John Maxwell: 5 levels of leadership

What is leadership?

Leadership is not a noun, it’s a verb. It's action, it's moving. And if we understand how to expand our leadership from level 1 to level 2 to level 5, we will expand our circle of influence and we expand our effectiveness.

Level 1: Position Level- Right

This is where we all start. It all starts with the TITLE, or RIGHT. People follow you because they have to because you're the boss, the supervisor. It's the beginning of all our leadership. When people come to me and tell me, John…I just became a leader last week, I immediately know what they meant, they meant they got a leadership position last week. But the people with leadership position does not mean they are a leader.

This is the place we start to define ourselves, but the people that follow you will give you the least amount of energy because they have to, because of the paycheck. If that's the case, they will always give you the very least of their time, their energy and of their mind. People don’t like to follow people because they have to follow people, and this is the greatest mistakes the level 1 leaders do. Level 1 is the level you will get the least of people.

You can always tell if a company is a level 1 leadership. Let's say quitting time is 5 O'clock. At 4:30 everyone is clearing the desk, because it’s only 30 minutes until the highlight of their day. So they beginning the count down, because they don’t want the clearing of the desk to impede the progress of them leaving the company. So at 4:30 the desk is being cleared, at 4:45 they go around and they go to different cubicles and they're saying their good bye, they're saying, how are you today, nice talking to you, I'm having a good time. Because at 5 O'clock they don’t want to be stuck doing relationship stuff. They want to do that on company time. At 4:50 they going to rest room, of course they 're making sure they doing on company time. At 4:55 they're putting on their running shoes. At 4:58 everybody is in a starting position, they're ready to go. At 5 O'clock, everybody's gone… You watch upstairs from the window, and you see all the cars are gone. And you wonder how did they leave so fast without a fire exit training. Let me explain, in the morning the employees are very careful with how they park their cars. They back their car in. Because they know at quitting time, they want to get away from the office as soon as possible because they're on their times.

When the people realize that they do what they do because they have to, they will try to give you the least amount of energy in everything they do. They will do as little as possible.

Level 2: Permission- Relationship

In level 2 leadership, people follow you not because they have to, but because they want to. When you like people and treat them like individuals who have value, you begin to develop influence with them. You develop trust. The environment becomes much more positive. You can like people without leading them, but you cannot lead people well without liking them.

How? They listen well., They got their relationships from walking slowly, and observe, they conscious about where their people are, what they are doing, and they constantly observing and in the process learning, and they have an attitude of servitude (Servant culture).

Level 3: Production- Results

Good leaders don’t just create pleasant working environment, they get things done. That's why they move up to level 3, which is results. You get to this level and people begin to follow you because of what you have done for the organization. Results create momentum, momentum creates more results.

How? They produce by example, they are the example of other people to be effective, how to be productive.

Level 4: People Development- Reproduction

Leaders become great not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others. You grow a company by growing its people. They use their position, relationships, and productivity to invest in their followers and develop them until those followers become leaders too. They reproduce themselves.

The key to develop good leaders is:

1. Recruitment: recruit the best people first so that you have a higher chance. Have a clear picture of who we're looking for so that when he walks in, you'll know

2. Positioning: put him in the right places. If you see a successful people, they know their strengths and they work at that sweet spot. Success leaders see what other people are good at. Successful leaders position other people well.

3. Train well using the simple five steps equipment process which is really work

4. I do it. That's simple, you got to be it yourself.

5. I do it and you're with me. You see how I work, how I deal with different situations, you can ask questions, I'm going to be your coach.

6. You do it and im with you. I pass the ball to you, and I'm tweaking you and I'm helping you to get better.

7. You do it without me.

8. You do it and somebody's with you. Your mentees begins to train people, this is the law of compounding.

Level 5: Pinnacle level- Respect

You've done it so long and so well, people just absolutely follow you. They follow you because of who you are, the quality, what you have done and it takes a long time, and it's a lifeline journey. Because leadership is an ongoing, learning process.

Action:

Ask yourself, what level you are at different people. With Mr. A level 1, so do …, Mr. B level 2, so do…

Here's the key, people don’t see you because of your position, they see you based on the 5 level grid. The people on level 1, when you talk about your vision, the people will have a different level of energy for the same vision on different level. Take the notes, study them, apply them to your life, begin to become the student of the 5 levels of leadership and I wish you well because leadership is influence, always have been, always will be, and within you, you have the power to increase the influence.