Reflection - Topic 11 Level 5 Leadership

 Topic 11 Level 5 Leadership 

Th concept of Level 5 leadership, created by Jim Collins, is unique as it is based on empirical evidence of a five-year research. Collins’s discovery was based on a hierarchy of capabilities and traits discovered during his study. Level 5 leaders display a powerful mixture of personal humility and indomitable will.

What I have learnt

Level 5 leadership is an essential factor to distinguished a company from good to great, but it's not the  only  one. There are multiple factors  that  deliver  companies  to  greatness, such as the environment, the followers and the market. It takes a handful of considerations to take a team beyond remarkable. 

To become a Level 5 leader, one needs to have the skills and capabilities found in each level of the hierarchy above.

Level 1 : The Highly Capable Individual. Effective productive workers who are talented, knowledgeable and skilled. 

Level 2 : The Contributing Team Member. Workers good at working with others, notably proficient at reaching objectives together with team members. 

Level 3 : The Competent Manager. Competent managers can effectively oversee people and resources, helping to achieve predetermined goals.

Level 4 : The Effective Leader. Effective leaders can steer their companies toward well-defined, compelling goals and ensure that their organisation functioning at high levels of performance.

Level 5 : The Executive. Executives have the unique capability to develop a company’s greatness through what Collins identifies as “a paradoxical combination of personal humility plus professional will.”

🏆Elements of Level 5 Leadership🏆

First Who, Then What

People first, strategy second. Before addressing to tactics and strategies, find the right people for the organisation and get rid of the wrong ones. 

Stockdale Paradox

“Life couldn’t be worse at the moment, and his life would someday be better than ever.” -- Admiral James Stockdale. Accept difficult situations and believe that one day we will rise. 

The Hedgehog Concept

A comparison between the abilities of a hedgehog and a fox, derived from an essay by the philosopher Isaiah Berlin. Foxes are characterised as knowing a little about a lot of subjects, while hedgehogs know a lot about a single thing.  Be like a hedgehog, focus on essentials and ignore the rest. Know capabilities, effectiveness and passion of people and organisation. 

Technology Accelerators 

Carefully invest in technologies that help contribute to its mission. 

A Culture of Discipline

Disciplined people eliminate the need for hierarchy. Disciplined thought removes bureaucracy. And disciplined action eliminates the need for excessive control. Together, all three result in extraordinary performance.

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Here's what I thought...

Level 5 leadership is the leadership style I admired the most amongst all style. In my opinion, a leader  should have a model to follow despite all the environmental factors and other factors. The Level 5 leadership is such an interesting concept. logical and reasonable. 

As a four-year experience primary school teacher, I think I am now in the Middle Leader Team (MLT) and I am currently on Level 3, trying to reach Level 4. 

Let's start from Level 1. The novice Level 1 me years ago was trying very very hard to just survive without causing any trouble to my colleagues. I am always trying to learn more and equip myself with more knowledge of subject matter and pedagogy skills to be a good teacher to the children and a good team member among my colleagues. 

In time, Level 2 me became more competent working on my own and I was able to help a friend and to complete tasks together with my team. 

There I think I am reaching Level 3. Slowly, I was given more important tasks to lead small groups and complete targets. I learnt attributes of a good leaders, how to work well in SMTs, how to take charge sometimes when necessary. I think I grow to love this already. 

As of this year, I was given more important role. I was assigned as the head of panel for the English Panel. It was an honour but I am feeling a little nervous and a little worried. Am I going to be a Level 4 Effective Leader? How am I going to do this? 

See, being an Level 4 or Level 5 leader doesn't mean that one has to hold super important or super high stake jobs. I can be a Level 5 leader of my small team in my organisation. We will be the little screw that makes the machine works well. 

Other than the above, I was very attracted to the idea of Stockdale Paradox. It describes me in my current 'young life crisis' where I find a lot of things confusing and hard to accept. Life isn't rainbows and sunshine. The perfectionist me feel hard to love this fact that life can be a constant struggle. The melancholy me tells me to sulk in my sorrow. But I must stand strong and continue. To be the leader of my life, I need to take control of my emotions running wild. As the Stockdale Paradox suggest, it is going to be fine in a while. Just take some time, continue to be like a hedgehog, focus and do what we do always. Survive and strive. 💪💪

:)