5 Levels of Leadership by John Maxwell and How to Become a Great CEO
What is the difference between a good leader and a great leader? According to John Maxwell – a leadership expert, bestselling author, and founder of the world-renowned John Maxwell Company, the answer depends on which level a person’s leadership ability reaches. Maxwell introduced 5 levels of leadership: Position, Permission, Production, People Development, and Pinnacle.
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1. Analyzing John Maxwell’s 5 Levels of Leadership Model
“Leadership” is just one word, but it is an art, the essence of a lifetime of experience and hard work. Drawing from his experience, John Maxwell has shown us that leadership is also divided into different levels.
1. Level 1 Leadership – Position
This is the lowest level in the 5 levels of leadership – the entry level. People who only reach Level 1 can only be called bosses, never leaders. This level does not require much skill or effort to achieve, and almost anyone can become a boss upon appointment. They have subordinates, but not team members. They rely on rules, regulations, and management functions and policies to control their employees. As a result, their people will only follow them within the defined boundaries of their jobs.
Level 1 leaders often rely solely on their titles to get people to follow them, and subordinates only perform assigned tasks because they have to. Therefore, they lack the motivation to push, inspire, and direct their team. However, this does not mean that Level 1 leaders cannot develop into great leaders. If they start nurturing strong relationships and earning their employees’ trust, they will quickly advance to Level 2 leadership.
To advance to the next level, you need to:
- Focus on developing emotional intelligence
- Practice situational leadership to adapt to the needs of each employee
- Learn to practice situational leadership and adapt to the needs of each employee.
- Hold weekly one-on-one meetings with every team member
- Communicate recognition and appreciation for employees
- Practice being a coach who provides constructive feedback
2. Level 2 Leadership – Permission
This is the level of leadership based on relationships. To grow at this level, leaders must work to learn about people and connect with them. You cannot lead without people, which means you must learn to adapt to people if you want to lead better.
Maxwell explained, “When you like people and treat them as individuals of value, you begin to develop a positive influence with them. As trust grows, this leads to respect. The environment then becomes much more positive—whether at home, at work, at play, or while volunteering.” Level 2 is the foundation for building strong, long-lasting relationships, creating the groundwork for the next level.
At Level 2, their subordinates begin to work more willingly and because they want to, not just because they are obeying orders.
However, if you remain at this level for too long, you will cause highly motivated and ambitious people to become frustrated because they cannot prove themselves or earn a higher income.
As you can see, the transition from Level 1 to Level 2 leadership is a significant milestone because it demonstrates that a person has the motivation and ability to become a leader. This is also the prerequisite for becoming a Level 3 leader.
To move to the third of the 5 levels of leadership, a leader needs to:
- Focus on and communicate a clear vision, strategic map, and mission
- Discuss key performance indicators (KPIs) with every employee to involve them in setting and developing their goals.
- Set realistic timelines and track progress on individual and team goals with project management applications
- Time management skills and problem-solving, delegating work to others to handle assigned tasks.
- Establish planning days and strategy days. This allows the leader time to address organizational issues and map out the company’s direction.
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>> Read more: 3 Modern 4.0 Management Models and Prominent Trends Leaders Need to Know |
3. Level 3 Leadership – Production
The production level is where leaders can become agents of change. When work gets done, morale improves, and profits increase as goals are achieved quickly. The more you produce, the more likely you are to solve tough problems. Because when everyone moves forward together, the team improves, performance is enhanced, and efficiency levels rise.
Maxwell explained: “There are two types of people in the business community: those who produce results and those who give you reasons why they don’t.” Level Three leaders produce results. At this level, they focus on outlining positive outcomes using their accepted leadership title.
To achieve this, they study and practice the characteristics of transformational, charismatic, and democratic leadership styles. The result is leaders who inspire, encourage, and motivate people to pursue and achieve challenging goals.
Additionally, Level 3 leaders are excellent communicators. They share their vision with their employees, outline action plans, and help team members feel valued, heard, and understood. However, at this stage, they find it difficult to focus on developing other leaders, which brings us to the next leadership stage.
At this level, the leader not only gets along with and understands employees but also helps their team create value for the organization, thereby increasing the team’s confidence and income.
Here are some skills to start becoming a Level 4 leader in the 5 levels of leadership:
- Assess leadership abilities and start incorporating them into your leadership style.
- Develop a free mentoring program where employees can learn to lead before being placed in leadership roles.
- Focus on investing in the lives of team members. Create promotion plans, discuss employees’ dreams and goals to help them achieve them.
- Make promoting the professional development and growth of others a personal goal.
4. Level 4 Leadership – People Development
We can summarize Level 4 in one word: Reproduction. The main goal of this level is to identify and develop as many leaders as possible by investing in them to help them grow into talented leaders.
When more leaders are developed, the organization’s goals and tasks are completed faster. Therefore, good leaders at Level 4 need to invest their time, energy, and money in developing others into leaders.
How does this emphasis on people and their decisions translate into action? Leaders at the People Development level shift their focus from the production achieved by others to developing their potential.
The more new leaders you develop, the more you change not only your own life but also the lives of all team members. As a result, people will follow you for how you have helped them change and succeed.
Therefore, to advance to the people development level, you need to prioritize investing in leaders and take steps to help them grow. By persevering, you will reap the success and rewards of the next level.
How to work towards becoming a Level 5 leader:
- Use time management skills to plan mentoring for team members. Thus, make the development of leaders a daily action.
- Fulfill the commitment you are making. Becoming a top-level leader is a long process and can take decades of building and developing others to create a legacy as a great leader.
- Find the motivation that drives you to pursue a leadership position. To determine this, you need to identify what motivates you to replicate leaders. What impact does it have on the business, your life, the lives of customers, and the world? Why is developing other leaders important?
- Track employee changes. At the same time, conduct employee evaluations to show them the difference the leader has made. This helps leaders promote progress when investing in others.
5. Level 5 Leadership – The Pinnacle
Few leaders ever reach Level 5 – the Pinnacle. This is because achieving this level of leadership is not just the culmination of leading well at other levels; it also requires a high degree of skill and innate leadership ability. In fact, a person must dedicate their life to self-development, serving others, and guiding a new generation of leaders to reach what Maxwell calls the Pinnacle.
Maxwell wrote in his book, The 5 Levels of Leadership: “What you do daily, over time, becomes your legacy.” Leaders need to be intentional about reaching this pinnacle, and it takes many years to achieve. As you can see, this is a very arduous but highly rewarding journey, as the leader will have to overcome many difficulties and challenges.
When leaders reach the pinnacle, they can see the big picture of what lies on the other side of the mountain. From this position, a leader can see their legacy and the impact they have made on the world through their leadership.
There are several signs that a person has reached the pinnacle. For example, companies with this type of CEO and founder are highly productive, profitable, and ranked highest in their industry. Additionally, the leader will be widely known, admired, and respected. They are also known as a guiding force, leader, and mentor to many.
And when you reach this level, you are not just a leader in your field; you can help any company or organization you join become an excellent workplace, creating a great environment for employees.
How to maintain the position of a Level 5 leader:
- View reaching Level 5 not as an achievement, but as a lifestyle and a way of life.
- Keep your vision and focus forward. This means not getting comfortable with your past achievements—never stop striving to innovate, improve, and excel.
- Expand your market by teaching others to lead. You can start a YouTube channel, release educational content on social media, write a book, or be interviewed for various podcast series.
- Guide your leaders on how to train and develop other leaders.
>>>See more: What is Leadership Skill? 10 Skills a Leader Needs
2. Qualities to become a Level 5 leader
To become a top-level leader, you need to have certain qualities combined with accumulated experience over time. Those qualities are
1. Have vision and purpose
This is the biggest and most important quality that any leader must possess. It is demonstrated by the ability to see the big picture of where the organization or team they are working with is, and what needs to be done to get there.
Good leaders always have vision and purpose. They not only envision the future but also share their vision with their followers. When their followers can see the big picture, they will know where they are heading. A great leader always goes above and beyond to explain why they are moving in a certain direction and shares the strategy and action plan to achieve that goal.
2. Inspire others
One of the most important qualities of a leader is the ability to inspire others. This means maintaining a positive presence to help team members stay motivated and engaged with their work.
As John Quincy Adams said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” Therefore, if you succeed in inspiring your subordinates, you can easily overcome any present and future challenges.
3. Responsibility and reliability
As a leader, it is essential to have a sense of responsibility and reliability. This is demonstrated in your personal work, your duties, and your interactions with others. Ensure that all your subordinates are accountable for what they are doing.
If they do well, praise, reward, and acknowledge their contributions. If they make a mistake, point it out and require them to take responsibility to foster a sense of accountability among your subordinates, and they will take their business more seriously.
4. Innovation and creativity
To become a great leader, you must always innovate with new ideas, constantly create, and always try new methods. This requires you to be willing to change, dare to face challenges and difficulties to inspire others with fresh ideas. Therefore, a leader must have the ability to listen, observe, and be ready to change direction if any problems arise.
5. Empathy
Besides the qualities mentioned above, empathy is an equally important factor that a leader needs to possess. This is demonstrated by the ability to relate and connect with people to inspire and empower their lives.
To be truly empathetic, you need to put yourself in others’ shoes, recognizing whether they are feeling tired or facing any difficulties that require help. When you understand your employees, you will gain their trust, love, and appreciation.
Through this article on John Maxwell’s 5 levels of leadership, leaders can identify where they stand and at which leadership level. This helps leaders outline the steps to become a top-level leader.
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