E18: The 4 Levels of Leadership

Continuous Improvement Journey Podcast

When you look back on some of history's most influential and effective leaders, what made them so great? They were selfless, loved the people they were leading, and had a strong desire to empower those around them to become better people.

When you look back on some of the worst leaders from history, what made them so horrible? They are exact opposites of the great leaders, they were selfish, would do anything to maintain their power, and led through fear to suppress the people in their control.

Becoming a great leader or even a great person does not take eons of time. We can all start right now. Even if we are not a leader when we think in the context of a traditional leader or manager, we all have an influence on the lives of those around us through our leadership qualities, even if we do not realize it.

So, the question we should ask ourselves is, what kind of leader will I be?

Many people throughout history have become fixated on the idea of leadership. I believe that is because we have had some pretty horrible leaders and also pretty influential leaders throughout history. A few questions that some people may ask is, what makes them such a great leader? How can I become or be taught to become like one of the great leaders from history? And how can we avoid bringing into power leaders driven by ill intent?

As I have thought about these questions, I can’t help but think that there are multiple levels of leadership. What I have come to know is that there are 4 levels of leadership that I believe summarize the 4 categories that leaders could be placed in. Of course, there are probably other better categories, labels, or descriptions for leaders, but the 4 levels that I would like to talk about are dictator, manager, leader, and then servant leader.