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TheFiveLevelsOfLeadershipBecominganeffectiveleaderisalotlikebeinginthestockmarket.Youdon'tmakeyourfortuneinaday;youmakeitdaily,alittlebitatatime.Whatmattersmostiswhatyoudodayafterday,overthelonghaul.Thesecrettoleadershipsuccessisinvestinginyourleadershipdevelopment,muchlikelettingyourassetscompound.ThefinalresultisLeadershipGrowthovertime.Leadersaren'tborn;theirmade.Theprocessofleadershipislong,complicatedandhasmadeelements.Respect,dignity,discipline,peopleskills,vision,emotionalstrength,opportunity,preparednessandexperiencearejustsomeoftheintangibleelementswhichcomeintoplaywhentalkingleadership.Wecan,overaperiodoftime,increaseourleadershippotentialifwecanunderstandandacceptthefivelevelsofleadership.Theyare:LevelOne-LeadershipFromPositionThisisthebasiclevelofleadership.Atthislevelpeoplefollowyoubecausetheyhaveto.Yourabilitytoleadpeopleistotallygearedtoyourpositionanddoesnotexceedbeyondthelinesofyourjobdescriptionortheauthoritygrantedtoyoubythecompanyandyourboss.Yoursecuritywiththecompanyisbasedontitleandposition,nottalent.Tobeaneffectiveleaderatthislevelknowyourjob,bepreparedtoacceptresponsibility,exerciseauthoritywithcaution,assessthestrengthsandshortcomingsofyourpeople,domorethanwhatisexpectedandchallengepeoplewithinterestingandtoughassignments.ItisimportantthatwerecognizethatPositionalLevelisthedoorwaytoleadershipandeverysuccessfulleadermustpassthroughthisdoorway.LevelTwo-LeadershipFromRespectAttherespectlevelofleadershippeoplefollowyoubecausetheywantto.ThecoreofLeadershipFromRespectisthatpeoplewanttoknowthatyoucare,beforetheycareaboutwhatyouknow.Peopleseeyouasaprofessionalpartner,sharingthesamegoalsandthesamechallengesalongtheway.Leadershipwillflourishattherespectbecauserespectwillbreedlastingtrustedprofessionalrelationshipsandthat,inturnwillprovidedthebasisforeffectiveleadership.Tobeeffectiveattherespectlevel,possessagenuineconcernforyourpeople.Itisimportantthatyouseelifethroughtheireyes.Dealwiselywithdifficultpeopleandmakeemployeessuccessfulbysettingthemupforsuccess.Sinceleadershipfromrespectisbuiltonprofessionalrelationships,itformsthefoundationforleadershipsuccess.LevelThree-LeadershipFromResultsPeoplefollowyoubecauseofwhatyouhavedoneforthecompany.Peopleadmireyouforyouraccomplishmentsandrespectyourtenacity.Atthispointleadershipbecomesfun.Goingtoworkisfun,workrelatedchallengesareseentobeopportunitiesforamorestableworkenvironmentandalltaskshaveapurposeinthemindsoftheemployees.Goodthingshappenattheresultslevel.Makingprofit,lowemployeeturnover,higheremployeemoraleandsolvingproblemswitheasearesomeoftheitemsthatbecomeevidentatthislevel.Tobeaneffectiveleaderatthislevelbepreparedtoinitiateandacceptresponsibilityforgrowthbydevelopingapurposeandseeingitthroughtocompletion.Developaccountabilityforresults,beginningwithyourselfandendingwithyourpeople.Makethedifficultdecisionsthatwillresultinpositivelongtermgainswhilechampioningchangeasachangeagentandunderstandingtheprocessofchange.Leadershipfromresultsisbuiltonadmirationfortheleader.LevelFour-LeadershipFromPeopleDevelopmentPeoplefollowyoubecauseofwhatyouhavedoneforthem.Itisaleader'sresponsibilitytodeveloptheirpeopletodotheworkthatisexpectedtocontributefuturegrowthopportunitiestothecompanyandthepeoplewhoserveit.Peopleareloyaltoyoubecausetheyseefirsthandpersonalgrowthopportunitiesforthemaswellas,thecompany.Leadershipsuccessisunderscoredbyawin-winscenarioandahighcommitmenttosuccess.Tobeeffectiveatthislevelplaceapriorityondevelopingpeople.Focusyourattentiononthefactthatpeopleareyourmostvaluableassetandyourleadershipsuccesswilldependonyourabilitytosurroundyourselfwithaninnercoreofcompetentpeoplewhocomplimentyourleadershipstyleandgoals.Leadershipfrompeopledevelopmentisbuiltonloyalty.LevelFive-LeadershipFromMentorshipPeoplefollowyoubecausetheyrespectyou.Asaleaderyouarebiggerthanlifeandyoursuccessisshownthroughalifeofaccomplishments.Peopleseekyououtafteryouhaveleftthecompanybecauseyouhaveleftanindeliblemarkontheorganizationandtheemployees.Althoughlessthanfivepercentofallleaderswillgettothislevelofleadership(JohnMayberryfromDofasco,DarekNowakowskifromConAgraandClareProctorfromE.D.Smithcometomind)itisalevelworthstrivingfor.Insummary,everyonecanbecomeabetterleader.Itisimportanttokeepinmindthatthehigheryougouptheleadershipscale,thelongerittakestoaccomplishresults,thehigherthecommitmentwillbeanditisimperativethatweknowwhatlevelweareonwithourpeopleandthecompany.