Level 5 Leadership

By: Dr^Waqipedia

Leadership is worldwide topic discussion. People has their own say about it but let's hear Jim Collins opinion regarding leadership in Good to Great.

For him, the level of leadership has been differentiated based on productivity, performance and also the contribution towards long-term greatness sustaining. However, less people know about level of leadership. Let see the pyramid below and description.

The best and most-contributed leaders are the level 5 executive; who build enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. What are those two, read below,

In simple words, it can be summarized as people who are;

• a great manager but for the future legacy, preparing for his best successor
• incredibly ambitious, but the ambition is first and foremost for the sake of institution, not for self-benefit
• fanatically driven towards producing sustained results 
• down to earth character; humble and reserved

Jim Collins has jotted down several names of great people such as Abraham Lincoln & Socrates but as a Muslim, I can see all the quality inside our Last Prophet, Muhammad SAW. He builds a legacy by leaving Al-Quran & As-Sunnah for thousand years but still valid, he is ambitious enough to spread his doctrine throughout the world but his sole intention is for the sake of Ummah more than anything else. He is low profile, humble person and never took credit for anything good he did. In order to sustain his Ummah, he leaves his best successor, Abu Bakar RA to lead his legacy.

It seems nice and sweet to write it down but to cultivate the Level 5 Leadership essence, two things need to be highlighted.

• The level 5 leader, their work always be what they build, create and contribute, not what they get - fame, fortune and power.
• Under right circumstances i.e. self-reflection, conscious personal development, mentoring, loving parent, Level 5 boss or significant life experience - can be utmost help to develop the leadership's essence.

My last two cents, a leader is a person who 'comes first but leave the last'. Bear it in our mind.