John Maxwell 5 Levels of Leadership

Mike Price

11/2/15

John Maxwell 5 Levels of Leadership

        In the John Maxwell video, he explained what it meant to be a true leader. The first thing he said that caught my attention was that leadership is a verb. Meaning to take action and lead by example. Personally I never thought of leadership in that context, I thought of it as more of an inherent trait.

        The first level of leadership according to John is the Position Level. At this level people follow you only because they have to. I’ve witnessed this type of leadership in countless places including some of my past occupations. John further explained the upside to this is the opportunity to shape ourselves or define ourselves. In doing this, we can preset in our subordinates minds how we want our relationship to work. The flip side however is the people who do follow you will give you the least amount of energy only to get a paycheck.

        The second level is the Permission Level. Here is where people follow you because they want to. This is the level I believe I’m on at my current job. I forge good relationships with other employees which is the key to everyone working together to achieve a common goal. John explained that leadership contains 3 things. Listen well, observe/conscious about people, and learning.

        Third level is Production Level. This is where the actual results come into play. He explained that people do what people see. I knew this was true for children but was unaware it was the same for adults. Also, I was surprised to learn that we attract who we are not what we want.

        Level four is the People Development Level. The most important thing in a company is the people so we must facilitate there growth perpetually. According to John, the keys to developing people is recruitment and positioning. What is meant by positioning is putting people in the right places. He later explained how successful leaders always position people in an area they are good at. After all even if you have the talent, if you’re not in the right place then youll never be successful. The five steps to equipping people are as follows. 1) I do it. 2) I do it. You’re with me. 3) You do it. I’m with you. 4) You do it. Don’t need me. 5) You do it. You train somebody else.