LIGHTHOUSE
PART 1 – LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP
A lighthouse is a guide. It provides signals to those confused, lost, or who need a nudge to get back on the right path. The guide helps us when we fail while also redirecting our path when we’re in danger of making major mistakes. The lighthouse will push us to take risks even when we can’t see the final destination. A great lighthouse is a leader willing to accept no credit for those who reach their destination. The lighthouse knows how much work it takes for a captain to be successful.
Many have created maps to help others be successful. The mapmakers use research, experience, failure, and success as their guide. One of those incredible mapmakers is Jim Collins. In 2017 Jim Collins has been selected as one of the 100 Greatest Business Minds by Forbes. Collins won a teaching award while working at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He has written a number of books including, Built to Last, How the Mighty Fall, Great by Choice, and his classic Good to Great.
TREASURE MAP
Each one of Collins’ books contains dozens of helpful strategies and frameworks for creating a strong positive culture. My favorite Collins book is Good to Great because he describes what we need to do in order to make a company truly great. His book is a treasure map. But many don’t want to use a treasure map to figure out the destination? They want to be told the answers and given 100% certainty that the next decision will work.
Many people will doubt someone’s incredible experience because they can find a few ways someone else was successful without using the model (the exception). Yes, although the model has worked for dozens of other people and companies, the few exceptions cause distortion. This perspective is common and a reason why we don’t have more great companies or leaders. But this type of perspective begins early in life.
On February 16, 2021, organizational psychologist Adam Grant post “The preference of narcissistic leaders starts early.” He’s referring to a research article regarding leadership in classrooms. Researchers found in 22 out of 23 classrooms, narcissistic children were more often nominated as leaders and claimed to be better, even though they weren’t.
Talking about children and narcissism is a sensitive topic. Children are not failing. The real problem is, adults don’t know who great leaders are. We fail to accept the treasure maps that help guide us towards making improvements. So what’s missing? It all comes down to the lighthouse. We need level 5 leaders.
WHAT IS A LEVEL 5 LEADER
The image below provides a glance regarding what it takes to be a level 5 leader. What the image doesn’t say is a level 5 leader practices all the skills the other leadership categories have. But, L5 leaders have something most would think isn’t important, and something I rarely see. They have the ability to leverage humility and professionalism to their advantage. Level 5 leaders are not humble to a fault, letting issues pass by because they don’t want to “ruffle any feathers.” Level 5 leaders are NOT ok with any boat in their fleet sinking. They will sacrifice their own insecurities in order to show vulnerability. L5 leaders are passionate and will make sure everyone understands their desired route.
Level 5 leaders are visionaries and focused. They drive success from anywhere they are located within an organization. Culture is the primary objective of an L5 leader. Culture drives performance, expectations, and results whether the L5 leader is present or not. So is a L5 leader really a lighthouse?
MORE LIGHTHOUSES
L5 leaders are THE lighthouse… until a culture delivers multiple other leaders who can positively guide others. The goal of a L5 leader is to develop a culture that survives without their daily support. This can’t be done unless you have a culture that develops the right kind of leaders.
Leadership qualities, both good and bad, are passed on. This is why level 5 leaders are important. They pass on leadership best practices that will work for the organization. If you read Good to Great, great organizations continue to remain great even after leadership is replaced because the culture was built by level 5 leaders. In Part 2 of level 5 leadership, we’ll review how leaders create the most important piece of any organization, team, or classroom. TRUST.
