Level 5 Leadership

Written by: Jim Collins

Presented by: Laura Cooper
You can accomplish anything in
life, provided that you do not mind
who gets the credit.
Harry S. Truman
Jim Collins
Faculty member at Stanford Graduate School of
Business
Served as senior executive at CNN International
Founded a management laboratory in Boulder,
Colorado conducts multi year research projects
Student and teacher of lasting great companies
Business consultant, author, lecturer on business
growth and sustainability
Jim Collins
Books:
How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies
Never Give In
Good to Great
Built to Last
Good to Great and the Social Sectors
Beyond Entrepreneurship
Level 5 Hierarchy
LEVEL 5 - Level 5 Executive
LEVEL 4 - Effective Leader
LEVEL 3 - Competent Manager
LEVEL 2 - Contributing Team Member
LEVEL 1 - Highly capable individual
Examples of Level 5 Executives
Abraham Lincoln

Darwin Smith Kimberly Clark

Colman Mockler - Gillette

Ambition- Level 5 VS. Comparison
Level 5 leaders have ambition for the company and
its success
Level 5 leaders set up company for success in the
future

Comparison leaders have ambition for themselves
Comparison leaders set up company for failure in the
future
Modesty Level 5 VS. Comparison
Level 5 leaders do not promote themselves
Level 5 leaders are not interested in
credit/recognition

Comparison leaders are very I-centric
Comparison leaders want credit/recognition
in magazines, interviews, photographs
Level 5 Unwavering Resolve
Level 5 is not only about humility and
self-less ness
Level 5 always does whatever it takes to
make the company great
Fire Relatives
End Lasting Traditions
Fight off corporate raiders

The Window and Mirror Effect
Level 5 leaders look out the window to give
credit outside themselves in good
situations

Level 5 leaders look in the mirror to take
responsibility in bad situations

Level 5 leaders tend to attribute luck for success
rather than their own efforts
Common Mistakes Companies Make
Select over-the-top dazzling celebrity leaders
and over look quiet modest Level 5 leaders

Thinking a high-profile outside leader can
come in and shake up the place
10 of 11 Level 5 CEOs came from inside the
company
Can You Learn to be a Level 5 Leader?
Two types of people: those who do not have
the seed of Level 5 and those who do
Without Seed: Work will always be about what
they get fame, money, power

With Seed: These can evolve under the right
circumstances to be Level 5 self-reflection,
personal development, a mentor
Related Articles
Leadership Style Orientations of Senior Executives
in Australia
Autocratic, democratic, Inspirational, and laissez-faire

Leadership: Hubbard, Gattung and Tindall
Mix of warm-hearted, cool-headed and hard-nosed

The impact of Leadership Styles on Four Variables
of Executives Workforce
Commitment, satisfaction, communication, and
effectiveness
Personal Experience
Personally I do not know any level 5 leaders,
nor do I work for any level 5 leaders

In my experience most executives/managers
are just looking for the next big thing or
check
Resources
Collins, Jim. "Level 5 Leadership." The Organizational Behavior Reader. 8th ed.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. 474-92. Print.
Jim Collins - About Jim. (n.d.). Jim Collins - Home. Retrieved March 22, 2011,
from http://www.jimcollins.com/about-jim.html
Ekaterini, G. (2010). The impact of leadership styles on four variables of
executives workforce. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(6),
3. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.mtsu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/8215445
14?accountid=4886
Frykberg, K. (2004). LeadershipHubbard, gattung and tindall on warm-hearted,
cool-headed and hard-nosed leadership; New Zealand Management, , 37.
Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.mtsu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/2016496
86?accountid=4886
Hunt, J. B. (2010). Leadership style orientations of senior executives in
australia: Senior executive leadership profiles: An analysis of 54 australian top
managers. Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, 16(1), 207.
Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.mtsu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/3247321
82?accountid=4886

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