Free The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential by John C. Maxwell

but it took no time at all to let others know that I valued them, expressing appreciation for them and taking interest in them personally. So that’s a change you can make quickly, too. And here’s the immediate benefit: The moment people noticed the shift in my attitude, I noticed a positive shift in their response to me. They began to help me, which allowed me to help them.
3. A Leader Doesn’t Need to Have All the Answers
    Positional leaders often believe that they need to have all the answers. After all, if they admit that they don’t know something, it shows weakness. And if they show weakness, how are they going to stay on top of the hill and maintain their precious position? To get off of Level 1, a leader has to think differently.
    When I started my career right out of college, I naïvely thought I had all the answers. Within a few months I realized I didn’t, but I was afraid to admit it. My insecurity and immaturity caused me to act like Mr. Answer Man. It didn’t matter how far outside of my expertise the question was. For a few years, I tried the “fake it ’til you make it” approach to leadership. However, I didn’t fake it well, and others could tell. And, of course, that kind of approach doesn’t help you to actually make it!
    I began to realize that a leader’s job is not to know everything but to attract people who know things that he or she does not. Once I recognized that one of us is not as smart as all of us, I stopped bringing people together to give them the answers and started calling on themto help me find the answers. That transformed my leadership, not only because I could be myself and stop pretending that I knew more than I did, but also because it harnessed the power of shared thinking.
    One of us is not as smart as all of us.
4. A Good Leader Always Includes Others
    Because positional leaders often work alone, standing atop the hill of leadership while their subordinates work together at the bottom, their teams work far under their capabilities. Why? Stand-alone leadership doesn’t lead to teamwork, creativity, collaboration, or high achievement. What a shame, and what a waste of potential.
    My father’s generation possessed a lot of lonely leaders whose motto was “My way or the highway.” As a result, they missed out on a lot. Moving up in the 5 Levels of Leadership is all about others. It means relating well to other people. It requires leaders to be examples for other people. It challenges them to develop and equip people. The higher you go up the levels of leadership, the more you realize that good leadership is about leading
with
others, not just leading others. It requires collaboration. It requires inclusion. It requires sacrifice of selfish personal ambition for the sake of the team and the vision of the organization. It means being part of something greater than yourself. It means putting others ahead of yourself and being willing to go only as fast as the people you lead.
    A friend told me that when a group of Marines go into combat, they don’t wear their insignia of rank. One reason is that they don’t want officers and noncommissioned officers to be targeted by the enemy. But there’s also another reason—when Marines go into battle, they know who’s in charge. The chain of command has already been clearly established. Nobody needs a reminder of it. But not wearingsymbols of rank also sends a clear message from leaders to followers: we are all in this together. We live or die together, regardless of rank.
    Moving up from Level 1 to Level 2 requires the greatest personal change from a leader. It requires a change of beliefs and attitudes toward other people and leadership. But here’s the truth: once you decide to include others in the leadership journey, you are well on your way to achieving success at the other levels.

Guide to Growing through Level 1
    A s you reflect on the upsides, downsides, beliefs, and best behaviors of the Position level of leadership,