The 5 Levels of Leadership John C Maxwell

The 5 Levels of Leadership – John C. Maxwell Level 1 – Positional Leadership

Level 1: Positional Leadership It’s a Great Place to Visit, But You Wouldn’t Want to Live There. Position is about Rights. People follow you because they have to.

The Leader Serve The Followers

The Upside to Positional Leadership 1. A Leadership Position is Usually Given to People Because They Have Leadership Potential. • It is a great thing to know that someone believes in you enough to trust you with their responsibilities. • It can build your confidence and a sense of pride. 2. A Leadership Position Means Authority is Recognized • This is the spark that gets others to begin to pay attention to you. The rest is up to you.

The Upside to Positional Leadership 3. A Leadership Position is an Invitation to Grow as a Leader • “To whoever much is given, much shall be required. ” The sky is the limit. 4. A Leadership Position Allows Potential Leaders to Shape and Define Their Leadership • Leadership is much less about what you do and much more about who you are.

The Big Misconception About Leadership • Most people believe that when people don’t want to follow them, it is because the employees are foolish, disobedient or lazy. • The real reason people don’t want to follow you, is: üFirst, in their eyes you have not made yourself into a credible person that they, or others would desire to follow. üSecond, you have not made it clear to them that their needs are important to you. • We think our authority is enough, and that it is the duty of others to recognize it. • If you view leadership as a bag of manipulative tricks or charismatic behaviors to advance your own personal interest, the people have every right to be cynical.

The Downside to Positional Leadership 1. Having a Leadership Position is Often Misleading • A title always promises more than it can deliver. • The leaders are always supposed to know the right path to take. 2. Leaders Who Rely on Position to Lead Often Devalue People • They assume the worse in others. They can be very critical and cynical of others. • The title can be more important than results. • We can start to believe that our position means we are smarter than the others. 3. Positional Leaders Feed on Politics • Positional leaders focus on control instead of contribution. • They will build themselves up, and tear others down to maneuver themselves for recognition. • Their focus is on what they have already accomplished, rather than what they are working towards.

The Downside to Positional Leadership 4. Positional Leaders Place Rights over Responsibility • They make sure everyone knows who is in charge. • They indulge in their freedoms such as flexibility of schedule, or delegation of undesired duties. • They try to avoid accountability rather than embrace it. 5. Positional Leadership is Often Lonely • King-of-the-hill leaders create a negative work environment because they are insecure and easily threatened. They continually throw their superiors or employees under the bus. • They isolate themselves from their superiors and employees by making excuses for their actions and failing to claim responsibility. • They have poor self-awareness and fail to see what others see in them, leading to a disconnect.

The Downside to Positional Leadership 6. Leaders Who Remain Positional Get Branded and Stranded (Lateral Loop): 1. Start a position with a title, 2. Authority takes the place of trust. They position themselves, 3. Lose trust and influence – The crowd will distance themselves, 4. Stress escalates due to people not following you, 5. You blame your surroundings, or the lack of support, 6. You push even harder to establish your authority (because that is all you know), 7. You bail out, or are removed from your position, 8. It starts all over again…

The Downside to Positional Leadership 7. Turnover is High for Positional Leaders • “People Quit People, not Companies” • Good employees leave when the culture is poor. The leader creates the culture, always. • The Law of the Lid 8. Positional Leaders Receive Peoples Least, Not Their Best • Uninspired people will always do as little as they have to, rather than as much as they can. • “Just Enough” Employees - They will work as seldom as needed, as slow as possible and accomplish only the bare minimum, AND they justify themselves due to the shortcomings of their leader. • People will always give their least to leaders they do not like or respect.