Level 5 Leadership

You can accomplish anything in life; provided that you don’t mind who gets the credit.

- Jim Collins

The real effective leader is that individual who blends extreme personal humility with intense professional will. They have ambition; not for themselves but for their companies. That is what Level 5 Leadership is about.

Note: Out of 1,435 Fortune 500 Companies, only 11 achieved and sustained greatness for 15 years after a major transition period. What these 11 companies have in common is a Level 5 Leader at the helm.

Levels of Leadership (Jim Collins)

A few examples of Level 5 leaders:

• Darwin. E. Smith (CEO, Kimberly-Clark, 1975-1991): Turned the company into the leading consumer paper products company in the world within a 20-year period.
• Colman. M. Mockler (CEO, Gillette, 1975 - 1991): Under his leadership, Gillette became the leading brand of safety razors and other personal care products.
• Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede (CEO, Access Bank, 2002 - 2013): Transformed Access Bank from a regional bank to an international financial institution with a presence in 8 countries; including the United Kingdom.
• Mike Adenuga (Chairman, Globacom): Disrupted the telecommunications sector in Nigeria with the establishment of Globacom. Introduced innovations such as Per-second billing, crash in the SIM price & building a network fibre-cable across the Atlantic.

Attributes of typical Level 5 Leaders

• They are self-confident enough to set up their successors for success. 
• They are humble and modest.
• They have unwavering resolve.
• They display a workmanlike diligence.
• They give credit to others for their success and take full responsibility for poor results. They attribute much of their success to good luck rather than personal greatness.

How To Become a Level 5 Leader

• Develop humility
• Ask for help
• Take responsibility
• Develop discipline
• Find the right people
• Lead with passion

The Window & Mirror Concept

Level 5 leaders looked out of the window to credit others for success and looked in the mirror to apportion responsibility when things didn't go to plan.

Other leaders have a tendency to look through the window to blame other factors for their lack of success and looked in the mirror to take credit when things went well.

Conclusion

Although reaching Level 5 leadership is a challenge, it is not without reward. Individuals who reach Level 5 leadership in their careers are compensated with tremendous responsibility, respect and perhaps best of all, a legacy of extraordinary influence on their companies.