As leaders it’s important to gain an understanding of the context in which we practice leadership. To assist in understanding context the levels of leadership model, illustrated below, is helpful.
In our every days lives we practice leadership at various levels, each requiring a different set of competencies, styles and approach. The various levels of leadership context we practice are:
- Personal Leadership – Greg Thomas describes personal leadership as “the desire of an individual to take charge of his or her own life. Personal leaders realize that leadership is not a position or title, but an outlook on life and their role in the world…..If personal leadership had a motto it would be this, ‘Before I seek to change or motivate others I must first learn to change and motivate myself. I must first become the change I wish to see in others.’” Personal leadership involves living in balance, living according to your personal values, accepting responsibility for their lives, living with a deep sense of purpose and striving towards a personal vision. Personal leadership is the foundation of all other leadership contexts, the bottom line is, if you’re unable to lead yourself effectively, you’ll be unable to lead others effectively.
- Team Leadership – A team leadership practice, builds upon personal leadership competencies, to create a motivated and inspired team co-operating towards a shared vision of success. This requires leaders to manage team dynamics, manage team processes and personalities, in a manner that enables each team member, to contribute according to their unique abilities. Good team leaders develop team’s consisting of individuals, where each individual’s strengths compensates for another’s weakness, creating an aligned high performance team.
- Business Unit Leadership – Building upon the team leadership practice, Business Unit Leadership creates alignment across teams, ensuring the successful execution of organisational strategy. The practice of leadership, in the business unit context, is primarily about creating alignment, improving processes, staying focused, communication and developing relationships. I believe that good quality business unit leadership is essential to ensure the successful execution of organisational strategy.
- Organisational Leadership – The practice of organisational leadership involves developing strategic direction, leading change and managing cultural transformation. Organisational leadership is crucial to maintain the fit between the external, fast changing, marketplace and the internal organisational processes to build organisational resilience.
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