5 Levels of Leadership

Inspired by John Maxwell

John Calvin Maxwell is an American author and speaker who has written many books, primarily
focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21
Indispensable Qualities of a Leader.
Vincent Thomas Lombardi was an American football player, coach, and executive in the
National Football League
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United
States Army.
Level 1: Position
• Beginning of leadership journey
• People follow you because you are the boss,
because of your “position”
• But the position doesn't’t make you a great
leader
• People who follow you will give you the least
amount of their energy and effort
• People follow you because they have to
Level 2: Permission
• People begin to follow you because they want
to
• Leaders start to connect to people
• Relationships with people are the foundation
of leadership
• Leaders value their people
• Leaders begin to develop relational skills –
they listen well, they observe, they are
learning (servanthood)
Level 3: Production
• You become effective as a leader because you
produce – produce by example, role model for
the other people to follow you how to be
productive and effective
• Leadership begins to gain credibility
• Law of magnetism – we attract who we are
not who we want
• Leaders start to create momentum –
important to problem-solving
Level 4: People Development
• People – the most important asset in an
organization
• Leaders grow a company by growing and
developing people
• The key to developing good people – recruit,
position, equip
• Equipment process – I do it, I do it and you are
with me, You do it and I’m with you, You just
do it, You do it and somebody is with you
Level 5: Pinnacle
• People follow you because of who you are,
what you have done
Case Study Questions
1. Describe Welch’s leadership style
2. Assess Welch’s leadership effectiveness
3. Would you describe Jack Welch as a
successful leader at GE? Explain.
4. How would you rate the ethics of Welch’s
leadership?
5. Would you have wanted to work for Jack
Welch? Why or why not?