The article Level 5 Leadership reviews the topic of what catapults the companies from merely good to great. The article is supported by a 5 year research that searched for the answer to the question of how companies achieve greatness. The companies that went from mediocre to great were researched as well as the management teams of these companies. The most powerful indicator for the transformation of these companies and success were the managers.
The article talks about level 5 leaders and characterizes them as individuals who possess a paradoxical mixture of personal humility and professional will. Additionally, these leaders are timid and ferocious. The article clearly describes these successful leaders as shy, fearless, rare and unstoppable.
The level 5 leadership hierarchy:
Level 1: Highly Capable Individual
Level 2: Contributing Team Member
Level 3: Competent Manager
Level 4: Effective Leader
Level 5: Level 5 Executive
This hierarchy shows development progress and how just an ordinary individual becomes a level 5 leader. In order for one to achieve this greatness they must go through 4 levels of hierarchy. The article further assesses the personality traits that level 5 leaders possess, such as humble, modest, reserved, quiet, gracious and mild-mannered. Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs and focus on a larger goal that is a great company. One of the crucial ingredients for level 5 leaders is their humility and will. These individuals do not see themselves as greater than life and they do not credit themselves for the success but rather credit individuals working for them. They are loyal to the company and their ambitions are centered on the success of the institution they are working for. The article looks at the former CEO of Kimberly Clark and his personality. Darwin is seen as a true level 5 leader who transformed a failing company into a leader in paper business and outperformed all of its competitors. He possessed the traits described above. Also the article briefly discusses the success of the drugstore giant Walgreens. Being able to recognize what one may be doing wrong and being able to evolve is essential of level 5 leaders. In my opinion the article does not address anything new. It is known that individuals that are modest and perform superbly surprise everyone pleasantly and receive the most credit. When something is unexpected it is credited with greatness.
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