(reprint – Jan, 2001)
By Rolf Crocker

When you think about someone you admire as a real leader, what are the qualities that draw you to that leader?  Are they an effective communicator, a great teacher, someone who shows exemplary courage in the face of dire circumstances?  As you think about these qualities, what is the net effect they have on you?  In his book “Developing The Leader Within You”, John Maxwell concludes, “Leadership is influence.  That’s it.  Nothing more; nothing less.”

Think about it…it is the influence of those we admire that affects us.  Do you know that you are an influencer?  Everybody is an influencer on some level.  Each and every day, you will have influence over an employee, a client, a vendor, or a colleague.  How about a clerk, a cashier or a salesman?  Or perhaps closer to home, a spouse, a significant other, or a child?  Everything we say, and more importantly everything we do, has the strong and likely potential of influencing someone else.  For good or for bad.  Yes, that’s right…influence is influence, whether it’s good or bad, right or wrong.  That’s why it is imperative for those who aspire to lead to take an honest, careful and thorough personal inventory to see how A) They are influenced, and B) How they are influencing others.  John Maxwell outlines five (5) levels of leadership, each with a different measure of influence.  See if you can find yourself in one of them.

Level 1:  Position

“Because I’m the boss!!”  This is influence that comes with being placed in a position with a title.  Nothing has been ‘earned’ – influence goes with the territory.  Although this is the basic entry level for all of the other levels of leadership, you cannot really ‘lead’ from this position – you can only tell people what to do.  In this position, those under you will ‘do what they have to’, but nothing more.

Level 2:  Permission

“ He who thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only taking a walk.”  Maxwell makes the following statement that should be mounted and hung in a very visible location in your office:  “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  This is leadership through interrelationships.  Your focus is “What can I do to develop people?”  When you begin to act in this way, people give you ‘permission’ to direct and lead them…they give you ‘place.’  In my personal experience, those jobs that I gained the most satisfaction in were those in which I enjoyed relationships with the people I was working with.  The same holds true today!

Level 3:  Production

“I love it when a plan comes together!”  Because of 1) your position and 2) your demonstrated interest in others, people are motivated.  They are no longer content with where they’ve been…they want to go to the next level.  They begin to see problems as challenges that can be overcome.  In fact, they begin to live for overcoming the challenges.  Great things begin to happen.  Why?  People coming together for the common good of the vision and goals of the organization, all because you have made them a vital part of the process.  This is the net result of ‘servant leadership.’

Level 4:  People Development

“Friend, come up higher”  Reproduction, mentorship, molding – a great leader empowers, teaches, and invests in others.  Look for those within your organization that you can invest in, mentor, be transparent with, and be willing to help them be better than you are!  A great leader isn’t threatened by others that have greater abilities or skills.  A great leader actually seeks those who have skills that he or she may lack, and isn’t afraid to utilize them in key leadership positions.  Is low turnover important to you?  Then invest in developing people!

Level 5:  Personhood

“Leadership Nirvana”  You have paid the price; you have invested, trained and mentored; you are on the ‘top influencer’ list of many people; you have been sought out to consult, to teach other leaders to lead…this is what Maxwell means by personhood.  It is reserved for those who have ‘transcended’ the organization.  Few people reach this level.  But Maxwell makes it clear…it is obtainable.

Where are you on the list?  Where would you like to be on the list?  Each and every one of us is an influencer on some level; therefore we are a leader on some level.  Honestly evaluate where you are at right now.  Then, commit to “pay the price” to go to the next level.  It will cost you something – both in tangible (money and resources) and intangible (time, personal honesty and transparency) ways.  Have you ever noticed that those things that people value the most has cost them something?  It’s really no different here.  Be willing to pay the price, to make a difference, not only in your life, but also in the lives of those around you.  You and your organization will not only succeed, but thrive!