaders; leaders that can, in turn, develop leaders themselves. Only 1% of leaders achieve this level. It requires a lot of skill, focus and a lifetime commitment to your own learning and growth.

Level 5 leaders are extraordinary leaders who create extraordinary organisations. They leave a legacy, they care about a cause greater than themselves. People want to follow these leaders because of who they are and what they stand for.

Do you have what it takes to become an extraordinary leader, to achieve the next level of leadership on your journey to the pinnacle? To get to the next level of growth and challenge, you need to surround yourself with people who will challenge you. Get in touch with us for one-on-one leadership mentoring