Attaining Leadership Levels

Fort Saint Elmo, National War Museum, Valletta - Malta

Picture taken by Jonathan Acuña (2020)

Attaining Leadership Levels

Some thoughts

         John Maxwell has been talking about “The 5 Levels of Leadership” for quite some time already. And the fact is, as pointed out by (Lewin, 2020) when talking about leadership in a school setting, the ongoing labor in an academy does not imply that teachers and other academic staff are engaged with its educational project, and there may be no collaboration to attain success in the institution. The school administrators can be sorely disappointed because their leadership model is not helping them be effective leaders harming the organization deeply.

         What should be the leadership bedrock of an education company’s history? Based on John Maxwell (2016), “everyone wants to know where they stand and how to get to the next level” in one’s development of leadership. And as pointed out by Lewin (2020), the leadership begins with Level 1 – Position. Maxwell (2016) says that “at Level 1, people only follow if they believe that they have to;” why does this happen? Lewin (2020) explains that anyone can be given a head position, but this does not imply that position comes along with the leadership. “This means that position is a fine starting point, but every leader should aspire to grow beyond Level 1” (Kay, 2015). This beginning point is characterized by a weak relationship between the leaders and their teams who, as explained by Lewin (2020), do what they are supposed to do because they have to, not because they have a boss. A boss is not necessarily a leader; “the leader’s influence is based on the rights granted by the position and title” (Bergeron, 2018). However, “it is a prime place for you to begin investing in your growth and potential as a leader” (Maxwell, 2016). In a school setting, instructors and academic staff will not follow just because they have an authority figure in front of them; they will do what it is expected from them and no more.

         Leadership Level 2 “is based on relationship” (Maxwell, 2016). The leaders at this level base their work on engagement and relationships (Lewin, 2020) with their team members. It is at this point that leaders begin to know their people and start to connect with them to influence them positively. “When you like people and treat them as individuals who have value, you begin to develop positive influence with them” (Maxwell, 2016). It is at this level that team members start to follow the head of their department because the relationship allow them to “feel liked, cared for, included, valued, and trusted” (Kay, 2015). Team members let themselves be led by their “boss” (Lewin, 2020) because “a shared vision and a plan of action” have been created (Bergeron, 2018). The team will not stay stuck in their comfort zone and in “I do what is required of me” attitude. Going back to the school scenario, leaders such as supervisors and academic coordinators inspire people to get engaged and to do their job efficiently; a good and reciprocal relationship is created among them all.

         “The best leaders know how to motivate ther people to GTD – get things done!” (Maxwell, 2016). Leadership Level 3 – Production is all about results. The office time between midday and evening now wears on while projects are planned, carried out, and reviewed. There is a high level of reciprocity among team members and their leader, whose credibility has grown in the eyes of his/her subordinates. It is at this point that “good leaders make things happen” (Kay, 2015). At this point where results are visible, “no one can fake Level 3” (Kay, 2015); either the team is working as a unit and achieving goals that can impact the institution, or the group is not doing anything as a unit. It is also at this very point that, as Lewin (2020) puts out, the leaders have influenced others positively for the organization, and this happens because team members follow their leader “because of what [they] have done for the organisation” (Bergeron, 2018). Success here is not given for the team head’s ransom; success materializes because it is now a team effort. In the school scenario, teachers, supervisors, academic coordinators, heads of units, and the like are working to achieve success for the school; things get done in terms of good teaching, effective supervision, assertive academic coordination, and heading for a higher success rate for the company.

         Do institutional leaders cease plying their growth mindset net when they have attained Level 3? Of course not; Level 4 is now for reproduction. Based on Maxwell (2016), the leaders’ goal is “to identify and develop as many leaders as [they] can by investing in them and helping them grow.” It is at this phase that, as Lewin (2020) explains, leaders start to pontentiate team members’ professional development. These Level 4 leaders will not cease plying their success net to intend to reproduce leadership qualities in their groups of contributors; these inviduals can become the new community of future leaders the institution requires (Lewin, 2020). These Level 4 leaders are people whose lives change even beyond the institution; there is a development in their personal life as well (Lewin, 2020). Based on Maxwell (2016), “the more you raise up new leaders, the more you will change the lives of all members of the team.” New and stronger relationships will be created between leaders and their teams. And all this happens because “leaders on the People Development level of leadership shift their focus from the production achieved by others to the development of their potential” (Kay, 2015). Or as Bergeron (2018) sees this phase in leadership, “the leader intentionally invests in developing and mentoring other leaders.” The pesky attitudes of people under the supervision of heads or coordinators will not make them be in sore dismay; they will hover around new opportunities for team members’ professional growth and development. In the school context, instructors will also be guided to become lead teachers to help colleagues and new hirees; the good qualities of the Level 4 leader is embodied by lead teachers who will help other stay in tune.

         Pinnacle is the fifth stage in leadership development. “The highest level of leadership is also the most challenging to attain” (Maxwell, 2016). Getting to this point in leadership development is for people who are willing to invest the rest of their lives helping other leaders achieve Level 4. “The individuals who reach Level 5 lead so well for so long that they create a legacy of leadership in the organization they serve” (Kay, 2015). With this type of leaders in an institution, success becomes a wondrous hoard that cannot be easily found outside any corporation; these people in a school setting will lift entire departments, unit teams, groups of directors to aspire for higher goals for the organization. These leading academic figures will never cease plying their success net to trap new followers who will become new leaders for education institution. And people in the organization will follow them “because of who [they] are what [they] stand for” (Bergeron, 2018).

         All these levels of leadership intend to help the organization to achieve its peak of academic performance. Educators will feel that their leader keep them company all along their working life in the institution, and they will want to continue being part of the teaching staff in it. Instructors’ hallway noise because of rumors will eventually vanish because of the presence of lead teachers who have a genuine, open dialogue with other leading figures in the administration; these lead teachers will always deliver messages back and forth with the right information and not gossip. And as stated by Maxwell (2013), “leadership is about growth – for yourself, your relationships, your productivity, and your people.” For the school leaders, all this is about growth, too: academic relationships and with other departments, course productivity and student learning success, and teacher professional development.

References

Bergeron, P. (2018, March 13). Develop the five levels of leadership and become an effective leader. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from Leadership Inc.: https://www.sisleadership.com/develop-the-five-levels-of-leadership-and-become-an-effective-leader/

Kay, M. (2015). The 5 Levels of Leadership by John Maxwell. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from Psychology for Marketers: http://psychologyformarketers.com/5-levels-leadership-john-maxwell/

Lewin, L. (2020, September 22). Liderazgo y Neuroliderazgo. Escuela para Directivos, Laureate Languages. Buenos Aires, Argentina: ABS International.

Maxwell, J. (2016, August 30). The 5 Levels of Leadership. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from John C. Maxwell: https://www.johnmaxwell.com/blog/the-5-levels-of-leadership1/

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