John Maxwell (author and speaker on leadership) describes the Five Levels of Leadership as the below;

  1. POSITION. People follow you because they have to.
    1. This has to do with title and title only. You will get very little energy from the people you lead because no one likes to be forced to do something they don’t want to do.
  2. PERMISSION. People follow you because they want to.
    1. The difference between this and the previous level is connection. To be a relational leader you need to:
      1. listen well
      2. observe
      3. be conscious about where your people are and what they do
      4. they’re always learning
  3. PRODUCTION. People follow you because of what you have done for the organization.
    1. This proves that you’re effective in what you produce; your leadership gains credibility.
  4. PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT. People follow because of what you have done for them.
    1. The key to developing leaders is:
      1. Recruitment (80% of your success is in the front door!)
      2. Positioning (you put them in the right place/position)
      3. Equip (using the process below)
        1. I do it.
        2. I do it and you’re with me.
        3. You do it and I’m with you.
        4. You do it.
        5. You do it and somebody is with you.
  5. PINNACLE. People follow you because of who you are and what you represent.
    1. Leadership is always ongoing, always learning, always growing process.