Level 5 leadership: The triumph of humility and fierce resolve

Boards of directors typically believe that transforming a company from mere ly good to truly great requires a larger-than-life personality-an egocentri c chief to lead the corporate charge. Think "Chainsaw" Al Dunlap or Lee Iac occa. In fact, that's not the case, says author and leadership expert Jim Collins . The essential ingredient for taking a company to greatness is having a "L evel 5" leader at the helm-an executive in whom extreme personal humility b lends paradoxically with intense professional will. Collins paints a compel ling and counterintuitive portrait of the skills and personality traits nec essary for effective leadership. He identifies the characteristics common t o Level 5 leaders: humility, will, ferocious resolve, and the tendency to g ive credit to others while assigning blame to themselves. Collins fleshes out his Level 5 theory by telling colorful tales about 11 s uch leaders from recent business history. He contrasts the turnaround succe sses of outwardly humble, even shy, executives like Gillette's Colman M. Mo ckler and Kimberly-Clark's Darwin E. Smith with those of larger-than-life b usiness leaders like Dunlap and Iacocca, who courted personal celebrity. The jury is still out on how to cultivate Level 5 leaders and whether it's even possible to do so, Collins admits. Some leaders have the Level 5 seed within; some don't. But Collins suggests using the findings from his resear ch to strive for Level 5-for instance, getting the right people on board an d creating a culture of discipline. "Our own lives and all that we touch wi ll be better for the effort," he concludes.