Level 2 of The 5 Levels of Leadership

You may have heard it said that everything rises and falls on leadership.

But what exactly is leadership?

Leadership is influence.

The more influence you earn, the more people you can lead.

Some are natural-born leaders.

The rest of us have to learn how to be an effective leader.

Fortunately for us, there is a clear process, but a few points before we begin:

Point 1: You are at a different leadership level with each person.

Point 2: Each level builds upon the next.

Point 3: If you switch divisions for companies, you start over at Level 1, and have to earn your way back up.

There are 5 Levels of Leadership (see John Maxwell’s book The 5 Levels of Leadership) and yesterday we covered the first Level. On to Level 2!
Level 2: Permission

At level 2, people don’t follow you because they have to, they follow you because they want to.

The Upside of Permission: The Workplace Has Become More Pleasant For Everyone.
The Downside of Permission: The Pressure Is On You To Build Positive Relationships.

Leadership begins to get easier because you rely on people skills, not power, to get things done.

You’ve done a great job getting to know your team, their goals, and their desires.
The agenda for leaders on Level 2 isn’t preserving their position. It’s getting to know their people and figuring out how to get along with them.

You’re no longer just their boss, they like you.

Here are 4 things you can do to grow through level 2.

1. Connect with yourself:
   1. To be the kind of person who builds relationships, you must first be the kind of person who people want to spend time with. Consider these 5 areas of self reflection;
      1. Self-Awareness – know your personality type, temperament, talents, strengths, and weaknesses.
      2. Self-Image – deal with any personal issues you may have, so that you can think of yourself in a positive way.
      3. Self-Honesty – look at yourself realistically and decide to face reality, no matter how much it may hurt.
      4. Self-Improvement – make a commitment to grow in your ability to develop relationships.
      5. Self-Responsibility – acknowledge that you are responsible for your own actions and attitudes.
2. Understand where you are coming from:
   1. Are you naturally a people person who tends to put people ahead of productivity or are you an achiever who tends to put productivity ahead of people?
   2. You must realize which you are and then learn to win both relationships and results.
3. Evaluate where you are with your team:
   1. Make a list of the people on your team and then answer each of the following questions to determine how well you know them:
      1. What 3 non-business things do you know about this person?
      2. What does this person value?
      3. What are this person’s top 3 concerns?
      4. What does this person want or hope for in life?
      5. What is their language of appreciation?
         1. Words of affirmation?
         2. One to one time?
         3. Receiving gifts?
         4. Acts of service?
         5. Appropriate touch? (high fives)
   2. If you are unable to answer any of these questions for anybody on your team, it’s time to set aside some time to get to know them.
4. Become your team’s “Encourager-in-Chief”:
   1. People are naturally drawn to people who give them confidence and make them feel good about themselves.
   2. Test this out. For the next 30 days, say something genuinely encouraging to someone on your team everyday and see how they respond.
   3. Do this with everyone on your team and watch their productivity go through the roof.