Level 4 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 second Level. On to Level 4!
Level 4: People Development
The upside of people development: Helping individual leaders grow eastenders your influence and impact.
The downside of people development: Leading on Level 4 requires high levels of maturity and skill.
“Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.” – John Maxwell
That is what leaders do on Level 4.
They use their position, relationships, and productivity to invest in their followers and develop them until those followers become leaders.
The result is reproduction.
2 things always happen on Level 4.
First, teamwork goes to a very high level.
Why? Because the high investment in people deepens relationships, helps people to know one another better, and strengthens loyalty.
Second, performance increases. Why? Because there are more leaders on the team, and they help improve everybody’s performance.
Level 4 leaders change the lives of the people they lead because they effectively lead them to become Level 3 leaders and their relationships are often lifelong.
Here are 4 things you can do to grow through level 4
- Work Through Your Insecurities:
- Leaders who are afraid of looking bad or being replaced, rarely develop leaders. If this is you, spend time with people you trust to work through your insecurities and to request accountability.
- Recruit the Best People You Can Develop:
- Most leaders spend 80% of their time with the bottom 20% of people. The complainers and troublemakers.
Instead, Level 4 leaders focus 80% of their time developing the top 20% who may not need the attention but would most benefit from it and in turn further the company or organization along.
- Most leaders spend 80% of their time with the bottom 20% of people. The complainers and troublemakers.
- Create a Personal Development Process:
- The ability to see, discern, and analyze is essential to developing people. Level 4 leaders recognize the strengths and weakness of their people and are able to develop a leadership process according to their talents, temperaments, and styles. While average leaders try to lead everybody the same way, Level 4 leaders lead everyone differently.
- Remain Approachable As a Leader, Role Model, and Coach:
- Openness, humility, and transparency are always attractive. These qualities give others permission to ask questions, take risk, and be themselves. Also, make sure to take complete responsibility for creating energy and inspiration for others.