APRIL 14, 2023
According to John Maxwell “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” Leadership is influence. If people can increase their influence with others, they can lead more effectively. Leadership is a process and not a position. Leadership deals with people and their dynamics, which are continually changing. How can we gain influence with others? Too often when people think of their journey into leadership, they envision a career path. What they should be thinking is their own leadership development. Good leaders aren’t about advancing themselves. It is about advancing the TEAM. The challenge of leadership is to create change and facilitate growth. This requires action in moving from one level to the next.
Leadership is more than just a “Positional leader” (the lowest level of leadership according to John Maxwell) who lacks the insight, strategy, and drive to recognize and engage his/her team with other levels of leadership.
The second level of leadership is “Permission.” People follow because they want to. Here is where a leader must be interested in and get to know their respective teams. These leaders build their team with positive reinforcement and in “Playing well with others.”
Level three is “Production.” Most leaders stop at level two. But good leaders don’t just create a pleasant working environment, they “Get things done.” (Git-R-Done) Work gets done. Morale improves, turnover goes down and goals are achieved. Leadership on this level becomes FUN and when you are all winning, NOTHING hurts. These leaders become the “change agents” by making difficult decisions in taking their team to another level.
Level four is the “People Development.” These leaders use their position, their relationships and productivity to invest in their followers and develop them, until those followers become leaders in their own right. This is reproduction. Level four leaders reproduce themselves. Production may win games, but people development wins championships. Teamwork then goes to a very high level. WHY? Because the high investment in people deepens relationships, helps people to know another and better path, and strengthens loyalty. Level four leaders change the live of the people they lead. Accordingly, their people follow them because of what their leaders have done for them personally and their relationships are often lifelong.
Finally, the Level five leader is the “Pinnacle.” This is the highest and most difficult of leadership and only the naturally gifted leaders ever make it to this highest level. What do they do on Level five? They develop people to become level four leadership. If people are respectful, pleasant, and productive, they can establish a degree of influence with others and gain followers with relative ease. Developing followers on their own is difficult. Most leaders don’t do it because it takes so much more work than simply leading followers. However, developing leaders to the point where they are able and willing to develop other leaders is the most difficult leadership task of all. Some of the payoffs are; they create opportunities that other leaders don’t; they create legacy in what they do; people follow them because of WHO they are and what they represent. In other words, their leadership gains a positive reputation. As a result, level five leaders often transcend their position, their organization, and sometimes their industry.
Are you a good team member or are you too full of yourself? (Remember; there is no “I” in team.) Go make a positive influence on others, one person at a time.
Elevator Guy
Quote of the Day: “Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.” John Maxwell