Nurtured to Lead: The Parental Love Blueprint
The term "Level V Leader" and its definition were developed by Jim Collins in his book "Good to Great" published in 2001. Collins conducted years of research on the factors that contribute to the success of enduring companies. In essence, a Level V Leader is someone who possesses a rare combination of humility and professional will, leading an organization to greatness. This individual exhibits a quiet, calm, and modest demeanor, along with a determination fueled by high standards, service above self, and a reciprocal vision of the future. They have an unwavering resolve to build a lasting organization where nothing short of the best will suffice.
Before I continue, I want to emphasize that I'm not an expert on the book "Good to Great" or the concept of a Level V Leader (I do subscribe to its lessons). I also want to clarify that I'm certainly not a Level V Leader at this point in my career. However, I still believe it's important to actively reflect on these concepts and how they manifest in us, so we can work to understand what it takes to become a leader of this caliber. The book defines this aspirational leader and gives examples of unassuming leaders who have made significant impacts in their industries. Although the book outlines general characteristics and discusses the influence of natural talents and significant life events, it does little to provide a clear roadmap for becoming a Level V Leader. The book falls short of clearly defining the work needed to develop and mature this rare combination of humility and professional will.
As I've grown both professionally and personally, I've come to realize that our professional lives can greatly benefit from maintaining healthy everyday routines and the relational learning that happens through our experiences. Life naturally brings us together as a family, a team, and a community; all working to support the overall success of the group. The value of relational learning lies in its ability to connect fundamental life lessons to strong emotions and to strengthen important personal connections. This can deeply imprint powerful lessons on an individual with a high level of success. When combined with a purposeful developmental goal, we can theoretically create a clear roadmap to Level V Leadership on our own.
One relational learning opportunity that closely parallels the attributes required of a Level V Leader is Parental Love. Parental love is a complex, intrinsic emotional connection that evokes strong motivations of intimacy, selfless action, unconditional love, and long-term vision to ensure future generational success. Viewing your development as a Level V Leader through the lens of a parent-child relationship may provide an interesting and insightful new way of thinking about your professional maturation.
Our comparison starts with humility, which may come naturally to some people while others find it difficult to express sincerely. Based on this reality, we can postulate that leaders will have varying starting points when it comes to developing sincere humility and the effort required to reach a high level of proficiency is unique to each individual.
Humility in the context of parental love involves conveying a sense of intimacy and affection to your children. These intrinsic emotions foster a strong bond and promote a feeling of safety in your presence. As a professional leader, humility doesn't require the same level of connection but its value comes from defining a clear and relatable model for us to better understand effective leadership. A Level V Leader genuinely cares for their team, empathizes with their situations, and demonstrates a sincere interest in their development and success.
Altruism and a commitment to servant leadership naturally exist in a parent-child relationship founded on love and humility. When a child is born, this selfless care is crucial for their survival. As children grow, this selfless relationship matures into a servant leadership model, aiming to provide them with the best opportunities for learning, experiences, and growth. These opportunities also support the overall success of the family. What a wonderful example of how a professional leader could also support and develop their teams.
The unconditional love of a parent is another relational learning opportunity for us. It is probably the easiest to understand and empathize as individuals. It is always present, undeserved, caring, and motivating. It provides safety and security for the child, building a strong sense of self-worth and confidence to explore and experiment. In terms of Level V Leadership, we can draw parallels to building our developmental path forward. Once someone joins our team we have the opportunity to meet each individual where they are, and regardless of their status within the group provide our very best mentorship, guidance, and resources to support their success. This unconditional act of giving through consistency will foster a team that breaks down barriers and solves the most challenging of problems. Of course, this result is what all organizations strive for, and provides a bit of reciprocity for our efforts supporting development in Professional Will.
When we talk about a Level V Leader's Professional Will, we are refocusing away from selfless humility to emphasize the necessity of unwavering determination in ensuring the organization's long-term success. It entails persevering through challenges to deliver outstanding results and securing sustained success throughout their tenure and beyond. These attributes may not be immediately apparent when considering the model of parental love. As a fundamental aspect of human nature, we constantly aim to improve both our own and our families standing with each passing generation. We willingly invest in our children, impart all our knowledge to them, and strive to provide them with as many advantages as possible to navigate their lives successfully. There's an intrinsic and unconscious reciprocity of effort in this process. As parents, we comprehend that our current leadership in loving, guiding, and challenging our children directly contributes to our family's well-being across generations. Reciprocity is a potent influencer in human psychology and propels us toward significant accomplishments when channeled to support our objectives.
I find the parallels above between parental love and Level V Leadership informative and valuable as kind of a “built-in” compass and set of coaching cues we all can relate to, and use in expanding our thoughts on leadership. I don't claim that this is a universally proven concept, or that everyone will agree with my thoughts. There is too much subjectivity here stemming from each reader's distinct experiences (or lack thereof) with parental love. An individual's life experiences and personal biases will influence how effective an experiment in this area might be. Nonetheless, I am convinced that this line of thought shares enough common ground with human nature and our survival instincts to act as a unique guide for our Level V development should we opt to embrace it.
Drawing a parallel between parental love and our professional leadership style to establish genuine relational connections can be a powerful catalyst for growth, making the path to attaining Level V Leadership clearer. Embracing humility in intimacy, affection, altruism, servant leadership, and unwavering support can serve as a purposeful roadmap to the modest and humble nature that everyone could benefit from more. When combined with our innate need for reciprocity and a drive to achieve long-term success within any relational group that matters to us, it becomes evident how we can chart our own course toward "greatness".
My name is Tony Clarke, and I’m passionate about diving into customer problems and solving them through sound operational processes integrated with great tech. With this, I have a history of building successful businesses that have changed today’s consumer landscape. I’ve focused on controlling my key controllable inputs, building high-performing teams, and quickly adapting to changing environments and requirements.
I am always open to meeting new people and hearing new perspectives. Besides my career I enjoy spending time with my wife Liz, raising our children together and experiencing their “1sts” as they explore their world, fitness and being outdoors, Crossfit, snowboarding, surfing, golf, and central Texas barbeque!