John C Maxwell’s 5 Levels of Leadership

Many years ago I was introduced to the writings of John C. Maxwell, one of the foremost experts on leadership. His books and tapes are among the best-selling ever on the subject of leadership. He . champions a ladder of leadership that he titles, The 5 Levels of Leadership.

by Brad Roteman, Healthcare Systems Federal Credit Union

I recently spoke before a national sales management team of nine regional directors for a prominent foreign student exchange company. The owner of the company requested I speak about teamwork and leadership. This was the second consecutive year that I had been invited to be kickoff speaker for their annual sales meeting and I was aware from last year’s meeting of a lack of understanding within the group of leadership beyond simply telling someone what to do and expecting they do as told. Far too often, I have seen similar issues getting in the way of effective teamwork in credit unions. So I thought I would share with you, today, the message I conveyed to that sales management team.

Many years ago I was introduced to the writings of John C. Maxwell, one of the foremost experts on leadership. His books and tapes are among the best-selling ever on the subject of leadership. He . champions a ladder of leadership that he titles, The 5 Levels of Leadership. They are as follows:

5. Pinnacle – Respect – People follow because of who you are and what you represent.

4. People Development – -Reproduction – People follow because of what you have done for them.

3. Production – Results – People follow because of what you have done for the organization.

2. Permission – Relationships – People follow because they want to.

1. Position – Rights – People follow because they have to.

Mr. Maxwell asserts that great leaders are always assessing where each individual falls within the 5 levels. Great leaders also accept that they will be seen by their followers in each stage at different times throughout their experiences together. The challenge is to raise each follower’s level within the ladder and then to keep them at the top for as long as you are able.

Failure to understand these levels and appreciate how they affect performance and effective team building can only lead to failure. Failure of the leader, the team, and the followers is nearly a certainty if the leader is unable or unwilling to assess his or her relationships with those she leads based upon these universally true levels of leadership.

In these times of rapid and dynamic change in the economy, regulation, and technology, we, as leaders, have a moral obligation to those who follow us, to follow the principles of leadership John C. Maxwell forcefully presents in his numerous writings. I strongly recommend his work to all credit union leaders and those aspiring to become a credit union leader in the future.