SAINT COLUMBAN COLLEGE

Pagadian City

A Summary and Reflection Paper

Presented to the Faculty of Graduate School

Saint Columban College

In partial fulfilment of the requirements

for BA 217/ PA 212 (Leadership and Change Management)

Submitted by:
Kee Jay T. Pondoc, LPT

Submitted to;
Bemia Snooky A. Beboso, MBA, LPT

SUMMARY PAPER
 THE 5P’S /LEVELS OF LEADERSHIP BY JOHN MAXWELL

In this chapter, John Maxwell is discussing the five levels of leadership, which are as followed:
(1) the position level, (2) the permission level, (3) the production level, (4) the people
development level, (5) the pinnacle level. Each level has specific criteria, and to get to the next
level one must obtain those requirements of the lower level. John breaks down the five steps in a
manageable way, so that all can understand that anyone can be on any level with another. The
level that one is in with another may be determined by each of their positions, experience, how
well they get along, and many more factors. When he goes into depth about the different levels,
it makes more sense as to why level one is the first, and so on.

The first level is called “the position level.” In this level, authority is established by the position
you are as of that moment. So, one listens or follows another, because they have to. Everyone
starts at this level in any type of professional relationship. Creditability and respect are usually
minimal at this point, but are merely based on one person being more experience and another
being a “new bee.” Maxwell continuously mentions that everyone must start at this level, which
makes sense. A good leader should also continue to develop those relationships as time goes on.

The next level of Leadership is known as “the permission level.” During this phase, people start
following leaders, because they like them. When people get to this level with another it is a sign
of growth in their relationship. Establishing growth in vital to the permission level, along with
every level after it. Several leaders never get to this point, because they are hated by many and
liked by few. If a leader is unlikeable, that leader may find that those following him/her will
never give their all to complete tasks asked of them by the leader. In the permission level, those
following the leader listen and observe well, and are general more willing to do less preferred
tasks with more energy. Commitment comes from any follower, who genuinely enjoys their
leader.

A good leader establishes a relationship, becomes liked by his or her follower then what? That
leader should work others to reach a common goal. This level is identified as “the production
level.” Throughout the production level people begin to follow the tendencies and behaviors
being exemplified by the leader. I think of this stage as more of a monkey see- monkey do,
because “people do what they see.” The phrase that struck me while Maxwell was explaining
what happens in this level, was when he stated, “you are followed by know you attract….
Momentum is a problem solver, lack of momentum is a problem stopper..” It resonated with me,
because many people don’t lead with the thought of others doing exactly as they do in mind, and
I consider myself a leader, so I will be more conscience of it now. If leaders lead exactly how
they expected their follower to act, everyone would be a lot more productive with their time.

When productivity is increased, the quality of workers increase too. Maxwell claimed, “80% of
your success of equipping people to be successful is in the front door, on who you bring in.” The
key is to train a “new bee” so well, to the point that they become an expert and can train
someone else just as good, if not better than they were trained. This level is named “the people
development level.” Within this level, there are a cycle of steps the leader must do to create more
leaders. This cycle is known as the following: (1) I do it, (2) I do it and you watch, (3) you do it
and I watch, (4) you do it, and (5) you do it and someone else watches. Once this process is
completed, a great leader will repeat from step one with a different person.

The last step of the five levels of leadership is recognized as “the pinnacle level.” At this level,
there is a great amount of respect that followers have for the leader. The respect may be based on
the leader’s experience, accomplishments, and/ or creditability. Once a leader gets to the
pinnacle level, his or her follower think very highly of that leader; they may be even considered a
“hero” and be admired by countless followers. Without completing levels 1-4 successfully, a
leader will never reach the pinnacle level.

WORD COUNT : 756

 REACTION PAPER
THE 5P’S /LEVELS OF LEADERSHIP BY JOHN MAXWELL

I already ever heard about 5 levels of leaderships by John Maxwell but still not have clear information
until I read his book and watch some videos. I would like to thank Professor Snooky for sharing this
interesting topic. On John Maxwell’s book, I’ve got the summarized content of his leadership model. The
5 levels of leadership are position as level 1, permission as level 2, production as level 3, people
development as level 4 and pinnacle as level 5. I learned that a position doesn’t make you a leader as
people do not like to follow you because they have to. As a staff, I totally agree with this point since I
had an unpleasant experience with my ex-manager. Therefore I would like to become a leader that
people want to work with not have to work with. It’s because when people like you they will be more
productive and will be more engagement.

I think that the 5 levels of leaderships by John Maxwell will help me learning how to build positive
attitudes, to build trust, to influence people and winning with people. It will help me not only in work
but also in my personal life. The first level of Position is achieved when one gets a job with a leadership
responsibility. People often get promoted into leadership based on their potential, and a leadership
position allows one to take charge of others by sheer fact of their title. People have to follow these
leaders because they have the authority and right to lead them. Often, tier one leaders depend on their
rank and rules to get things done. As a leader gravitates towards a more collegial style of leadership,
Permission comes into play. Here, leaders leverage on their relationships with others, relying on open
communication, encouragement, trust, and effective inter-human relations to get things done. A key
thing to remember here is the Golden Rule, ie “Treat others as you want others to treat you.” Moving up
to level 3, leaders start to harness Production as a key trait. Focusing on results, such leaders
demonstrate credibility by their ability to perform. Leading by example and building powerful teams,
they bring clarity to their roles, generate positive momentum, prioritize activities that generate high
return, and act as change agents. At the 4th level of People Development, leaders concentrate more of
their energies on training, mentoring and coaching their followers to be leaders themselves. Through
reproduction, they can multiply their effectiveness. Here, leaders should recruit the best people
possible, place them at the right positions, model leadership behaviors, equip others to do their jobs
well, develop their life skills, empower them to succeed, and measure their effectiveness. Finally,
Pinnacle leaders at level 5 epitomize the highest leadership accomplishment, ie the ability to develop
other leaders to level 4. These legendary leaders gain a lot of respect by virtue of who they are and what
they represent.

WORD COUNT : 7488