By making the shift from the position to the permission level of leadership, someone's first true step into leadership is taken. Why? Because leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. Leaders who rely on their positions to move people rarely develop influence. If their subordinates do what they are asked, it’s usually because they think they have to - to receive their pay, keep their jobs, prevent being reprimanded, and so on.

 

In contrast, when a leader learns to function on the permission level, everything changes. People do more than merely comply with orders. They actually start to follow. And they do so because they REALLY WANT to. Why? Because the leader begins to influence people with relationship, not just position. Building relationships develops a foundation for effectively leading others.

 

Level 2 is based entirely on relationships. On the permission level, people follow because they want to. When you like people and treat them like individuals who have value, you begin to develop influence. Eventually TRUST is developed. The environment becomes much more positive - whether at home, on the job, or while volunteering.

 

The agenda for leaders on Level 2 isn’t preserving their position. It’s getting to know their people and figuring out how to get along with them. Leaders find out who their people are and followers find out who their leaders are.

 

Moving up to Level 2 is an important development in leadership because that is where followers give their supervisors permission to lead them.

 

People change from being subordinates to followers!

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You can like people without leading them, but you cannot lead people well without liking them. That’s what Level 2 is about.

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In the next newsletter I will elaborate on the ‘Level 3 of Leadership': people follow you because of what you have done for the organization. 

 

Source: ‘5 Levels of Leadership, by John Maxwell’.