First Who, Then What

By: Dr^Waqipedia

Building a Great Team

Previously, we have explored a little about Level 5 leadership which is compared to the 'effective leader' (Level 4 leadership). As formerly highlighted, Level 5 leadership focuses on sustaining the long-term effects of success by not only concentrating on the performance of his team but also preparing for his successor to do better than him. It is as simple as that. It also shows how they set up their 'team' or the (self-proclaimed) 'best team ever'. Take a look at the diagram below;

Seeing the diagram above instantly proves how much and how 'big-hearted' Level 5 leaders were. The Level 5 leader's aim is not just about having great people around him but also about molding the individual team members into leaders themselves. It can even be considered that they are 'less of dictatorship' and more of prioritizing development of his team's great potential. They feel that facilitating personal growth is more rewarding than focusing on having 'just good people' around. They put effort in sharing their vision and building a culture of working, not just blindly pushing their crew blindly in an attempt to realize their own vision. 

The Level 5 leader incorporates the 'bus' concept in their culture of recruiting the team, which is;

FIRST, get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus and right people on in the right seats, and THEN they figure out where to drive. 

They believe that the only way for people who are achieving to perform is not to burden them with people who are not achieving. The right people are their most important asset. For me, hiring and firing people is easy but getting them into the right seats is the leader's biggest task to make sure that the team's passion and abilities are fully utilized.

That's why, when it comes to choosing people, they act rigorously.

• They don't choose people when they have doubt about it. They limit their growth until they find the right people.    
• They make sure that they don't simply have someone in the wrong seat or leave them there. They act and make adjustment whenever necessary.
• They put their best people on the biggest opportunities, not on the biggest problems. They focus on people management, allow their team to face challenges in order to get the best out of them. They never decide to sell off their problems by selling off their best people.(Link here for people management)

In his book, Jim Collins shared a story of a former Gillette CEO - Colman Mockler. He is a person who puts his best priority towards his people, towards his company and his life. When he died, people who came to his funeral described him as 'a man who spent nearly all his waking hours with people who loved him, who loved what they were doing and who loved one another - at work, at home, in his charitable work, wherever'. This just goes to show how much people love and appreciate him; not because of his status, but because of his honesty and how good he is in assembling the right people around.

Finally, I always believe that having a great team is part of life. You can't stand by yourself and be tough in life as you think. You need comrades who understand and share your vision in life. Although scarce, it's all about quality. And having the right people will help you sail the cruise and even if you are not there, they will stay on and make it work.