Level 5 Leadership

What it is
How to recognize it
How to achieve it

Silas McCullough, Managing Director,

mindSHIFT Technologies, Inc.
Deena Coffman, Discovery Director,
Johnson & Johnson
What is Leadership?
Know it when you see it

Or not!
Leaders?
Leader?
Abraham Lincoln
Effective?
Characteristics?
Modest, Humble
Willful, Fearless
Not controlled by ego
Characteristics

Personal humility
Assumes responsibility for poor results and gives
credit to others
Inspired standards to motivate
Professional will
“Consistently Unusual”

Five Years (1985 – 2000)

Eleven Companies (out of 1400)
3x market performance
Common themes and factors
What’s behind the Level 5 label?
Capability Maturity Model
Level 5 Leadership Model
Levels 1-5
Level 1
“highly capable individual who makes productive
contributions through talent, knowledge, skills and good
work habits.”

Level 2
“team member who contributes individual capabilities to
the achievement of group objectives and works
effectively with others in a group setting.”
Levels 1-5
Level 3
“competent manager who organizes people and
resources toward the effective and efficient pursuit of
predetermined objectives.”

Level 4
“an effective leader who catalyzes commitment to and
vigorous pursuit of a clear and compelling vision
stimulating higher performance standards.”
Levels 1-5
Level 5
the executive who “builds enduring greatness through a
paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional
will.”
Personal Humility

Good-to-great leaders are self-effacing, quiet, reserved,

and even shy.

More like Lincoln and Socrates than Patton or Caesar.

A Radical Departure in Perspective

Counterintuitive

Countercultural

We assume that a leader must be confident,

unwavering, always taking a stand, always putting
forth an opinion, …..
Inspired Standards to Motivate

They build a culture of discipline through standards

and not charisma. They hire self-disciplined people
who are willing to extend themselves to accomplish
a goal.

They channel their ego needs away from

themselves and toward company goals.
Professional Will
Unwavering resolve to produce long-term results
Make It Happen

These leaders deliver what they promise.

There is no hype, no spin, no excuses; just
understated, realistic expectations.
The expectations may be challenging but they are
met.
What difference does it make?

Every one of the good-to-great companies had a

level 5 leaders during the critical transition phase.
None of the comparison companies did.
But, not by Level 5 alone did any of the good-to-
great companies transform.
What Else Do You Need?

First Who
Stockdale Paradox
Flywheel
Hedgehog Concept
A Culture of Discipline
First Who
Get the right people on the bus before you start to
roll.
Stockdale Paradox

Survived for 7 years in a Viet Cong POW

camp by hanging on to two beliefs:
His life couldn’t be worse at the moment, and
His life would someday be better than ever.

Both disciplines – faith and facts – at the

same time, all the time.
Buildup-Breakthrough Flywheel
Start one movement at a time
Gradually building up momentum
Until there is a breakthrough
Hedgehogs and Foxes
The fox knows a little about a lot of things
The hedgehog
Knows one thing very, very well
Is uniquely built to do that
function, and
That function serves the
hedgehog well.
Hedgehog Concept – The Three Circles
A Culture of Discipline
Good-to-great organizations have three forms of
discipline:
Disciplined people – hierarchy not necessary,
Disciplined thought – bureaucracy not necessary, and
Disciplined action – excessive controls unnecessary.

Combining a culture of discipline with an ethic of

entrepreneurship results in great performance
How Can We Move Toward Level 5?

If Level 5 is foremost about the cause, the

company, the work—not yourself. Then combined
with will and ambition, what actions would be
consistent?
How Can We Move Toward Level 5?

Do you know a Level 5 leader?

Do you have the right mentor?
Do you have the right circumstances?
Do you put self-reflection and effort toward
improvement?
How Can We Move Toward Level 5?
Why do so few Level 5s get chosen for top spots in our
organizations? What can be done to change this?
How Can We Build Level 5 Skills? (cont.)

Do you have the right people on the bus?

Are the right people on the bus, just in the wrong
seats?
How do you discern between unwavering faith and
confronting the brutal facts?
In leading a team, what is your “question-to-
statement” ratio?
How Can We Build Level 5 Skills? (cont.)

Hedgehog concept (three circles)

Are you passionate about your work? Are you
“wired” for your work? Can you get paid for what
you are passionate about and what you are wired
for?
Class distinctions are deeply divisive and counter to
Level 5 leadership. How do we eliminate?
How Can We Build Level 5 Skills? (cont.)
What are your core values?
What is your core purpose, beyond just making
money?
What is your BHAG—big hairy audacious goal?
What is holding you back?
No blame
Make it happen
Resources
www.manager-tools.com
www.jimcollins.com
Collins, Jim, "Good-to-Great: Why Some Companies Make
the Leap... and Others Don't", Random House, London,
2001
Collins, Jim, "Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility
and Fierce Resolve" Harvard Business Review, Jan. 2001
www.HBRideacast.com
http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/
Questions?