The Five Levels Of Leadership - Level 5: Pinnacle

 

Image: pexels.com/canva-studio

The final level of leadership is the Pinnacle. If you read the original version of this book, you may recall that I called this level Personhood.

But I think Pinnacle is a more descriptive name. This highest level is based on reputation. This is rarified air.

Only a few people reach this level. Those who do have ledwell and proven their leadership over a lifetime, have invested in other leaders and raised them up to Level 4, and have developed influence not only in their own organizations but beyond them.

People at the Pinnacle level are known not only outside of their ownorganizations but outside of their fields, their countries, and even their lifetimes. For example, Jack Welch is a Level 5 leader in business.

Nelson Mandela was a Level 5 leader in government. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Level 5 leaderamong social activists. Leonardo da Vinci was a Level 5 leader in the arts and engineering.

Aristotle was a Level 5 leader in education and philosophy. Can everyone reach this level of leadership? No. Should we strive for it? Absolutely.

But we shouldn’t focus on it. Why? Because we can’t manufacture respect in others, nor can we demand it.

Respect must be freely given to us by others, so it’s not within our control. For that reason, we should focus instead on developing influence on Levels 2, 3, and 4 and work hard to sustain it day after day, year after year, decade after decade. If we do that, we’ve done all we can do.

 

Source: 

John C. Maxwell, 10 Lesson Developing The Leader Within You, pg. 32-33

Share this post