Level 5 Leadership

Jim Collins’ concept of Level 5 Leadership flies in the face of accepted wisdom about what makes a good leader.  I find it interesting that despite the fact that Good to Great has become a huge business blockbuster, I still see most people aspiring to Level 4-type management styles and expressing open suspicion of soft-spoken, humble types.  Collins argues that the crux, and the rarity, of Level  leadership is a clear personality-based duality between humility and fierce will.  Now, statistical problems exist with Collins’ research and the conclusions he has drawn.  Level 5 leadership may not be a magic key to greatness for all organizations at all times.  Nevertheless, it is an interesting phenomenon, particularly because the value of Level 5 leadership is that it builds greatness around the organization rather than attaching it to an individual ego.  Individual greatness goes with the person, but organizational greatness can persist.  This is a great example of a healthy use of power, i.e. power socialized for the good of the whole rather than hoarded for individual self-aggrandizement at the expense of the whole.