"Are you a Level 5 Leader?" Article by Steve Marsten

As Tina mentioned in last weeks article, we attended a conference on Leadership and Business Development. Jim Collins was the guess speaker. Jim is synonymous with the term “high-performance organisation”. He is the author of several books including Good to Great.

Collins identified seven factors as essential to take a company from a good company to a great company. However he chose to focus on Leadership. He argued that the key ingredient that allows a company to become great is having a Level 5 Leader. That is a driver in whom you can blend genuine humility with intense professional will. Many believe that business owners and CEOs should be charismatic and larger than life figures. Collins was the first to blow that notion out of the water!

“Level 5” refers to the highest level in a hierarchy of upper level capabilities. Leaders at the other four levels of the hierarchy can produce high degrees of success but no where near enough to elevate the business from a mediocre company to a long term sustainable one.

Clearly such factors don’t all centre on the CEO in turning a good business into a great business. The right people in the right jobs surrounded by a culture of discipline are also essential.

So what are the five levels of Leadership?

1.       Position – People follow you because they have to;

2.       Permission - People follow you because they want to;

3.       Production (Results) - People follow you because of what you have done for the business;

4.       People Development - People follow you because of what you have done for them;

5.       Pinnacle (Respect) - People follow you because of who you are and what you represent.

Gladstone has some very long term businesses in our area so we know there are some level 4’s and 5’s amongst us and we should be so lucky to learn from them. At Sothertons we recognise that getting to level 5 takes courage, discipline and hard work. We still have a way to go. Call us today on 4972 1300 to learn more about Level 5 Leadership.