Each level of leadership has a downside. This level is no exception. But here’s the good news: fewer leaders become victims of the downside at the Pinnacle level than at any other. Why? Because it’s difficult to reach the Pinnacle without a great measure of maturity. Every lesson leaders learn at the previous levels becomes a curb that helps to keep them from getting off course. However, here is the bad news. Those who are susceptible to the downside on the Pinnacle fall dramatically. They can derail everything they’ve worked for up to this point.
Here are the three negative things you need to look out for if you reach the Pinnacle:
It’s ironic, but one of the greatest dangers for Pinnacle leaders at the top is similar to a downside for Position leaders at the bottom: thinking they’ve arrived. If you came into leadership with a destination mind-set, and you carried it with you as you’ve moved your way up through the 5 Levels of Leadership, you may think that the Pinnacle is a place to rest, smell the roses, and make the most of your privileges. If that’s your mind-set, beware!
It’s ironic, but one of the greatest dangers for Pinnacle leaders at the top is similar to a downside for Position leaders at the bottom: thinking they’ve arrived.
In his book How the Mighty Fall, Jim Collins wrote that those who fall often have an entitlement mind-set, bolstered by arrogance. He wrote that for such leaders, “Success is viewed as ‘deserved’ rather than fortuitous, fleeting, or even hard earned in the face of daunting odds; people begin to believe that success will continue almost no matter what the organization decides to do, or not to do.”
A leader’s decisions always make an impact—for better or worse. Leaders who have reached the top of their profession or the top of their organization cannot take anything for granted. No matter how good they’ve been in the past, they still need to strategize, weigh decisions, plan, and execute at a high level. Momentum can overcome a lot of problems, but even great momentum cannot continually compensate for negligence, arrogance, or stupidity.
Nor should they treat the organization as their personal property—even if it is their property. Every organization for which people work is a trust. If you’re the leader, you cannot make decisions with only you and your personal interests in mind. To whomsoever much is given, much will be required.
People who reach the top of their field are always in danger of thinking they have nothing left to learn. If that happens to you, it’s the beginning of the end. To be effective, leaders must always be learners. You can never arrive—you can only strive to get better. That is the mind-set you must bring to every day of your leadership. If you’re through learning, you’re through.
If you’re through learning, you’re through.
Few things are more ridiculous than leaders who take themselves too seriously and begin to believe they are God’s gift to others. Yet it happens continually. History is filled with stories of people who got carried away with their power and position.
One such leader was King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. He was known as a brilliant military commander, and during his reign he elevated Sweden from a minor to a major power in Europe and ushered in what’s known as the Golden Age of Sweden. But like many strong leaders, he started to believe that anything he desired to do would automatically succeed.
As the king fought in the Thirty Years War, he desired to rule the Baltic Sea. To do so, he was determined to build a ship that towered over the other ships in beauty and size. He decided on the measurements and armament of the ship, even though he had no naval expertise, and gave them to the shipbuilders. The following words were written about this venture. “Nothing can be more impressive and more dedicated to glorifying to his royal majesty than for his ship to bear the most magnificent decoration that has ever been held on the ocean.”
The ship was called the Vasa, named after the monarch’s royal house. As the war raged on, the king became impatient for its launch. Tests were made to check its stability, but the monarch would not tolerate a delay. So on August 10, 1628, Vasa was launched on its maiden voyage. Thousands watched as the ship slowly left the harbor in Stockholm. But as soon as the ship was exposed to a gust of wind, it began to sway. It heeled over, took on water, and sank a few hundred feet from shore less than a mile from where it began! Clearly the king’s confidence wasn’t enough to keep his dream afloat.
Any time a leader begins to believe his own press, he’s in trouble. When people excel to a high level in their profession, a type of mythology grows up around them. They become larger than life in other people’s minds. A lot of the time it’s hype. No Level 5 leaders are as good as people give them credit for. And no leaders—no matter how long or how well they’ve led—are above the laws of leadership. The laws are like gravity. They apply to you whether or not you believe in them.
If you become a Level 5 leader, never forget that like everyone else, you started at the bottom as a positional leader. You had to work to build relationships. You had to prove your productivity. And investing in the lives of others came about only with effort. Be confident, but also be humble. If you’ve become successful, it’s only because a lot of other people helped you all along the way.
When leaders reach Level 5, the number of opportunities they receive becomes extraordinary. Everyone wants to hear what such leaders have to say. But many of these opportunities are really little more than distractions. They won’t help the leader’s organization or cause.
In Good to Great, Jim Collins tells a story that illustrates how this can happen. The example he gives is of former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca. Collins writes:
Lee Iacocca, for example, saved Chrysler from the brink of catastrophe, performing one of the most celebrated (and deservedly so) turnarounds in American business history. Chrysler rose to the height of 2.9 times the market at a point about halfway through his tenure. Then, however, he diverted his attention to making himself one of the most celebrated CEOs in American business history. Investor’s Business Daily and the Wall Street Journal chronicled how Iacocca appeared regularly on talk shows like the Today show and Larry King Live, personally starred in over eighty commercials, entertained the idea of running for president of the Unites States (quoted at one point, “Running Chrysler has been a bigger job than running the country…. I could handle the national economy in six months”), and widely promoted his autobiography. The book, Iacocca, sold seven million copies and elevated him to rock star status…. Iacocca’s personal stock soared, but in the second half of his tenure, Chrysler’s stock fell 31 percent behind the general market.1
If leaders who reach the Pinnacle want to make the most of their time there, they must remain focused on their vision and purpose and continue leading at the highest level.
I’m sorry to admit that I’ve occasionally lost focus in my own leadership. It happened to me at EQUIP several years ago. During the first eight years of the company’s existence, we focused on training one million leaders internationally. We called it the Million Leaders Mandate. It consumed our attention, and we put all our resources to work making it happen. When we reached our goal, we celebrated. I gave each staff member, leadership trainer, and major donor a ring in appreciation for their help. But then, we lost focus. We continued to train leaders, but we experienced a letdown. I wasn’t focused on a new goal, so neither was the team. That was a big mistake, and it meant that we didn’t use the momentum we had built to keep moving forward at our previous pace. The good news is that the leaders of EQUIP huddled together, identified our next big mountain, and refocused our energies once again to make the climb.
No matter where you are in your leadership journey, never forget that what got you to where you are won’t get you to the next level.
No matter where you are in your leadership journey, never forget that what got you to where you are won’t get you to the next level. Each step forward requires focus and a willingness to keep learning, adapting, strategizing, and working. You don’t stay on top without focus, humility, and hard work.