January 28, 2025
by Stephen T. Messenger
Terry was struggling. She had been with the company for the last six years in accounting, but her background, degree, and passion were in marketing. Her degree was in marketing, she was an adjunct professor on the topic a few years ago, and she ran a small marketing account for her cousin’s business.
When the opening came up for a supervisory position of the three-person team in marketing, she jumped at the chance. After six weeks of a competitive interview process, she was elated to earn the job! Terry was confident she was the most educated and knowledgeable candidate, knew the company, and was going to make a perfect fit. It was game on!
But Day One didn’t start like she thought. The three veteran marketers had been there a long time and were very comfortable in the way they were doing things—which Terry quickly discovered was slow and antiquated. They had over 85 years of marketing experience combined and were not interested in trying new things.
Every suggestion she made was met with skepticism and disinterest. “I don’t get it,” she told her husband on her second week. “I’m in charge. They need to listen to me.”
Tuesday morning, she was so frustrated she went for a power walk around the building to burn off some energy. Rounding a corner too fast, she bumped into Bryan.
“Are you okay?” Bryan asked. “You look a little stressed.”
Terry looked at Bryan slowly. He’s been here for as long as she could remember. Maybe he could help. She looked around and quietly pulled him into a side conference room. Here she recounted her struggles on how hard it was to get these three people to follow her. Bryan nodded thoughtfully. “Have you heard of the Leadership Pyramid?” he asked.
John Maxwell’s Five Levels of Leadership
Being a leader has nothing to do with our title. It has everything to do with our behavior. Think of our favorite people to follow? They weren’t just in a position of authority. They cared about us, they were successful, they helped us grow, and we wanted to be like them when we grew up. Now think about a boss we never wanted to follow. What was their one main attribute to get us to do something? They were in charge.
It’s not enough to get people to follow us because they have to. They should follow us because it benefits everyone involved. John Maxwell talks about this in his book The 5 Levels of Leadership. He argues that getting assigned as boss is only the first step of being a true leader. There are four other steps to reach the pinnacle of leadership. The good news is, it’s easy to remember as all the levels start with Ps and Rs.
The First Level is where you’re at—the base of the pyramid of position and rights. Here, people follow you because you have organizational authority to be in charge. You just got this new leadership position, I can tell you’re excited, and you’re ready to make an impact. So, you show up on the first day ready to lead, and they should follow. It all makes sense on paper. But often, followers have their own ideas, agenda, and expectations of you. Just because you have a right to be in charge doesn’t mean they want you to be. You can’t rely solely on authority to lead.
The Second Level climbs the pyramid a little higher with permissions and relationships. This is when people accept you as a leader because they like you. They give themselves permission to follow because you’re the type of person that talks to them, engages them, asks about their day, and creates a bond. The leader and follower now have a connection that develops through trust. No longer are you just the boss, but you’re a caring, trusted agent who wants to be a part of their life and have a relationship. In doing so, you create stronger bonds and a more enjoyable work experience. However, just because people want to follow you doesn’t mean you’re any good at it.
Level Three is about production and results. In this level, you prove to be the leader that gets results. You are making decisions that are effective, motivating your team to do better, and producing for the company. This is the core of why organizations hire people—to make it happen! Leadership is a game of influencing others to accomplish tasks. Now, you don’t have to have all the good ideas. In fact, your team already has most of them. But you have to put it all together to win. At this level, you now have organizational authority, a team who likes you, and are making things happen. You may think you’re there, but you’re only halfway.
The Fourth Level relates to people development and reproduction. Here, you are proving to be the leader who wants to see others develop both professionally and personally. You’re not just looking out for company success but about finding the right places for your people to excel. This means knowing their talents and passions and matching them with assignments. It means finding training opportunities for them to get even better. And most of all, it means finding ways to put them in positions where they will thrive, be it a promotion, lateral transfer, or task. Now, you are the one reproducing the next generation of leaders who follow you because you care about their personal success.
The final and Fifth Level is one of pinnacle and respect. People no longer follow you just because they have to, they like you as a person, you are generating wins, and you’re helping them personally. Here they follow you because of the person you are. They want to be like you someday because they respect you. At the pinnacle of leadership, you are the face of the organization, lift others up, are a team player, and genuinely care. You are someone that others want to emulate and be near. At this level, people look to you as an exemplar of leadership and hope to be you someday because of your reputation. You place people first, complete the mission, and improve the organization.
Remember, this is a pyramid. That means that one cannot be completed without first accomplishing the one underneath. You can’t be at the pinnacle of leadership if you’re not meeting goals or people don’t like you. With few exceptions, each level must be accomplished in order with one building to the next.
Today, you’re at the bottom of the pyramid and congrats! The company thought enough about you to be in charge because of your knowledge and potential for success. As you start trekking up the levels, you’ll make steady progress.
Terry took a deep breath. “I thought I would be in charge because I was told to be in charge. How naive is that?” Bryan laughed. “Everyone thinks that in their first leadership assignment, and trust me, we all find out the hard way!”
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