Read Online The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential by John C. Maxwell - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: John C. Maxwell
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boat, but I certainly could not chart the course. It took an experienced leader to do that. Bill could have done it, but in our case, the boat’s captain did.
If you are on Level 1 as a leader, know your limitations. You can learn to chart the course, but to do that you must move up to higher levels of leadership.
Beliefs That Help a Leader Move Up to Level 2
T o change from a Level 1 leader to a Level 2 leader, you must first change the way you think about leadership. No one has to remain a positional leader, though the longer you have relied on your position, the longer it may take you to change the way you lead and the way others see you. You will have to earn your way up from Level 1.
Here are four statements you must embrace internally before you will be able to change from a positional leader to a permissional one:
1. Titles Are Not Enough
We live in a culture that values titles. We admire and respect people with titles such as doctor, CEO, chairman, PhD, Academy Award winner, director, Nobel Prize winner, salesman of the year, president, poet laureate. But what do those titles actually mean? Very little. The titles are ultimately empty, and you must learn to see them that way. People who make it their career goals to gain certain titles are not setting themselves up to be the best leaders they can be.
Who the person is and the work he does is what really matters. If the work is significant and adds value to people, then it doesn’t need to come with a title. Many times we don’t even have any control over whether we receive a title or an award. And for every person who has received recognition, there are thousands of others working without recognition who perhaps deserve even greater honor. Yet they continueto work without credit because the work itself and the positive impact on others are reward enough.
Developing an awareness that titles have little real value and that Position is the lowest level of leadership brings a healthy sense of dissatisfaction with Level 1 as well as a desire to grow. A Position is not a worthy destination for any person’s life. Security does not give purpose. Leadership is meant to be active and dynamic. Its purpose is to create positive change.
A Position is not a worthy destination for any person’s life.
2. People—Not Position—Are a Leader’s Most Valuable Asset
If you want to become a better leader, you can’t focus on rules and procedures to get things done or keep things going. You must develop relationships. Why? Because the reality is that
people
get things done, not the playbook they use. And because people are the power behind any organization, they are its most valuable—and appreciable—asset.
Learning this lesson made a huge difference in my leadership life. During the first few years of my career, I was a Level 1 leader. I focused way too much on position and became position-driven. I was constantly wondering,
What are my rights? Is my authority clear? Where am I on the organizational chart? How do I compare to other leaders? How can I climb the ladder? Who do I need to know? What’s the next step in my career path?
My preoccupation with position created frustration within me; if your focus is on position, you’re never satisfied if you’re not at the top. (Ironically, if you’re focused on position and you do get to the top, you won’t be satisfied with that either.)
I’m sorry to say that back then I was willing to use people to improve my position instead of using my position to improve people. That wasn’t right. And it didn’t work. When I finally realized that relyingon Position and bossing over people wasn’t the best way to get the best out of people, my attitude and actions started to change. I began to put people ahead of position. Instead of powering down, I started peopling up. Immediately, people noticed that my attitude had changed toward them.
It took some time to develop the people skills I needed to become a better leader,
If you are on Level 1 as a leader, know your limitations. You can learn to chart the course, but to do that you must move up to higher levels of leadership.
Beliefs That Help a Leader Move Up to Level 2
T o change from a Level 1 leader to a Level 2 leader, you must first change the way you think about leadership. No one has to remain a positional leader, though the longer you have relied on your position, the longer it may take you to change the way you lead and the way others see you. You will have to earn your way up from Level 1.
Here are four statements you must embrace internally before you will be able to change from a positional leader to a permissional one:
1. Titles Are Not Enough
We live in a culture that values titles. We admire and respect people with titles such as doctor, CEO, chairman, PhD, Academy Award winner, director, Nobel Prize winner, salesman of the year, president, poet laureate. But what do those titles actually mean? Very little. The titles are ultimately empty, and you must learn to see them that way. People who make it their career goals to gain certain titles are not setting themselves up to be the best leaders they can be.
Who the person is and the work he does is what really matters. If the work is significant and adds value to people, then it doesn’t need to come with a title. Many times we don’t even have any control over whether we receive a title or an award. And for every person who has received recognition, there are thousands of others working without recognition who perhaps deserve even greater honor. Yet they continueto work without credit because the work itself and the positive impact on others are reward enough.
Developing an awareness that titles have little real value and that Position is the lowest level of leadership brings a healthy sense of dissatisfaction with Level 1 as well as a desire to grow. A Position is not a worthy destination for any person’s life. Security does not give purpose. Leadership is meant to be active and dynamic. Its purpose is to create positive change.
A Position is not a worthy destination for any person’s life.
2. People—Not Position—Are a Leader’s Most Valuable Asset
If you want to become a better leader, you can’t focus on rules and procedures to get things done or keep things going. You must develop relationships. Why? Because the reality is that
people
get things done, not the playbook they use. And because people are the power behind any organization, they are its most valuable—and appreciable—asset.
Learning this lesson made a huge difference in my leadership life. During the first few years of my career, I was a Level 1 leader. I focused way too much on position and became position-driven. I was constantly wondering,
What are my rights? Is my authority clear? Where am I on the organizational chart? How do I compare to other leaders? How can I climb the ladder? Who do I need to know? What’s the next step in my career path?
My preoccupation with position created frustration within me; if your focus is on position, you’re never satisfied if you’re not at the top. (Ironically, if you’re focused on position and you do get to the top, you won’t be satisfied with that either.)
I’m sorry to say that back then I was willing to use people to improve my position instead of using my position to improve people. That wasn’t right. And it didn’t work. When I finally realized that relyingon Position and bossing over people wasn’t the best way to get the best out of people, my attitude and actions started to change. I began to put people ahead of position. Instead of powering down, I started peopling up. Immediately, people noticed that my attitude had changed toward them.
It took some time to develop the people skills I needed to become a better leader,
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