The 5 Levels of Leadership

Book Review by Des Hague

 The 5 Levels of
Leadership provides
clear steps for
leadership growth.
 Lead people well and help
members of your team to
become effective leaders, and a
successful career path is almost
guaranteed.
 Each of the sections of
this book is dedicated to
one of the 5 Levels:
 Level 1:
Position

• Position is the lowest level of

leadership– the entry level.
• The only influence a positional leader has is that
which comes with the job title.

• People follow because they have to.

Positional leaders usually have
difficulty working with
volunteers, younger people, and
the highly educated.
 Why?

• Because positional leaders have no influence

and these types of people tend to be more
independent.

• Position is the only level that does not require

ability and effort to achieve.

• Anyone can be appointed to a position.

 Nothing is wrong with having a
leadership position. Everything is
wrong with using position to get
people to follow.
Level 2 - Permission

Level 2 is based
entirely on
relationships.
 On the
Permission level,
people follow
because they
want to.
When you like people and treat
them as individuals who have
value, you begin to develop
influence on them. You develop
trust. The environment becomes
much more positive
• 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.
But, good leaders don’t just create a pleasant
working environment: They get things done!
That’s why they must move up to Level 3,
which is based on results.
 Level 3:
Production

On the Production level leaders

gain influence and credibility,
and people begin to follow them
because of what they have done
for the organization.
• On the Production level
leaders gain influence and
credibility, and people begin
to follow them because of
what they have done for the
organization.
 Many positive things begin happening when
leaders get to Level 3.

Work gets done, morale improves, profits go up,

turnover goes down, and goals are achieved.

It is on Level 3 that momentum kicks in.

 Level 4: People

Level 4 leadership is about people

development.

It reflects your ability to develop

and reproduce other leaders.
This is the stage where your leadership
gains depth, sustainability, and begins
to extend your influence beyond what
you can accomplish on your own.
This is the result of investing into
others and helping them become
better people and leaders.
 Level 5:
Pinnacle
It takes a lot to be able to develop
other leaders so that they reach
Level 4; that’s what Level 5 leaders
do…

The individuals who reach Level

5 lead so well for so long that
they create a legacy of
leadership in the organization
they serve.
Pinnacle leaders stand
out from everyone else.
• They are a cut above, and they seem to bring
success with them wherever they go.

• Leadership at this high level lifts the entire

organization and creates an environment that
benefits everyone in it, contributing to their
success.
• Level 5 leaders
often possess an
influence that
transcends the
organization and
the industry the
leader works in.
For more Book Reviews and other
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