Leadership should always be about others, not about the leader. That’s true at every level, and it’s especially important on Level 5 because having people follow out of deep respect is the height of leadership. Pinnacle leaders have a lot of horsepower, and they need to make good use of it while they’re on top to do more than help themselves. Here are my suggestions:
One of the most important things any Level 5 leader can do is make room at the top for other leaders. Most leaders make it their goal to cultivate followers. But gathering followers doesn’t create room for other leaders. As a Pinnacle leader, you must create that room. That begins on Level 4 when you start developing leaders. If you do that continually and promote good leaders whenever you can, you create a cycle of positive change in the organization that creates room for leaders. That may seem counterintuitive. Wouldn’t having more leaders create less room? No. And here’s why: when you develop a leader who develops other leaders, you create more room at the top because you increase the size and power of the entire organization. Every time you develop good leaders and help find a place for them to lead and make an impact, they gather more good people to them. As a result, the organization grows (along with its potential) and it needs more good leaders. This process creates a cycle of expansion and a kind of momentum toward the top for other leaders that helps to propel the organization forward.
Developing leaders from the Pinnacle level requires great skill and intentionality. It is not easy to develop leaders. It’s even more difficult to develop leaders who will devote themselves to developing other leaders instead of just leading. As I studied leaders who had only followers versus leaders who developed leaders, I began to notice some subtle but clear differences. Here are the characteristics of a Level 5 leader who develops leaders:
Early in my leadership career I loved it when people needed me. And it was music to my ears when they told me so. I loved hearing things such as “We couldn’t make it without you. What would we do if you were gone? You’re the only leader that really understands us.” Sadly, I believed them!
The reality is that no one is indispensible. Worse, allowing others to become dependent does little more than satisfy a leader’s ego. It is a very limiting leadership style that has a very short life span.
“The ultimate leader is one who is willing to develop people to the point that they eventually surpass him or her in knowledge and ability.”
—Fred A. Manske Jr.
The first step in developing leaders is to have a desire to develop people so that they can succeed without you. Leadership author and former FedEx executive Fred A. Manske Jr., observed, “The ultimate leader is one who is willing to develop people to the point that they eventually surpass him or her in knowledge and ability.” On the Pinnacle level, that should always be your goal.
Some leaders take a counseling approach to developing people. By that I mean that they focus on what the person is doing poorly or wrong, and they focus their attention on helping them make corrections in those areas. In fact, when I began my career, I spent a lot of time counseling people. But to my great frustration, I saw little improvement in the people I worked with. To be fair, I really wasn’t a good counselor. But I also had a eureka moment when I figured out the main reason we weren’t making progress. I was focused on people’s weaknesses. That’s no way to develop people.
If you want to develop people, you must help them discover and build upon their strengths. That’s where people have the most potential to grow. Helping to develop their strengths is the only way to help leaders become world-class.
Did you play follow the leader as a kid? The goal of the game was to hold onto your place in the front of the line as long as possible. The kids who won were most aggressive at trying to do something no one else could imitate. As a Level 5 leader, you need to be as aggressive about giving away power to other leaders as you were at hoarding it when you were a kid. That requires an abundance attitude, where your mind-set is “Let’s Lead Together.” You must become a world-class empowerer. As Lynne Joy McFarland asserted in the book 21st Century Leadership: Dialogue with 100 Top Leaders, “The empowerment leadership model shifts away from ‘position power’ to ‘people power’ where all people are given leadership roles so they can contribute to their fullest capacity.”
“The empowerment leadership model shifts away from ‘position power’ to ‘people power’ where all people are given leadership roles so they can contribute to their fullest capacity.”
—Lynne Joy McFarland
One of the keys to developing leaders—at any level—is seeing people not as they are or as others see them, but as they could be. Having a hand in closing the gap between how someone is and the fulfillment of their potential is what motivates Level 5 leaders to raise up other leaders to Level 4. Seeing what is takes very little talent. Seeing what could be—and helping to make it reality—takes vision, imagination, skill, and commitment. That’s what a Pinnacle leader needs to bring to the table.
Leading and developing leaders is not easy. Leaders with high potential will only follow leaders who are ahead of them—in ability, experience, or both. Someone who is a 9 in leadership won’t follow a 5. For that reason, Pinnacle leaders cannot delegate the leadership development process of potential leaders to others who are less talented than those being mentored. It simply doesn’t work. If there are potential Level 4 or Level 5 leaders in your organization and you’re a Level 5 leader, you must dedicate the time and effort to mentoring them. Otherwise they will go elsewhere to find a Level 5 leader who is willing to do it. The best potential leaders will not remain in the organization unless you go to them where they are, extend your hand, and help them to climb up to your level.
I’ve been teaching and writing on the subject of leadership for three and a half decades, and in that time I’ve had the privilege of working with a lot of organizations. Each of them has been unique with questions, needs, and conditions unlike any other. However, all of them have had one thing in common. They needed more and better leaders! Not once has anyone in an organization said, “We have too many leaders. And the ones we have are better than we want. Can you help us get rid of some?”
Recently I attended an interview between my friend Bill Hybels and former General Electric CEO Jack Welch. Bill was asking Welch questions about succession (a subject I’ll address specifically in a moment). Welch said that a few years before he exited General Electric, he made a list of potential successors. The list included three categories: leaders on the inside track, leaders with potential, and long shots—and he named several people.
As he spoke, I began to wonder how he was able to choose from the inside-track leaders, but before I could go very far in my thinking, Welch amazed me by mentioning that his successor had come from the long-shot category. And that got me thinking about the importance of mentoring. I came to these conclusions:
No matter what your leadership potential may be, you should strive to work your way up to Level 4 so that you can invest in others. But if you reach Level 5, you have a much greater responsibility. No one other than a Level 5 leader can raise up other Level 5 leaders. If you make it to the Pinnacle, give your best potential leaders your best and never stop mentoring them.
When leaders reach Level 4, their inner circle makes them better. The Law of the Inner Circle says that those closest to leaders determine their potential. Inner circle members help leaders take their organization to a higher level. That’s still true on Level 5, but the inner circle must also fulfill another function: it must keep the leader grounded. As I’ve already explained, it’s very easy for leaders to begin believing their own press on Level 5. A good inner circle can help leaders on the Pinnacle level to avoid that pitfall.
Jim Collins, in How the Mighty Fall, writes about the erosion of healthy team dynamics that can occur in highly successful organizations. “There is a marked decline in the quality and amount of dialogue and debate; there is a shift toward either consensus or dictatorial management rather than a process of argument and disagreement followed by unified commitment to execute decisions.” When those things occur, the leader and the organization are headed for trouble.
On Level 5, a good inner circle will allow leaders to be themselves, but inner circle members will also tell them the truth about themselves. These things keep the journey enjoyable, prevent loneliness, and keep leaders from developing hubris. And here’s the good news. The people in your inner circle can become your favorite people—like family.
Being on Level 5 allows a leader to see and do things that cannot be done from any other place in leadership. Some of those things are obvious. If you’re the top leader in your organization, you need to guide it. You need to be a good model to everyone in the organization by valuing people, continuing to grow, practicing the golden rule, being authentic, exhibiting good values, and living out the right priorities.
Other things may be less obvious and very specific to your situation and organization. You may be able to create a groundbreaking product or service. You may be able to champion a value or cause that no one else could as effectively. You may be able to help people improve their lives. You may be able to impact your community in a unique way. You may have relationships with people who can help you to do something important. All the work you’ve done and all the influence you’ve gained over the years just might be in your hands so that you can do something bigger with it. You have to keep your eyes, ears, and heart open to the possibilities. The success you have hasn’t been given to you for only yourself. Level 5 leaders have a platform to lead and persuade. Whenever possible, use it to pass on those things that have helped you. Leadership is influence. Leverage it to add value to others.
In the mid-1980s, I had the privilege of spending a few days with management expert Peter Drucker. A group of leaders got a chance to sit with him, listen, take notes, and ask questions. I learned many wonderful things from Drucker, but there was one question he asked that challenged me more than anything else. During the session, he asked each one of us, “Who is going to replace you?”
Prior to that time, I had never asked myself that question. When Drucker asked it, I had no answer. But I walked away from my time with him determined to live in such a way that I would be able to answer it. And from that day forward, I dedicated myself to developing the top leaders in my sphere of influence and helping them to be ready to lead on as high a level as possible.
Leaving a successor is the last great gift a leader can give an organization. Leadership-transition difficulties are far too common, and like the passing of the baton in a relay race, a leadership transition must be planned and executed well. Success is dependent upon the leader with the baton handing it off to the next leader when both of them are running at maximum speed. Writer Lorin Woolfe says, “The ultimate test for a leader is not whether he or she makes smart decisions and takes decisive action, but whether he or she teaches others to be leaders and builds an organization that can sustain its success even when he or she is not around.” True leaders put ego aside and strive to create successors who go beyond them. And they plan to hand off the baton of leadership in stride when they are still running at their peak. If a leader has already begun to slow down, the baton is being handed off too late. No leader should hurt the organization’s momentum by staying too long just for his or her own gratification. The number one problem in organizations led by Level 5 leaders is that they stay too long. So if you’re a Level 5 leader who runs an organization, plan your succession and leave before you feel you have to.
Someone once asked Billy Graham what the most surprising thing about life was. “The brevity of it,” he replied. Now that I’ve entered my sixties, I would have to agree with him. When you’re young, you can’t wait to get somewhere in life—to achieve success, climb the ladder, make an impact. If you have a type-A personality, you move fast and try to conquer as much ground as you can. But as you age, you realize there’s much more to life than success. You want to make a difference. And if you think about it early enough, you have the opportunity to leave a positive legacy. That’s what I desire to do. I hope you do as well.
Someone once asked Billy Graham what the most surprising thing about life was. “The brevity of it,” he replied.
One of the keys to arriving at the end of our lives without regret is doing the work of creating a lasting legacy. If you are a Level 5 leader, I want to encourage you to use the influence you have now to create a better world. How? First, recognize that what you do daily, over time, becomes your legacy. Whether it’s spending quality time with your family every day, saving money and investing every month, speaking kind and encouraging words to others each day—these actions result in a legacy of positive impact.
Second, decide now what you want your legacy to be. How do you want to be remembered? What would you like people to say about you at your funeral? Do you have a vision for the positive impact you want to leave behind you? Do you know what you can invest in potential leaders who will want to help you build it?
Finally, understand that a legacy is the sum of your whole life, not just snippets. If you have failed, that’s okay. Has your life taken a path that is less than ideal? Put it behind you. Set off in the right direction and begin to change the way you live starting today. Fulfill your mission and vision for your life. Do it now before it is too late to change.
Don’t let yourself get to the final days of your life wondering what could have been. Decide today what your life will be, and then take action each and every day to live your dreams and leave your legacy!