Level 5 leadership is a combination of humility and fierce resolve. Jim Collins (2001) identifies three primary factors for being a great company (and as I suggest, this can be expanded to include creating great relationships, great communities, and living to your greatest potential):
– Disciplined people,
– Disciplined thought, and
– Disciplined action.
Level 5 leadership – consists of the duality, some would consider to be paradoxical, of professional will and personal humility
- Professional will:
- Sets the standard of building an enduring great company; will settle for nothing less.
- Demonstrates an unwavering resolve to do whatever must be done to produce the best long-term results, no matter how difficult.
- Creates superb results, a clear catalyst in the transition from good to great.
- Looks in the mirror, not out the window, to apportion responsibility for poor results, never blaming other people, external factors, or bad luck.
- Personal humility:
- Demonstrates a compelling modesty, shunning public adulation; never boastful.
- Acts with quiet, calm determination; relies principally on inspired standards, not inspiring charisma, to motivate.
- Channels ambition into the company, not the self; sets up successors for even greater success in the next generation.
- Looks out the window, not in the mirror, to apportion credit for the success of the company-to other people, external factors, and good luck.
Discover the Level 5 Leader in You
Are you interested in taking the first step in discovering the authentic level 5 leader in you, if yes, I invite you to enrol in a Mind Body Leadership program. MBL develops adults and youth into masterful leaders by enabling the transformative leap from surviving and coping to leading and influencing. MBL provides customized leadership programs for executives, organizations, entrepreneurs and youth groups.
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