Level 5 leadership: A necessity for organisations to go from good to great.

We have examined according to Jim Collins and his research team what the good qualities that good to great organisations possess, as well as the poor qualities that organisations on decline possess.

A large part of the success or failure in any organisation depends on it's leadership. It is necessary according to Jim Collins and his team's research findings that any organisation that aspires towards lasting greatness have level 5 leadership at their helm.

What exactly makes a level 5 leader?

There are 5 levels of leadership, namely:

Level 1: Highly Capable Individual.

Level 2: Contributing Team Member.

Level 3: Competent Manager.

Level 4: Effective Leader.

Level 5: Level 5 Executive.

Level 1: Highly Capable Individual 

A level 1 leader is a highly capable individual who makes effective contributions at work through own personal knowledge, talents and skills. Such individual also possesses good working attitude and habits. However, the amount of contribution is only limited at an individual level.

Level 2: Contributing Team Member

A level 2 leader is an effective contributing team member. Such leaders are able to work effectively with other people in a group setting to achieve group objectives. As such, the level of contribution is higher at a group level.

Level 3: Competent Manager

A level 3 leader is one who is a competent manager. He is able to effectively plan and organise people and resources in the achieving of work objectives. His level of contribution is thus higher as he is not only a contributing team member, he is also the team leader of his team.

Level 4: Effective Leader

A level 4 leader is an effective leader. He not only fulfils the ability to lead his people and use resources to achieve work objectives and tasks. On top of that, he is able to drive and excite his team towards a clear vision. When directing his team towards a strong vision, he is also able to constantly stimulate his team towards giving their best to high performance standards. Such a leader contributes at even higher level in having a clear vision and taking his team towards fulfiling this strong meaningful vision while executing at high performance standards.

Level 5: Level 5 Executive

A level 5 leader is one who possesses a strong professional will in building his team of people and organisation towards lasting greatness. His ambition is not small but is great beyond measure. He aspires for his organsiation to be the best in the world that they can be and to have enduring greatness through time. Such great leaders are humble, for their ambition is never for personal interests or gains but only for his people and organisation to become the best they can be at serving their great meaningful purpose.

A level 5 leader is one who thus brings out the very best in his people and organisation in fulfiling their great purpose that the organisation is serving. He is a builder who builds lasting greatness into his people and his organisation. He builds greatness not for himself, but for his organisation to continue through time to be great and even better at serving their great purpose, the very purpose for the organisation's existence. His contributions to his organisation will carry on through time (even for many generations of leaders after him) even as he is gone.

Conclusion

An individual can proceed through the 5 levels of leadership to become a level 5 leader of greatness. This progress may not necessarily be through each level in sequence. A level 5 leader will possess all the capabilities of the other lower levels of leadership. In addition to these capabilities, he also possesses the special characteristics of greatness evident of a level 5 leader.