Level 5 Leadership...
So, I read through chapters 1 & 2 of "Good to Great" and I was pretty much captured by some of the concepts.The first chapter really just tells you how the author (and his team) went about getting the data they needed from various sustained "good to great" organisations, and then made comparisons with other "good" or "non-sustained" great companies to discover the primary differences. The chapter also gives you a really brief overview (and a neat little diagram) of each of the factors that were present in the "Good to Great" companies, but lacking in the "Good" ones.
From Chapter 2, the rubber really starts to hit the road as we deal with the issue of Level 5 leadership. The basic premise is that there are 4 levels of leadership, from being good at what you do, and knowing what you're about, to being a motivated leader who desperately pushes an organisation forward through pursuit of a clear and compelling vision, in an attempt to better the company, and one's own status within it.
And according to the author, there lies the problem - Level 5 leaders focus all of their energies into building the company and developing leaders around them, whilst accrediting success to the people around them, helpful environmental & industrial factors, and even luck in some cases. In fact, the only time that "Level 5 Leaders" seem to look to themselves is to diagnose problems within the organisation, rather than blaming others, the environment, or "bad luck".
It's referred to as "the Window & The Mirror" principle - Leaders of "Great" organisations look out of the window at others when things go well, and look hard into the mirror when times get tough, however for leaders of "good" companies, the opposite is true - The mirror is for the good times, and the window is for accosting blame.
So, what does all that mean to me?
Well, I guess it means that I need to work at being a level 5 leader, but can you become one, or is it inherent? The book suggests the former, but as a natural result of working hard on the other principles covered in later chapters.
I'd like to think I do pretty well at the whole "not biggin' myself up" thing, but hey, we can all get better at it. I think the key thing for me so far is that I need to start putting more energy into my role at NSYFC and less trying to build a secure postion for myself.
And I guess the other issue is "Where does the whole GOD thing fit in all this?" And I'm sure the answer isn't that Leaders should just give ALL the praise to God when things go well - It's much more extensive than that - but I'm sure that there's a correlation between encouraging vision & determination in others, and inspiring faith in people, that God can acheive amazing results in us when we chase after him with everything, leaving ourselves behind and going for the goal.
Not a big challenge then?
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