The 5 levels of leadership

 

1. The Unintentional Leader

Common employee experience: “I don’t get paid enough to put up with this!”

Unintentional Leaders don’t seem conscious of the impact they have on others, and they often fail to inspire confidence. Employees reporting to an Unintentional Leader might feel like passengers on a bus whose driver doesn’t have a destination in mind and doesn’t tell the passengers what’s going on.

Nobody sets out to be an Unintentional Leader. People end up that way for various reasons, including some not entirely of their own making. They may have been so great at their job, they were promoted to supervise people doing the same type of work—and then not given the training needed to lead. They could have amazing technical skills but lack the people skills a leader needs to inspire and motivate. They could be dealing with a health issue, addiction, family crisis, or other personal problem that hinders their ability to bring their best self to work. They may mistakenly believe that being a leader means acting like a drill sergeant: barking orders, and keeping their compassion and humanity under wraps.

2. The Hit-or-Miss Leader

Common employee experience: “Anybody home?”

The Hit-or-Miss Leader isn’t terrible—at least not all of the time, and not for everyone they work with. They’re on or off, hot or cold, a good friend or ally to some, but not to others. Unlike an Uninten­tional Leader, they don’t actively hurt an organization, but neither are they actively supporting their team or performing their duties to the extent the organization needs. A Hit-or­ Miss Leader doesn’t always step up when they should.

3. The Transactional Leader

Common employee experience: “They get the job done-and nothing more.”

More than anything, the Transactional Leader values check­ing things off the list, especially things related to their own goals. They’ve risen above some negative behaviors associ­ated with Unintentional and Hit-or-Miss Leaders and are good at what they do. But they are mainly concerned with checking tasks off a to-do list or hitting key performance indicators and consequently are not as forward-thinking or charismatic as leaders at higher levels. Though they are heading in the right direction, a Transactional Leader’s style of working and communicating is still inconsistent, and they don’t attempt to forge the personal connections necessary for employees to feel empowered and engaged.

4. The Good Leader

Common employee experience: “I stay because of my manager.”

The Good Leader has a distinct edge over leaders at the lower levels. They are consistent, inclusive, and sincere. They are clear about expectations for people’s roles, understand that mistakes happen, and realize people have lives outside of work. Employees frequently describe a Good Leader as easy to talk to, understanding, fair, and the reason they stay. For many people, there’s very little practical difference between working for a Good Leader and working for a leader at the highest level, a For All Leader.

5. The For All Leader

Common employee experience: “My manager truly has my best interests in mind.”

For All Leaders have a lot to brag about. After all, they’ve made it to the top of the leadership persona hierarchy, their people love them, and the teams they lead are more successful than teams managed by leaders at other levels.

But here’s the thing about For All Leaders: they’d rather leave the bragging to others. If you’re familiar with the con­cept of the servant leader, you’ll recognize it in these manag­ers, who prefer to lead from behind, enabling the people who work for them to do their best work. For All Leaders treat all people with dignity, regardless of position. People who work for these leaders see them as hardworking and leading by ex­ample. Employees also see them as honest, ethical, and true to their word. For All Leaders aren’t micromanagers . They’re happy to have people work autonomously, and welcome feedback and others’ input on decisions. Showing that they’re responsive and open to others increases their own influence.

 SOURCE:qz.com