- Victor Ochieng’ has argued that school principals should strive to reach Level 5 Leadership rather than relying solely on positional authority.
- The writer has emphasised that lasting change in schools should be introduced gradually, and that Level 5 leaders combine personal humility with strong institutional ambition.
As a consultant in schools, there is a way I see it. It is what most principals should strive to arrive at: Level 5 Leadership. Ideally, what worked well in school A may fail in school B. The two institutions call for different tactics. The level of leadership attained in school A may not be akin to that in school B. In the new station, you may have to start from a nascent point when you meet and interact with school stakeholders.
When the Principal joins a new school, s/he should take the challenge and inject change. The change must be reasonable and rational. Meaning, change sometimes is useful medicine, but bitter like bile. Change should come in piecemeal and in doses. It has to be gradual and glacial. The speed should not be rapid. It should be evolution, not revolution. In case you defy this, it can easily boomerang on you.
In a heroic book titled 5 Levels of Leadership, John C. Maxwell talks about the levels leaders climb. I will draw on that great text to help you understand a certain concept. I will also share with you what Jim Collins said about Level 5 Leadership in his page-turner titled Good to Great. Ideally, Level 1 is position (rights). People follow the leader because it is an obligation. Level 2 is permission (relationships). Leaders must strive to know the people they are leading and figure out how to work well with them. No wonder, in the years of yore, Henry Ford observed, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”
Then, Level 3 is production (results). People follow the leader because of what they have done for the organisation or institution. Great feats, achievements and accomplishments are magnets that endear followers to leaders. Level 4 is people development (reproduction). Leaders become great not because of the powers they wield or royal rods they brandish, but because of their ability to empower others. Level 5 is the pinnacle (respect). Most leaders can climb the ladder of leadership up to Level 4, but Level 5 looks elusive in nature. It requires joint effort, skill, intentionality and great talent. Leaders at Level 5 nurture people to become Level 4 leaders. When people are respectful, pleasant and productive, they can establish a degree of influence with others. Or create class and clout.
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Moreover, Level 5 Leaders develop Level 5 organisations or institutions. They create oodles of opportunities that leaders at lower levels fail flat to offer. Leaders who are at the crest of Level 5 transcend their positions. Some leaders think that leadership only remains at Level 1. They hold the view that leadership is only about job position, title, rank, or occupancy of an ego-boosting office. Such leaders rely on threats and intimidations to paddle those dhows towards the shores of success. Yet, the veracity of the matter is this: people follow such leaders because they have to do so. They do not have any escape route. Positional leadership abuts on rights granted by the position and title.
Largely, nothing is wrong with wielding a leadership position, but something becomes seriously wrong when a leader clings only to the position to peddle influence. Meaning, position is a poor substitute for puissance or influence. Leaders who make it only to Level 1 may be bosses, but they are never leaders. They have subordinates, but not teammates. No wonder, for them to govern, they have to stick on rules, regulations, policies, and organisational charts. Their subjects will only follow them within the stated boundaries of their aura of authority. The people will only do what is required of them.
Additionally, in Good to Great, Jim Collins contends that a Level 5 leader is an effective leader who catalyses commitment to vigorously pursue a clear and compelling vision, stimulating higher performance standards. Level 5 leader is an executive. Such a leader builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. Level 5 leaders are a study in duality, modest and willful, humble and fearless.
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This calibre of leaders focuses on the Window and Mirror Concept. They look out of the window to apportion credit to factors outside themselves when things go well — and if they cannot find a specific person or event to give credit to, they credit good luck. At the same time, they look in the mirror to apportion responsibility, never blaming bad luck when things go south.
Finally, they are more like Lincoln and Socrates than Patton and Caesar. Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It is not that level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Splendid indeed, they are incredibly ambitious, but their ambition is primarily for the institution, not themselves.
By Victor Ochieng’
Victor Ochieng’ rolls out leadership talks and training services.
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