Darwin E. Smith’s Level 5 Leadership Characteristics

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Background Description of Leadership Style
Smith as an Example of a Level 5 Leader
Implying Level 5 Leadership in Educational Institutions
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Good leaders can make a company improve in its performance and standards of operation. However, only great leaders have the capabilities to make remarkable transformations that inspire others for centuries. In most cases, such managers have the characteristics of level 5 leaders. They are humble and modest and have an unwavering will to produce extraordinary results. The individuals are never egocentric or after fame because they value others as necessary in making the companies great. This essay exemplifies the life of Darwin E. Smith, the chief executive officer of Stodgy old paper company, as one of the outstanding Level 5 leaders.

Background Description of Leadership Style

All the companies that rose to greatness were managed by humble chief executives whose main concern was to make their organizations successful. Smith is described by Collins (2001) as a seemingly ordinary man. The implication is that nothing was striking or unique about him at face level. For example, he was not sure the decision to hire him was right; he did not have all the qualifications for the job. Yet it is his lifestyle of having companions among plumbers and electricians, carrying no air of self-importance, and doing casual work that demonstrates his attribute of humility.

His background demonstrates hard work and perseverance in achieving his dreams. Smith grew up as an Indiana boy from a low-social economic family. He was forced to work a risky job that made him lose a finger during the day so that he could pay for his night classes at Indiana University (Collins, 2001). He was relentless as a full-time worker and student and later got his admission to Harvard Law School. Only two months following his appointment as the CEO, he got diagnosed with cancer and was given less than a year to live by the doctors. Nonetheless, he informed the board that as long as he was still alive, he was willing to continue working.

Smith as an Example of a Level 5 Leader

One of the traits of level 5 leaders is their strong relational skills. The person must realize that success comes from within and demonstrate self-organization, control, and discipline (Sengupta, 2021). For example, the ability of Smith to continue working and schooling with a chopped finger and remain a CEO despite the cancer diagnosis demonstrates his self-commitment. Moreover, they value people and believe they are the key to innovation and success (Strobl, 2019). For instance, Smith was always in the company of plumbers and electricians, which shows that he interacted with people across all work levels. Thus, Smith understood the value of positive relationships with self and others.

The other attribute of such leaders is that they have no ego but look at the greater goal of building a company. The level 5 leaders are humble but incredibly ambitious for the institution they serve (Caldwell et al., 2017). For example, although Smith ended up transforming Kimberly-Clark into a world leader in consumer-based products, he initially felt that the board had made a wrong decision (Collins, 2001). Smith saw other people as more competent and decide to put all his energy and knowledge into making the company succeed. His ambition is further demonstrated when he analyzed and concluded that traditional paper making was mediocre and had to launch a consumer paper industry with world-class competition (Collins, 2001). The risk-taking nature that he demonstrated is typical of all level 5 leaders (Zu, 2019). He was willing to take a risk to overcome the company’s limitations.

Implying Level 5 Leadership in Educational Institutions

The education sector is one of the widest and competitive industries globally. It requires great leadership structure to remain relevant and help students in their endeavors to achieve their goals. Some of the attributes demonstrated by the level 5 leaders can be used to enhance the quality of the school. The dialogical self-theory of leadership asserts that people must use generative dialogue as the primary tool for transforming organization (Van Loon, 2017). The leader must have a deep understanding of self and others to create an environment for thriving. For instance, within educational institutions, the leader, counselor and board of directors must be people with self-awareness and discipline in performing their roles. They can then influence other people, including the students and the workers, to have a similar mindset. Thus, it is the responsibility of the institution’s management to ensure that they cultivate a culture of positive intra and interpersonal relationships that allow people to thrive.

Educational institutions need to be ready to explore new opportunities and navigate through challenges to remain outstanding. A stressful environment is inevitable for such organizations and can be stimulated by cognitive, physical, social, and affective network relationship vectors (Avila et al., 2021). Therefore, when there are issues, the leaders in the educational institutions must be innovative in taking risks that have the potential of making the organization great. They can follow the example of Smith, who knowing that changing the service delivery to consumer-focused paper with global competition could make it perish, decided to do it anyway because of the promise of greatness. Thus, changes and risks are an inevitable part of the growth that should be embraced.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Level 5 leaders thrive exceedingly in their endeavors due to humility, relentless ambition, peoples’ skills and innovativeness. They are people who have a high level of self-consciousness and choose to put the goals of the organizations above their needs. Like Smith, such leaders demonstrate selflessness and a high level of focus. They do not allow distractions such as sickness and accidents to distract them from achieving the bigger vision. They love and relate well with people, even those in lower social and economic classes because they have learned to tame their egos. For level 5 leaders, the needs of others are a priority, and the focus is on making the organization great despite the challenges.

Educational institutions have a chance of adopting level 5 leadership characteristics and transform their organizations just like Smith. The vice councilor and the board members should remain humble and interact with all employees and students without segregating them based on class. A culture of positivity is needed to ensure that there is a feeling of being relevant. It is only through the practical applications of such attributes that schools can remain relevant and competitive in this era.

References

Avila, S., De Souza, L. F., & Pereira, L. M. (2021). Continuous stress and consequence on C4t, complexity, risk, and necessity of leadership level 5.Advances in Safety Management and Human Performance, 124-132. Web.

Caldwell, C., Ichiho, R., & Anderson, V. (2017). Understanding level 5 leaders: The ethical perspectives of leadership humility.Journal of Management Development, 36(5), 724-732. Web.

Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the Leap…And others don’t. HarperBusiness.

Sengupta, S. S. (2021). Level-5 Integral Leadership Styles: Transcendence of Mind. IUP Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20(2), 1-25

Strobl, A., Niedermair, J., Matzler, K., & Mussner, T. (2019). Triggering subordinate innovation behavior: The influence of leaders’ dark personality traits and level 5 leadership behavior. International Journal of Innovation Management, 23(05), 1950045. Web.

Van Loon, R. (2017). Creating organizational value through Dialogical leadership. Web.

Zu, L. (2019). Purpose-driven leadership for sustainable business: From the perspective of taoism.International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, 4(1). Web.

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