The Concept of Level 5 Leadership - Essay Example

?Running Head: Level 5 Leadership Level 5 Leadership [Institute’s Level 5 Leadership Section One Jim Collins in 2001 in his book “From Good to Great” introduced and defined the concept of level 5 leadership. This concept was the result of a research conducted by Jim Collins and his team in 1996 to discover what factors makes a great company so great. Jim Collins (2001, pp.21) defined level 5 leader as “Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and in to the larger goal of building a great company. Level 5 leaders are incredibly ambitious but their ambition if first and foremost for the institution not for themselves.” It is evident from the definition above that the leadership style of a level 5 leader is not “I Centric” but focused towards the good of organization. Due to this integral quality level 5 leadership is ranked at the highest level in the hierarchy of executive capabilities. The ranking of level 5 leadership above the all four levels of leadership indicates that a level 5 leader embody all the qualities of below 4 level. It means a level 5 leader would definitely be a highly capable individual focused towards contributing to the team resulting in him being a competent manager and an effective leader. However, besides all these qualities, he would possess the qualities of ferocious professional will, personal humility, and these two qualities are the core ingredient that makes an individual a level 5 leader. So much so that level 5 leadership is indicated through a formula as Humility + Will = Level 5 Leadership. These core ingredients of Level 5 Leadership are what make its different from all other leadership styles. All other leadership styles focus on the leader developing strong will to achieve the goals and on developing the abilities to work along with the team while leading them but no other leadership style place its focus on humility of the leader like level 5 leadership do. This is because Collin believes level 5 leaders to be focused on not only on organization producing results during his leadership but also on the success of the company after them. According to Collin (2001, p. 26) in his book, “a level 5 leader wants to see the company even more successful in the next generation, comfortable with the idea that most people won’t even know the roots of that success traces back to their efforts.” This broad vision of a level 5 leader that is far beyond his personal gains and achievement is what makes this leadership style different and special. In addition, a leader of such vision is necessary and important for a company if it wishes to achieve a transaction from good to great because without such a leader a company will only be able to exhibit a consistent performance pattern instead of a growing one (Colllins,2001, pp.22). It can be summarized that a level 5 leader is an individual who is humble and modest in his dealing but with an unwavering resolve to make the company great with the confidence to share credit for success and accept blame for mistake. These individuals are disciplined and take responsibilities of their actions and concentrate on finding the right people to work with them so that they can setup a capable successor for the organization. Section Two Jim Collins describes Colman Mockler, the CEO of Gillette from 1975-1991, as an example of level 5 leaders in his book “Good to Great”. Mockler served 17 years in financial administration of Gillette before being appointed as CEO and COO in 1976 by his predecessor Zielger. Although Mockler was very acumen in financial information and treasury of the company, he had not much experience to lead the company. That is why he had to “undergo a crash-training program on how to run the company and prove his leadership skills before Ziegler retired” (Mckibben, 2000, p 73-75). Mockler choose Stephens J Griffin, president of international division, as president to work along with him indicating his intend to continue with the geographical expansion started in the period of Ziegler. Mockler and Griffin the two men inherited a company that in 1975 have had record sales of $1.4 million but since 1973 who’s earning were on a decline. These two men had to turn that around so that a once successful company does not reach the verge of failure. (Mckibben, 2000, pp.76) Mockler looked at the company’s position from the perspective of the glass being half-full saying “a period of difficulties offers opportunities”. It was easy for Mockler to downsize the company and make it profitable but firing people and downsizing was not his style. Although he was reluctant to fire people, he was very determined to utilize their work force to the best level and increase the company sales without adding to that work force. To achieve this target, Mockler brought Alfred M. Zeien at the position of vice president for technical operations. “Zeien oversaw the retooling of South Boston blade and razor plant which resulted in plant producing double the output with the same number of employees. Seeing this Mockler ordered company’s each division to do the same” (Mckibben, 2000, p 77-78). Due to this decision by 1990, Gillette’s sales had grown to over $ 4.3 million with only 3,000 employees, less than that were in 1975. The saving from the employees cost when in to advertisement resulting in a cycle of company’s success (Mckibben, 2000, p 77-78). Mockler next step was to dispose-off Gillette unprofitable companies and product lines. For this purpose, he pulled Robert Ray in his inner circle. As Mockler style was cautions and focused on fundamentals with an unshakable sense of ethics instead of intruding and pushing his own views he on Ray’s suggestion after considering all the factors involved got rid of numerous Gillette companies. In this way, Mockler during the first 5 year of his tenure had sold off or discontinued almost 7% of Gillette’s business and production lines. Mockler focus besides disposition of companies was to acquire profitable companies and nurture them in under Gillette hold. Some of the companies which acquisition was very beneficial for Gillette include Oral-B and Liquid Paper Corporation (McKibben, 2000, p 81-83). During his tenure as CEO Mockler saved Gillette from three hostile takeovers, 2 from Revlon and 1 from Coniston Partners. To capitulate would have been an easy and profitable in the short-term decision but Mockler fought to save the company for future generation there by giving the company a top position through his tremendous leadership skills and efforts. (Collins, 2001, p 22-23) All of these decisions by Mockler either of disposal or of acquisition, to surround him with the individuals possessing the best abilities etc indicate that he was an individual to whom the benefit of the organization and organization mattered not the easy way or short-term profits. All of these qualities of Mockler makes him a level 5 leader and makes Gillette what it is today an excellent multinational company. Section Three What I have learnt from the above description and example of level 5 leadership is that the individuals who focus on achieving their target and bringing benefit to their company instead of taking credit are leaders in the true sense of the world. As a person although I was more focused on benefiting my organization but I did not mind taking credit when it was due. Through the study of level 5 leadership concept, I realized that to become a better leader I should not even be interested in taking due credit because if my work is good enough or actually great enough, I would automatically get the credit and respect that I deserve. Level 5 leadership helped me to understand the importance of humility in business. The example of level 5 leaders given by Collin cleared my misconception that a person with humility and shy attitude does not in any way possess a weak or non-assertive personality. The individuals who are able to look past their own benefits are the individuals who truly make a difference for the organization in the long run. The lesson learned by Collins and his team members motivates me to improve my leadership style in such a way that it is beneficial for my organization not only till the time I work with them but also after it. It is that ‘I believe’, which enhances your influencing power to the highest level. The ability of a level 5 leader to put organization above him is the actual difficult task because for many people the need to be acknowledge and praised for their efforts is the real motivator behind their efforts. To rise above this aspect of one’s character is tough for many individuals including me but not impossible. It can be easily achieved if the organization an individual works for is more important to him than his own personal self-actualization needs. References Collins, J. (2001). Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't. Harper Business. McKibben, G. (2000). Cutting Edge: Gillette's Journey to Global Leadership. McGraw-Hill. Read More