John Maxwell has a simple definition of leadership: “Leadership is influence. Nothing more and nothing less.”
If that’s true, then your title doesn’t make you a leader. Your corner office doesn’t make you a leader. Your org chart doesn’t make you a leader.
Influence does.
The Five Levels
Maxwell defines five distinct levels of leadership. Most people get stuck at one or two. Understanding where you are reveals what’s keeping you from the next level.
Level 1: Position
This is the lowest level. People follow you because they believe they have to: you have the title, the authority, the org chart power. If you stay here, you become the boss everyone tolerates but no one trusts.
Level 2: Permission
People follow you because they want to. You’ve built relationships. You connect with your team, make people feel appreciated, and earn trust through honesty and care. Influence expands.
Level 3: Production
You know how to get things done. People follow because you help them achieve group goals, and their own goals. Results speak. But if you stay here, the organization depends entirely on you.
Level 4: People Development
This is where you start creating new leaders. You invest in others. You duplicate yourself. The organization grows beyond what you could do alone.
Level 5: Pinnacle
The hardest level to attain. It requires years of investment in others, relentless personal growth, and a legacy of leaders you’ve developed. This level brings the greatest satisfaction, and the greatest impact.
The Question
Where are you right now?
- Are people following you because of your title (Level 1)?
- Because they like you (Level 2)?
- Because you deliver results (Level 3)?
- Because you’re developing them (Level 4)?
And more importantly: what would it take to move up one level?
Inside-out leadership — the kind explored in Goodness over Greatness — is the foundation for reaching Level 5. Because true influence flows from who you are, not what you’ve achieved.
