Posted by Greg Rittler on October 29th, 2008

Humility + Will = Level 5

In Jim Collin’s book Good to Great, the first characteristic of the companies that made the leap from good to great companies is Level 5 leadership. Level 5 has been touted and discussed around board rooms, business round tables, and in MBA programs. We all get excited about it…we say that we want to be a Level 5 leader. So what keeps the vast majority of solid leaders from getting there? Here are a few observations (if you haven’t read good to great you may not have a clue what I am saying. So go read it – or at least an executive summary):

• Most leaders care more about themselves than their organization. It sounds harsh, but most leaders are more concerned with protecting themselves and their reputation. They will say all the right things, but often they want a great position more than a great business. The gateway to level 5 is to put the organization above your own needs and desires. This is true of one million dollar companies and true of one billion dollar companies.
• Many leaders simply don’t want to put the energy level and intensity into becoming Level 5. They want results for sure, and they may want the status of level 5, but good is good enough for most. The intensity of will required to be level 5 isn’t in their equation. It’s easier to settle.
• We are satisfied with much less than greatness. When you look at the difference between levels 1 through 4, and level 5 there is a lot to like about the lower levels of leadership: who wouldn’t want to be competent? who wouldn’t want to be a contributing team member? who  wouldn’t want to be a competent manager? who wouldn’t want to be an effective leader? Leaders at levels 1-4 are admired for good reasons. The question is: “do I want more out of my leadership and organization?”.
• Many (including myself most of the time if I am honest) can’t handle the humility required to be Level 5. It is hard to build something good or great and maintain this humility. It is much easier to begin to think the world revolves around you and your efforts. The further you progress on this road to greatness the greater the temptation to get the superhero or god complex. It takes a tremendously developed character to maintain this humility and there is no shortcut to that humility except through being placed in humbling situations and learning how to deal with it well.
• Our egos simply don’t have enough room for other people to be great. We all know the value of confidence, but for most of us balancing the line between arrogance and insecurity is rarely an easy task and we tend to waffle back and forth between these like a ship tossing in the waves. We rarely hold confidence and humility in the proper tension.

So with all these struggles how do we begin to move from goodness to greatness?

• Understand that it is not about you. You will never find greatness in a self-centered person. You may find success, you may find the outward appearance of greatness, you may find crowds of admirers, but you will not find greatness in the self-centered.
• Understand the law of character development (sometimes referred to as the law of inversion). We are trained that if you work on becoming better at something you will get better at it. That’s not how it works with character. With character traits like humility and and an enduring will, you cannot become “better” through direct effort. No one wakes up and decides to be a more humble person or have a stronger will and then succeeds. Humility and will are character traits. That means they are developed over a long period of time applying principles correctly. There are no shortcuts. Humility comes from being humbled, strong will comes from perseverance under pressure. Both will take years of effort and discipline to develop into level 5 leadership.
• Understand that if you are going to be level 5 you are going to have to let go at times and allow others to excel. Level 5 isn’t earned. It is bestowed by the people who follow you. You are crowned level 5 not promoted to it. You must guide, instruct, inspire, instill, and mentor people and then must get out of the way and let them go prove what they can do. Levels 1-4 control, manage, cast vision, and command respect. Level 5 is a level of giving not controlling.

Is level 5 leadership for you? Only you can answer that one. It may or may not be. But one thing Good to Great can tell you is that level 5 it isn’t about your natural personality, inherent  abilities, or charasmatic persona. Those are 1-4 level leadership traits. Level 5 is about character.

Keep moving forward,

Greg