My very first introduction into the concept of leadership came in the form of a video that one of my managers showed at a meeting he was leading several years back. I had never really thought about leadership in any way except as a vague idea of something that I was not. I didn’t know that managing people was different than leading them. Although it sounds silly now, I had a belief that if I put someone in place as a manager, the work was done. I thought that managers automatically were leaders and knew how to bring the best out in people. The video was John Maxwell, someone I had never heard of except maybe as some sort of religious leader. He started as a pastor, but has expanded his impact into the field of leadership in the business world.
He talked about 5 levels of leadership, and this was a catalyst for me to look at myself and the people that I had in management positions in my company. It was the beginning of the journey I am continuing daily, towards being the best version of myself that I can be.
1-Positional leader- people follow because they have to (you’re the boss, so they have to follow)
2-Permission level – people follow you because they want to (you have begun to develop a relationship)
3-Production level – People follow you because of what you have done for the organization- you are growing things
4-People development level – you are turning producers into reproducers, loyalty kicks in here. You have mentored them and developed them, they follow you because of what you have done for them.
5-Personhood level – people follow you because of who you are, you are bigger than life- this will come if you are growing as a leader
“The individual leads in order that those who are led can develop their potential as human beings and thereby prosper.” —Socrates