Leadership Levels
Effective leadership can be likened to the stock market. Fortunes are not made in a single day; but they are made on a daily basis, bit by bit. The most important thing is what is done day after day, over an extensive pull. For one to be successive in leadership, investment in leadership development is inevitable, (Geoffrey, 2006). The end result of this investment is “Leadership growth” over a period of time. Most scholars argue that leaders are never born; but rather, they are made. According to Philip (2006), greatness is attained through many years of hard work that is very painful and demanding. Natural gifts are immaterial in this case. Even those born with a certain talent have to undertake enormous practice for them to achieve greatness. For instance, Tiger Woods was noted to have a talent in playing golf as early as when he was three years old. However, it is not only having this talent that has made him great, but the time that he took to practice on this talent, (Philip, 2006). Arguably, leadership a complicated long process with made elements. Some of these elements include; vision, respect, discipline, dignity, opportunity, emotional strength, as well as experience. This process can be described as a journey and it continues even if certain qualities have been achieved, (Bill & Stephen, 2007). Generally, there are five levels of leadership within the structure of organizations. However, it is of importance to note that, the five levels are not only applicable to organizational structures, but also to other areas that are beyond organizational structures, (Geoffrey, 2006).
Level one is characterized has leadership from position. It is a doorway that each and every successive leader has to go through to rise to higher levels of leadership. Arguably, people follow leaders at this level because they have no otherwise. The ability of these leaders is to lead is based on the position and does not go outside the job description lines or the power that the leaders have been offered by their companies or boss, (Bill & Stephen, 2007). As such, the leader’s security is not based on talent, but on position as well as title. For one to be an efficient leader at this stage, he/she should have the following attributes. First, knowing what his/her job entails is very crucial. Second, the individual should be ready and willing to take responsibilities that are associated with such position, (Philip, 2006). Third, caution should be exercised while applying the give authority. Fourth, the leader should be in a position to understand his/her followers through assessing their weaknesses as well as strengths. Lastly, the leader should work beyond what is expected of him/her as well as challenging the followers with tough but interesting assignments.
For me to be a level one leader, I have gone through several yardsticks and targets. For instance, I have worked hard in my studies to achieve high standards which act as a base for my leadership journey. Precisely, knowledge is an essential factor or rather characteristics for level one leader. I have a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering, a key factor that gave me an opportunity to work in one of the crucial companies, The National Water Company, in Saudi Arabia. Besides, I have acquired enough experience in this sector, and that is why I was offered a projects manager’s job in 2004 in the same company. Moreover, I have good work habits which have been very vital in exercising my authority as well as my relationships with all the parties in this company. For instance, I take responsibility for all that my work entails to ensure that I achieve success in everything that I do. Undeniably, taking responsibility involves making decisions which in most cases determines the outcome of the company’s projects. For me to ensure that I make the right decisions, I have come to appreciate the benefits of consultation. As such, for every decision that I make, I always seek advice from both my seniors as well as team-members to get their opinions. Consequently, although not all the decisions that I make turn out successively, I can say that I have all it takes to come up with the right decisions based on successive projects that my company has achieved under my leadership.
Besides being a good decision maker, I am also a good role model for my juniors. This is due to the facts that, I always try to work closely with them guiding them wherever and whenever they have a problem; which might be on personal grounds or work related. As such, I have been able to establish a close relationship with my juniors, which has been a great boost to team-spirit in all the projects that we carry out. Besides good decision-making, this has been one of the contributory factors for the success that I have achieved both in the National Water Company as well as other areas. One of the key characteristics or rather attributes of a level one leader is the ability to delegate work and responsibilities. Through experiences, I have come to realize that I cannot be able to do all my roles as a Project Manager alone. Therefore, I try to delegate some of these roles to my juniors so that they can help me run the projects. However, it is my responsibility to follow up everything that I have delegated to ensure that it is done according to my expectations.
Thinking ‘outside the box’ is a very crucial trait of leadership. Based on the experience that I have acquired in the National Water Company, I have been successive in establishing my own Construction Company which deals with structural implementation and construction projects in Saudi Arabia. This is because I have come to realize that for me to be successive I have to develop myself in all perspectives. Moreover, I realized that by establishing my own company, it will not only help me grow financially but it will also boost my leadership skills which would help me to rise to the higher levels of leadership. To further sharpen my knowledge, I am now undertaking a master degree in Engineering Management. I believe this will be a crucial factor that will help me to progress to the other levels of leadership; from level two up to level five, (Philip, 2006). For me to reach level five, I will need to go various processes for a certain period of time in order to acquire the needed pattern of experiences and training as outlined below.
The second level of leadership is termed as “leadership from respect”. It is all about building good relationships both with the boss as well as the followers. At this level, individuals are more concerned with what the leader cares about, before caring what the leader knows. The leader is seen by others as a professional with whom they have common goals as well as challenges, (Louis, 2009). At this level individuals will thrive as leaders based on the respect that they are accorded, which is essential in building trusted and long-term professional connections. These connections act as a foundation for successful leadership. At this stage, a leader should be able to understand his/her subordinate through knowing how to deal with difficult individuals, which could help him/her to set grounds for the success of the employees, (Joss-Bass Inc., 2007). Consequently, some of the crucial attributes that attributes that will enable me to progress to this stage are learning to be a contributing team member as well as the achievements that have attained both in academics as well as work experience, which will help me to achieve the objectives of a team. This is one of the reasons why I enrolled for a master degree in Engineering Management, so has to achieve more in academics to enable me to learn ways that I can employ to achieve team objectives.
Third level is entails what is referred to as leadership from results. For one to reach at this level, he/she must a skilled manager. He/she must be in a position to mobilize human resources as well as other resources, for effectual and successful chase of preset objectives, (Nicholas, 2004). Generally this s a testimony stage, based on the fact that individuals follow this leader because of the input he/she has put into the organization. Most people within as well outside the organization like this leader, probably due to the achievements he/she has attained. He/she is able to overcome the challenges based on the accumulation of knowledge as well as experience over several years. This is analogous to the success of experienced chess players. According to Philip (2006), an experienced chess player has accumulated enough knowledge of the game, which enables him/her to note the next move to be made faster than a novice can do. Hence, leaders in this stage, have wide knowledge in management which will enables him/her to easily tackle challenges that may be present. It is also important to note that at this stage, it becomes fun to lead; any challenge is seen as an opportunity to make things better and the entire workforce is motivated to work towards a common goal, (Maxwell, 2011). Being a growth stage, the leader is always ready to kick off and take accountability for growth, possibly by developing a function and following it up to the end. This will involve making difficult choices that are aimed at long-term growth, while advocating for change as well as understanding change.
Level four encompasses leadership starting with development of people. The main reason why individuals follow a leader at this level is because they see an opportunity of growing as an individual. Studies indicate that an organization with a good number of level four leaders will attain a long growth array, (Geoffrey, 2006). One of the attributes of leaders at this level is effectiveness. Effectiveness in this case comes from the ability of the leader to focus on promoting growth of individuals, mainly because human resources are one of the crucial resources in any organization. As such, effectiveness of the leader is measured in terms of how he/she relates with the followers who tribute the leadership style of the leader as well as goals. To be more precise, level four leadership relies on the loyalty of the concerned parties, (Collins, 2006). The other characteristics of level four leaders are the ability to facilitate obligation to dynamic hunt of a clear and undeniable vision. This will in turn act as a stimulant for advanced performance.
The last level of leadership is based on mentorship. This can also be said to be an executive level. This level has two sides: the first side is that of professional nature; which encompasses; creation of exceptional results, setting of high standards, firm decision making, as well as taking personal accountability for any disappointments. The second side is that of personal nature and it entails; channeling ambitions into the company, giving credits to others, as well as compelling diffidence. As such, leaders at this level play a key role for the organization to attain greatness. For an individual to reach at this point, it requires several years of hard work and determination. Like in the case of great athletes such as Tiger Woods, practice contributes significantly to the achievements of these leaders, (Haynes, 2008). The decisions that are made by these leaders depends on the feedback that they get by cooperating with their workforce as well as seeking information from other places. The major attribute of the leader in this case is not getting the work done, but aiming at getting better at it, (Philip, 2006). Furthermore, there is adoption of a new mindset. This helps these leaders to do their assignments in new ways. According to research, such leaders are capable of processing information sincerely as well as retaining it longer. The major difference between leaders at this level and the other four levels is that, it is the only leadership level where lifting up organization to constant superiority from patchiness. Consequently, the attributes of these leaders are: they base their decision on ‘who’ the ‘what’; they always have higher ambitions for the company as compared to personal ambitions; they play a significant role in establishing firm success grounds for their successors and lastly, they are always willing to do all it takes in order to ensure that their company will doing well for several years to come, ceteris paribus, (CIO, 2002).
In conclusion, it should be note that leadership is a long journey that requires a lot of practice and hard work. According to Philip (2006), expert chess players depend on the knowledge as well as the skills that they acquire through practice for several years, to easily see the next move unlike the novice. The same thing applies to leadership. Successive leaders achieve their success not because of having a talent in leadership, but because of the challenges they have encountered and the experience of many years of hard work. Generally, there are five levels in the leadership ladder. The first level acts as a base for all the other stage. For one to rise from the first level up to the fifth level, a lot of hard work and practice is needed.
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