The basic difference between good organisations and great organisations is the d

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The basic difference between good organisations and great organisations is the difference of their leaderships. Great organisations are built by the great leaders. Leaders who have the vision and the courage to achieve those visions. There has always been a debate on what makes a great leader? Is it just their business acumen? or the courage of taking big and risky decisions? or is it their divine technical and life skills? I would say it is a combination of everything. All these skills and much more when combined forms a great leader.

Level 5 leadership is a term coined by Jim Collins in one of his research work for a Harvard Business Review article. It was also published in his very popular book, “Good to Great”. Jim Collins says that Level 5 leaders have all the qualities that leaders from level 1 to level 4 posses, in no particular sequence. Besides, they have additional qualities that make them great leaders. These qualities are humility and team work. Level 5 leaders are always protective of their team. They give all the credit of the organisation’s success to the team members involved in making it a success, but whenever the company doesn’t get the desired results, they are ready to take all the blames for the failure of the team. They are humble in their conduct and believe in the philosophy that arrogance is destructive for all the stakeholders of the organisation. Some of the characteristics and traits of Level 5 leaders are discussed below:

High Emotional Intelligence: Level 5 leaders have high emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence (EI) is defined as the capacity of an individual to be aware of his emotions and control and express them appropriately. It also means to make use of the emotional information to guide the thinking and behaviour of oneself and also of the surrounding people. The presence of Emotional intelligence enables Level 5 leaders to handle interpersonal relationships more judiciously and empathetically.

Take Responsibility: The last thing that a team would expect its leader to do is to blame others for the failure of the system or project. Level 5 leaders take responsibility. Not only in leading the team and guiding them towards the end objectives of the organisation. But, they also take responsibilities for the team failures and mistakes. When a leader stands up for the team and protects them in all situations, it increases the confidence and loyalty of the team towards their leader.

Choosing the right people and believing in them: One of the most important characteristic of level 5 leaders is that they are capable of choosing the right people. They are able to identify which set of problems will require what kind of skill sets to be addresses. They have the ability to break the entire project in measurable chunks/tasks and to delegate them to the right people on the basis of their skills, knowledge, experience, exposure, etc. Most importantly, they believe in people. For a leader it is extremely significant to have faith in the team members. To believe in their skills and their abilities of accomplishing the work assigned to them.

Asking for help whenever required: Level 5 leaders are often perceived as weak because they ask for help. On the contrary, it is an ideal thing to do for a leader to ask for help from the concerned person who have the necessary skills and knowledge to solve the problem. Delegating jobs to the right people is an important personality trait of a great leader. Also, level 5 leaders are known for taking big and risky decisions because they have faith in themselves and their team.

To be honest, I believe that I lack qualities of a great leader. Although, I am able to choose the right people and assign them the work on the basis of their knowledge and skill sets, I fail to keep the team motivated in the times of adversity. When the going gets tough, instead of encouraging the team to do better and to push themselves more, I start finding the flaws in their abilities of keeping up with the demanding situations. This is one area where I want to improve as a leader. I have my strong and weak areas in my leadership. On a brighter note, I believe in democratic style of leadership. In my team, every team member is free to voice his or her opinions. I am always open to feedback and suggestions in doing things in a better and efficient manner. I work with the team instead of just assigning them tasks. I help them in finishing those tasks.

In one of my previous assignments where I was the store manager of a leading fast food chain in the country, I had a team of 15 members working under me including the kitchen staff, front desk staff, housekeeping staff and the delivery staff. In a fast paced business environment, where the inflow of customers was very high and it required the team to process the orders extremely fast and with the highest accuracy, I often found myself to losing my temper. Shouting on the staff members, scolding them for any of their mistakes, blaming them became a part of my personality trait, which I believe was harmful for the organisation and affected the productivity of the team member. I, as a leader, lacked empathy. Instead of understanding the team’s issues and helping them alleviate the problems, I followed a wrong approach to leadership. I am constantly working on improving as a leader and wish to become a Level 5 leader someday.

Explanation / Answer

Describe the typical personality and character traits of a Level 5 leader. As honestly as you can, describe where you are as a leader with regard to these traits. Where are you strong? Where do you want to grow stronger? What areas presently hold you back? Where possible, provide historical and anecdotal examples to support your assessment.

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