The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential. John C. Maxwell Book Summary

 The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential

True leadership isn't a matter of having a certain job or title. In fact, being chosen for a position is only the first of the five levels every effective leader achieves. To become more than "the boss" people follow only because they are required to, you have to master the ability to invest in people and inspire them. To grow further in your role, you must achieve results and build a team that produces. 

Chapter 1. 

Everyone begins as a positional leader; it's up to you to move up the ladder

 

How do you define good leadership? Most people have a vague idea. When you take a poll, you will get responses like, A good leader is anyone who occupies a leadership position and has followers they're leading,” or “I don't know, but when you see a leader, you just know it.” Those responses are good but not enough to define true leadership. There are people in leadership positions who fail as leaders. But for some reason, remain there. And some good leaders don’t even have titles. So seeing leaders as positional isn't good enough. The result of having vague ideas of leadership is that people will resort to leading with gut feelings ― doing what feels right for them — and that's not a profitable path. Not following tested principles can have terrible consequences. At best, you'll learn from experience. But before you learn, fail, and gain mastery from personal experience, you'd have wasted time and a lot of potential. The smart way is by learning from proven experts. It will shorten your journey and help you achieve much in record time.

The best way to learn isn't from your experience but from the experiences of others who have gone ahead of you.

Gladly, John Maxwell, who has been studying leadership for decades, has done the groundwork. After years of study, he discovered the five levels of leadership we will be considering in this summary. 

The five levels are: 

Level 1 — Position 

Level 2 — Permission 

Level 3 — Production 

Level 4 — People Development 

Level 5 — The Pinnacle 

Leaders move up the levels in serial order, with level 1 being the most basic. All leaders start at Level 1. It takes little to no effort to be on this level, but moving up the levels takes intentionality. We will consider the meanings of each level and the mindsets you need to advance through them in the following chapters. Did you know? Former U. S. President Barack Obama launched his Twitter account on March 5, 2007. He was the first president to have a Twitter account.

Chapter 2. Level 1-Position leadership

Position leadership is the first level of the leadership journey. People follow leaders in this category simply because they have to. For example, if a new MD is transferred to your branch from headquarters, you'll have to respect their leadership because of their position. That's what positional leadership entails— people follow a title or position.”

People follow Level 1 (Positional) leaders only because they have to.

You know you're a positional leader if you're new to the people you're leading, new to leadership, or may have been leading for some time but know deep down that people only pay attention to you because of the position you hold. Newbies tend to stay too long on this level; they try to use their position to get people to like and trust them. But that's not how it works. Your focus at this level should be on developing your unique leadership style. Answering these questions will help you get started: Who are you? Socrates is known for his famous maxim, “Know thyself.”

Those are two powerful words that people need to have engraved in places they can read daily. Indeed, knowing yourself is an indispensable ingredient for success. You're not a perfect leader — no one is — and answering the “Who am I?” question will help you make the most of that. What are your weaknesses and strengths? What work habits make you most effective? How do you arrive at good decisions? Take all these into account as you go about your leadership responsibilities. What are your values? A good leader should have well-defined and written values that drive their actions, making them consistent and trustworthy — both traits necessary for becoming a Level 2 leader.

No man is a leader until his appointment is ratified in the minds minds and the hearts of his men.

 

Chapter 2. Level 2- permission leadership

The nice thing about all the five levels of leadership is that they are interconnected; you can't be a level 2 leader without passing through level 1, and so on. Level 2 leaders have mastered themselves to some degree and can effectively communicate their values to their followers both in words and actions. But they don't stop there. Level 2 leaders are known for the relationships they build with followers. They don't act bossy but consider followers as partners with whom they join hands to achieve a shared vision. Level 2 is the beginning of true leadership. You don't try to lead with your position or title on this level but by influencing followers.

Permission leaders are good at making people want to follow them.

However, attempting to influence people without first building a relationship with them will frustrate you. Here are a few tips to help you build influence and trust with your followers: Genuinely care about them. Can you think of someone who cares about you? You wouldn't have to think much before calling names. And what's more interesting is that they didn't come to mind simply because they told you they cared, but because you see it in their actions. Humans are generally selfish, so it's not hard to notice when someone cares for you. The same thing happens when you're genuinely interested in your followers. They would know it. Don't be the sort of boss that only cares about producing results. Good leaders are people who see their followers not just in light of what they bring to the table but as whole individuals with hopes, fears, dreams, and loved ones to take care of. Be the leader who respects and values these other areas of their lives. Make it a habit to encourage your team. Everyone needs a pat on the back — and it's even more appreciated when it's coming from a leader. A simple “I'm glad to have you on the team” can go a long way in encouraging a team member.

 

Chapter 3. Level 3-production

 

Want to know what separates the real leaders from wannabes? It's production! Productivity is what drives every organization. And leaders who can make it happen will not just get rewarded for their work, they'll also increase the extent of their influence.

On the production level of leadership people Follow you only because of what you do for the organization Stop doing what you do and you'll lose followers.

The way to be productive is to, first and foremost, understand the visions of your organization and the role your department plays in birthing them. After figuring that out, the next step is to start working on yourself and your team. Ensure your team is properly positioned; have the right people in the right roles, effectively communicate the vision to them, and break the game plan into bits that make execution easier. While being productivity-driven is a good thing, it's important to know someone can be productive and still not be a leader because productivity is usually a measure of personal success, and leadership is not. If you're meeting and exceeding your quotas, but your team isn't doing the same, then you're only succeeding as a productive person and failing as a leader. 

So, develop the patience to take everyone along; it may slow you down at first, but the long term-benefits will blow your mind. Effective Level 3 leaders always experience success. The problem is that many of them tend to camp at that level; don't do it. You can be more. You can be a Level 4 leader who develops other leaders. Fascinating, isn't it? But becoming that sort of leader is by no means easy. That's why many people don't get there. 

We'll consider Level 4 and how to get there in the next chapter, but first, let's look at mindsets that turn people into Level 4 leaders: 

• Don't focus on production and forget about people. 

• Helping leaders grow is better than modifying products. 

• If you want to accomplish the organization's vision, then focus on growing leaders.Leaders are more fulfilled when they develop others. Now, let’s see what leading at Level 4 looks like.

Chapter 4. Level 4- people development

Level 4 leaders are more concerned about leaving positive legacies in their organization than they are about being in the spotlight. Having journeyed from Level 1 to Level 4, they've acquired skills and grown to a maturity level that lets them develop other leaders. The key difference between this leadership level and the previous one is that Production leadership is focused on the output of team members while People Development is concerned about making them better leaders. But it's not easy. Apart from maturity and skill, you also need faith in people to become a Level 4 leader. There’s no guarantee that the people you invest in will turn out exactly as expected because they will disappoint you, others will take your investment in them for granted, and still, others will improve but leave the organization before they get to use their skills. However, there will be those who will improve, stay, and contribute positively to the organization. Their number may be few, but they will make all the difference. Your organization and influence will grow because of them, and just knowing that you were part of their development would give you personal fulfillment.

Leadership is not about titles, position or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.

If you feel you've mastered Level 3 leadership and would like to proceed to Level 4, here is a guideline for you: Find the best people possible. 

• Place the right people in the right position. 

• Show them how good leadership is done. 

• Help them do their jobs well. 

• Teach them to do life well. 

• Empower them to succeed. 

Evaluate those whom you developed to maximize their efforts. As you get comfortable being this kind of leader, developing others will come naturally to you, and you won’t need guidelines. 

People development is the greatest fulfillment for a leader 

Chapter 5. Level 5- the pinnacle

Each leadership level is more complicated than the one below it so that you can expect to see more leaders on the lower levels than on the higher ones. For instance, there are more Positional leaders in the world than Permission leaders, and in turn, Permission leaders are more numerous than productive leaders.

List then 1% of leaders make it to the peak of leadership. Then level where you leadership influence transcends your organization or industry.

Would you like to get to Level 5? If you've worked your way through to People Development, don't let anything stop you! Usually, this level is made of primarily natural leaders, but whether you're a born leader or not, there's nothing grit, determination, and intentionality won't help you achieve. Let's look at what leading on Level 5 looks like. Level 5 leaders have mastered the people’s development level and invested most of their time developing Level 4 leaders — people who in turn develop others — hence their efforts marginally increase the organization's bottom line (whatever that is). But something even greater happens on this level: their influence spans beyond their industry. 

For example, a Level 5 leader in business will be able to influence others in politics, religion, and so on. Think of all the great leaders you know, and you'll find that their influence isn't just limited to their organization or industry. There is a strong caveat, though. Level 5 leaders must be mindful and humble because when they fail, the negative effects will be massive. Seeing a Level 5 leader fail is not funny. It will dent their personal and corporate reputations in very shameful ways. 

There are keys to help you avoid this potential pitfall; let's go over them. 

• Don't think you've arrived. Even at the pinnacle, leadership remains a journey, not a destination. 

• Refuse to lose focus. Keep your personal and corporate goals, values, and vision alive. It's tempting to get distracted and lose sight of them, but doing so can cost more than you're willing to bargain for. 

• Create an inner circle of friends and colleagues who will keep you grounded. These are people who respect you but aren't afraid to tell you the truth when you mess up. The last thing you need at this level is someone who will always sing your praise irrespective of what you do. Plan your succession. This is critical. Don't wait till you're about to retire before you start scouring around for a replacement.

Conclusion

Leadership is influence. No more, no less. If you want to quickly determine how you're performing as a leader, all you have to do is check your influence. To what degree can you motivate your team to work without depending on your position or title to coerce them? That's the extent of your leadership! There are five levels of leadership. The first and most basic level is Positional leadership, where you rely on your position to lead others. It's truly the worst place for any leader to stay for too long because there's zero influence there. After Positional leadership is Permission leadership, where people follow you because they want to (not because your position demands they should). Level 3 is Production. These leaders are driven by the organization's vision, so they work round the clock to create high-performance teams. Level 4 is People Development. This is a selfless stage where leaders devote 80% of their time, energy, and other resources to developing other leaders. After People Development is Level 5, The Pinnacle. 

The concern of leaders here is building other leaders who can successfully replace them when they leave the organization. It takes time to get here. Only a few leaders do, but this is the peak to which every good leader should aspire. We'll finish this summary with two important things you should consider as you move up the leadership levels: 

• You won't be on the same level with everybody. In the same organization, you can be at Level 1 with someone and Level 3 with another, and that's okay. Secondly, if you get transferred to a different organization, a place you've never worked before, your leadership level won't go with you. You're starting on Level 1 there. The good news is that you've gained experience from your previous organization, so moving up the levels with your new followers wouldn't be as difficult. 

Try this Practice humility and selflessness in your leadership journey. Here are some tips to get you started: 

• Ask for feedback from the people you like as well as from the ones whose feedback you don't enjoy. 

• Acknowledge your weak points and the strengths of others. 

• Never stop learning from others. 

• Don't grow above corrections. 

• Listen to the opinions of others.