The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential by John C. Maxwell Read Free Book Online

here’s what I do know: They neglect many of the human aspects of leading others. They ignore the fact that all people have hopes, dreams, desires, and goals of their own. They don’t recognize that as leaders they must bring together their vision and the aspirations of their people in a way that benefits everyone. In short, they do not lead well because they fail to acknowledge and take into account that leadership—of any kind, in any location, for any purpose—is about working with people.
3. Positional Leaders Feed on Politics
    When leaders value position over the ability to influence others, the environment of the organization usually becomes very political. There is a lotof maneuvering. Positional leaders focus on control instead of contribution. They work to gain titles. They do what they can to get the largest staff and the biggest budget they can—not for the sake of the organization’s mission, but for the sake of expanding and defending their turf. And when a positional leader is able to do this, it often incites others to do the same because they worry that others’ gains will be their loss. Not only does it create a vicious cycle of gamesmanship, posturing, and maneuvering, but it also creates departmental rivalries and silos.
    Positional leaders focus on control instead of contribution.
    For a very short time as a young leader I worked in a highly political environment like the one I described. It was like working in a minefield. There were many unwritten rules and hidden protocols for setting up appointments with superiors or selecting who you ate with at lunch. There was great emphasis placed on using proper titles to address people. And much of how you were treated depended on your background. Needless to say, I did not do well in that environment. I immediately looked for a better place to develop my leadership skills. When I found it and left, I was so happy. And so were they!
    I have yet to find a highly political organization that runs at top efficiency and possesses high morale. Just look at most of our government institutions and think about the leaders and workers in them. Most people could certainly use improvement, and moving away from positional leadership would do a lot to help them.
4. Positional Leaders Place Rights over Responsibilities
    One of my all-time favorite TV characters is Barney Fife, the deputy in the little town of Mayberry on
The Andy Griffith Show
. Don Knotts played Barney, and along with Andy Griffith, who played Sheriff Andy Taylor, he gave America one of its most successful TV series. I have watched every episode, some many times.
    Barney Fife was your typical positional leader. His desire to feel important and have authority created many humorous story lines. Armed with one bullet and a badge, he took every opportunity to let people know he was in charge. He had rights as a lawman, and he wanted people to acknowledge them. Unfortunately for him (but fortunately for us in the audience), no one else took him seriously. The result was comic chaos, which seemed to follow him everywhere he went.
    In contrast, Sheriff Andy, who seemed to spend all of his time being a calming influence on his misguided deputy, had the real authority and power. But he rarely used his position to get things done. He didn’t carry a gun, either. Everyone knew he was the real leader and could handle any situation. Andy’s focus was on his responsibility to the people he served, not on demanding respect or receiving the rights due to him because of his position.
The Andy Griffith Show
was lighthearted fun, but it was also a study in leadership.
    Poet T. S. Eliot asserted, “Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important…. They don’t mean to do harm…. They are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.” That’s what positional leaders do: they do things to make themselves look and feel important.
    “Half of the harm that is done