There's a great paradox in leadership; it takes incredible drive and personal ambition to reach the highest levels of influence and authority, but when we pair that drive with self-promotion and ego our lasting impact will be short-lived. In the opening chapter of his book "Good to Great" Jim Collins describes a rare, but powerful leadership trait known as a Level 5 leader.
"Level 5 leaders are a study in duality: modest and willful, humble and fearless. To quickly grasp this concept, think of United States President Abraham Lincoln (one of the few Level 5 presidents in the United States history), who never let his ego get in the way of his primary ambition for the larger cause of an enduring great nation. Yet those who mistook Mr. Lincoln's personal modesty, shy nature, and awkward manner as signs of weakness found themselves terribly mistaken, to the scale of 250,000 Confederate and 360,000 Union lives, including Lincoln's own." (22)
I believe we all want to leave a legacy, to have our own efforts outlast us. But, that desire is easily sabotaged by our cultural insistence of self-promotion. In order to know how to respond we need heroes, people who have given us their stories as a model for our own lives.
Who in your life has modeled the life of a Level 5 Leader? What is a concrete step you can take to be more like that person?
For anyone interested in learning more, I would like to recommend two videos. The first is a talk that was given by David Brooks called, "Humility in the Time of Me." It's nineteen minutes of absolute gold. The second is an interview with Cardinal Luis Tagel of the Philippines. I believe he is an excellent example of a Collin's Level 5 Leader. I found his talk profoundly inspiring.
David Brooks: http://qideas.org/videos/humility-in-the-time-of-me/
Cardinal Luis Tagel: http://alpha.org/lc/talks/