Brandon W. Jones

In this case the main theme was how to become a level 5 leader. Although the attributes explained in the article are good attributes to obtain, after reading the case study “Good to Great, or just Good” by Bruce Niendorf and Kristine Beck, I have the strong tendency to discount the research that he states backs up his findings. Because the research that he states was not properly obtained according to a statistics analysis, I will just review the value of his thoughts as a suggestion and not as being backed by research. The two qualities he stated leaders should have are personal humility and professional will. These two qualities are very valuable and important to have.

When an individual or leader has the quality of personal humility, they are then teachable and open to change. Without change an organization will fail. Change is essential to growing the business because customer needs are continually changing. It is not good to change in the sense of sound moral values and principles; the change I am referring to is the change in product, production techniques, marketing, etc. Leaders need to be humble to effectively create change in an organization. If the leader is not humble and he or she tries to create change, the individuals within the organization will resist the change and then when the leader is not around they will go back to their old ways. When the leader humbly instigates change, the followers will be more likely to buy in.

In addition to being humble, great leaders must also have a professional will that drives them to do their best. The professional drive must come from within. The professional will is the desire the leader has to do their very best and be great even when no one else is looking. It is the drive the leader has to continually do more with less. Professional will is the desire to succeed. As Jim Collins pointed out, professional will is essential for a leader to reach the next level in their leadership ability.