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When Darwin E. Smith became the CEO of Kimberly-Clark, the old paper organization’s stock had dropped to 36% behind the market. But, in the 20 years that Smith was CEO, he transformed the organization into a leading consumer paper products organization in the world and generated cumulative stock returns that were 4.1:1 to the general market. How was Smith able to transform this organization from merely good to great?
He had all the level 5 leadership characteristics.
Jim Collins’ Level 5 leadership is a discovery derived from his research project of five years, which answered one question: “How can a good organization become great?”
In this article, we’ll look into “Level 5 leadership”—a concept that will help you understand leadership traits that can help you transform an organization from good to great. We’ll dig deep into what level five leadership is, characteristics of level 5 leadership, the 5 levels of leadership and some level 5 leadership examples.
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What Is Level 5 leadership?
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Characteristics Of Leaders With Personal Humility
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Characteristics Of Leaders With A Professional Will
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The Five Levels Of Leadership
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Examples of Level 5 Leadership
What Is Level 5 leadership?
Jim Collins’ level 5 leadership concept states that the most successful transformational leaders possess a mixture of personal humility and professional will. They’re timid yet ferocious, shy yet fearless. They’re unstoppable. If people have this innate paradoxical combination of humility and will, they can definitely climb the 5 levels of leadership.
Level-five leadership is, in effect, a combination of personal humility and professional will.
Characteristics Of Leaders With Personal Humility
The five levels of leadership need leaders with personal humility. Here’s what makes such a leader:
- Level 5 leaders exhibit modesty. They never boast about themselves or their achievements
- These people might not have charismatic personalities. They motivate their team through highly inspiring standards. They’ll be shy and act quietly, with a calm determination to make their organization great
- For level 5 leaders, the success of the organization they work for is more important than personal gains. Through this, their focus is also on setting up successors for even more greatness in the coming generation
- When things go wrong, they look in the mirror. They don’t blame others, external factors or bad luck for poor results
One is not born with all the qualities of a leader. A leader can gradually attain all the characteristics of personal humility if they work toward it.
Characteristics Of Leaders With A Professional Will
A professional will is an indispensable trait for a great leader. Here are the characteristics of leaders with a professional will:
- Level 5 leaders act as catalysts in the transition from good to great. They create superb results and sustain great performance
- They have unwavering determination to do what must be done to produce the best long-term results, no matter how difficult
- They set high standards to build an enduring organization, and they would settle for nothing less
- While giving credit for the success of the organization, they look out the window. They give credit to other people, external factors and good luck
Leaders look at the big picture. They set high standards for themselves and don’t run after superficial things.
The Five Levels Of Leadership
According to Jim Collins’ level 5 leadership research, a great leader has all the capabilities of the four layers beneath them and is a necessary element required for transforming an organization from good to great. Although the 5 levels of leadership mentioned below are all essential, only a level five leader can transform an organization:
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Level 1: Highly Capable Individual
An individual who makes quality contributions to their work through immense talent requires knowledge, skills and good work habits.
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Level 2: Contributing Team Member
An individual who contributes to the objectives of their team and works effectively with them.
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Level 3: Competent Manager
An individual who is excellent at organizing people and resources to fulfill predetermined goals in an efficient and effective manner.
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Level 4: Effective Leader
Someone who continuously strives to improve the performance standards of their team and works vigorously to achieve a clear and compelling vision. Most leaders from good organizations fall in this category.
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Level 5: Level Five Executive
Out of the 5 levels of leadership, this is where executives can build greatness in the organization through a combination of personal humility and professional will.
Most leaders reach only four out of the five levels of leadership. Only incredibly ambitious leaders, whose ambitions are first and foremost to their organization and its success rather than personal motives, make an organization great. Other factors that affect the success of an organization are getting the right people in, letting go of the wrong ones and maintaining a culture of discipline.
Level 5 leadership is against conventional wisdom. It destroys the belief that organizations need larger-than-life saviors and charismatic personalities for transformation.
Examples of Level 5 Leadership
You can grasp the concept of the five levels of leadership with examples. Here are 5 levels of leadership examples:
Colman Mockler, the CEO of Gillette from 1975 to 1991, is one of the best level 5 leadership examples. He faced down three takeover attempts, never once losing his calm, business-as-usual demeanor. Mockler had a shy, courteous style but also a “never give-in” attitude. He chose to make Gillette a great organization instead of pocketing millions for himself.
Just like Mockler, level five leaders illustrate a different level of modesty. They can go on and on about their organization and their people but hesitate to talk about themselves. They give all credit to others in the organization when things are fantastic but shoulder all the blame when things go wrong.
In Jim Collins’s level 5 leadership research, the executives often talked about “good luck”, a very common factor that played a role in an organization’s success. When asked about how their organization had such a great track record of making good decisions, an executive of Nucor, a steel organization, answered: “I guess we were just lucky”. In another instance, the CEO of Philip Morris refused to take credit for the organization’s success. Instead, he said he was lucky to get good successors, predecessors and colleagues who were responsible for the organization’s success.
Level 5 leadership plays a critical role in making a great organization. There are two categories of leaders: some have innate qualities of level 5 leadership and some don’t. For some people, work will always be about their personal gains. The other category, though, consists of people who can evolve to be level 5 leaders.
Harappa’s pathways to success builds in you the most essential skills that every successful leader needs. Check out Harappa’s Lead with empathy pathway. This pathway will teach you the importance of empathy, humility and embracing complexity – all characteristics of level five leadership.
