Many of us can relate to the experience of either having a bad boss or being the bad boss. I do not believe that we begin our leadership journey with these intentions.

The reality is stuff happens, our egos can become inflated and our emotions can easily overload.

The bad boss is one who thinks “self before team.” He wants what he wants, when he wants and the way he wants it. His tolerance in dealing with people is very low.

The bad boss is unaware of his surroundings and culture. Perhaps he is entirely unconcerned. Morale is low and chances are his team is not achieving their goals.

Or they are achieving good results.

But under what circumstances? Are they burning out from an overwhelming work environment and expectations? Do they have one foot out the door? Are they secretly wishing for a new boss?

Been there. Done that. On to better.

The mistake of the bad boss is relying on his position to lead the team.

Leadership is not a position or a title, it’s a process. A process of building and sustaining trust. A process of recognizing and valuing your team members. A process of casting vision, creating excitement and building momentum.

To advance from the mentality and misnomers of being a bad boss, leaders need to take five steps to greatness. These five steps will unlock their potential and improve their influence with others.

Influence is the key ingredient of great leadership. It is the way people are moved by positive emotions into action. Influence is what gets people to go along with the leader and stay on the journey until the goal is accomplished.

In his book, The 5 Levels of Leadership, John C. Maxwell describes the steps that move a leader from the lowest level of position to the highest level of pinnacle leadership. These are the steps to leadership greatness.

1. Position – People follow you because they have to.

Leaders at this level operate from the perspective of entitlement: “I have the position, therefore I have the power.”  They may be the boss, but not necessarily the leader.

To step up to the next level, leaders must become other-centric. Their thoughts should evolve around their responsibility to the team and not the team’s responsibility to them.

2. Permission – People follow you because they want to.

Relationship building is the key to success at this level.

Leaders invest time in getting to know their team members and determining how to work well together. They generate relationship capital and create trust. They also establish integrity which improves their ability to be influential.

3. Production – People follow because of what you have done for the organization.

Some people become leaders because of their proven track record as an individual contributor. The difference as a leader is they should continue to produce results, not alone, but together as a team. Their greatest competency becomes the ability to find ways for the team to win.

Everyone loves success and wants to be on the winning team.

4. People Development – People follow because of what you have done for them.

Great leaders achieve wins for the team by developing each individual. Everyone on the team has potential. It is the leader’s responsibility to recognize that potential and cultivate it.

Maxwell says that “leadership is the art of helping people change from who they’re thought to be to who they ought to be.” This is accomplished by believing in people, empowering them in their roles and giving them opportunities to grow.

5. Pinnacle – People follow because of who you are and what you represent.

The final step to leadership greatness is reaching the pinnacle level. This is where leaders are developing leaders. By sharing leadership responsibilities with others, leaders create a lasting legacy.

The marks of leadership at this level are delegation, mentoring and succession planning. Leaders create ways for the organization to thrive without them.

What is one thing you can do to step up your leadership? Please share your thoughts in the comments section, I’d love to hear from you.

  Evelyn Summerville
I write about living and leading with excellence