What makes some companies
go from good to great? Jim Collins and his research
team examined 30 years of data from over a thousand
companies and identified factors that contributed to
outsized market performance, including one they termed
level-five leadership. Leadership ability ranges from
highly capable individuals at level one to
contributing team members, competent managers, effective
leaders, and finally, the fifth and final level,
effective executives. Being a full-fledged
level-five leader requires the capabilities
of all the lower levels, such as the level-four ability
to both improve company performance and paint a
clear and compelling vision, but level-five leaders
have something special that separates them
from the rest, namely the rare combination of fierce
resolve and personal humility. When faced with setbacks,
they look in the mirror, blaming themselves for
underperformance, never external factors or bad luck. When their companies
succeed, however, the mirror turns into a window and
they give credit to others. The funny thing is this
does not reflect reality. According to the research,
the level-five leaders were responsible for
their company's success, but they would never admit it. In fact, although
they're very ambitious, level-five leaders rarely
talk about themselves. Instead, they channel
their ambition into something bigger
than personal achievement. To grasp this concept, consider
US president Abraham Lincoln, a reserved, even shy leader who
nonetheless held the country together during the Civil War. Despite monumental
losses on both sides, his resolute determination
to unify the country resulted in the reunited
nation becoming a world power. It might be a stretch
to compare a great CEO to a president like Lincoln,
but the level-five leaders in the study displayed
the same kind of duality, modest yet willful,
quiet yet fierce. If you're thinking that
sounds like a rare combination of traits, you're right. Ironically, the drive
that often propels people into level-four
leadership stands at odds with the humility
required to rise to level five, and too many companies
reward extroverted style over substance. To help your company
go from good to great, seek out the fierce
but humble leaders you may have overlooked.
