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Unsustained Comparison
Collins and his research team coin the term Level 5 Leader to describe the unique qualities that CEOs of good-to-great companies tend to have. In contrast to the stereotype of the charismatic, revolutionary leader, Level 5 Leaders are humble, self-effacing, and unwilling to take personal credit for their companies’ success. They are ambitious, but they channel this ambition toward their companies rather than their own egos. Additionally, Level 5 Leaders are relentless and energetic in pursuing their goals. Far from being meek, they often make bold, forceful choices in leading their companies, but those choices are always based on their beliefs about what is best for the company as a whole. Level 5 Leaders also set their executives and successors up for success, rather than trying to consolidate power within themselves. The unique combination of humility and drive is the defining duality of Level 5 Leaders.
Level 5 Leader Quotes in Good to Great
The Good to Great quotes below are all either spoken by Level 5 Leader or refer to Level 5 Leader. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2 Quotes
The business media called the move stupid and Wall Street analysts downgraded the stock. Smith never wavered. Twenty-five years later, Kimberly-Clark owned Scott Paper outright and beat Procter & Gamble in six of eight product categories. In retirement, Smith reflected on his exceptional performance, saying simply, “I never stopped trying to become qualified for the job.”
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Jim Collins (speaker), Darwin E. Smith
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20
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Collins describes CEO Darwin E. Smith’s bold move to sell Kimberly-Clark’s paper mills and enter the consumer paper business, even when the company’s entire history and previous core business had been based on its mills. Smith was mocked for his decision, but because it was based on a keen understanding of the company’s situation and carried out fearlessly, it became a success story.
Smith’s humility and boldness as described here provides a quintessential profile of the core qualities of a Level 5 Leader. Additionally, his modest analysis of his own success highlights the idea that anyone can work toward greatness through a combination of humility and persistent effort.
Level 5 leaders are a study in duality: modest and willful, humble and fearless. To quickly grasp this concept, think of United States president Abraham Lincoln (one of the few Level 5 presidents in United States history), who never let his ego get in the way of his primary ambition for the larger cause of an enduring great nation. Yet those who mistook Mr. Lincoln’s personal modesty, shy nature, and awkward manner as signs of weakness found themselves terribly mistaken, to the scale of 250,000 Confederate and 360,000 Union lives, including Lincoln’s own. While it might be a bit of a stretch to compare the good-to-great CEOs to Abraham Lincoln, they did display the same duality.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Level 5 Leaders look out 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 poorly.
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Level 5 Leader Term Timeline in Good to Great
The timeline below shows where the term Level 5 Leader appears in Good to Great. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
Collins characterizes Smith as an example of a Level 5 Leader . Level 5 Leaders “blend extreme personal humility with intense professional will,” and though they...
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Collins notes that Level 5 Leader s are always characterized by not one, but two defining traits: modesty and fearlessness. He...
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Additionally, Level 5 Leader s are often devoted to ensuring that the company thrives after they are no longer...
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Collins notes that in interviews for the book’s study, Level 5 Leader s rarely talked about themselves, instead commending others for their companies’ success. Those who knew...
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In conclusion, Collins reiterates that Level 5 Leader s are not just humble. Rather, they balance their humility with a relentless drive to...
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Chapter 9
...a flywheel process. Similarly, Hewlett Packard and other Built to Last companies often had consummate Level 5 Leader s at the times of their success.
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