The 5 Levels of Leadership is a roadmap to becoming a great leader who inspires teams. It’s strategic for organizations.
Position, Permission, Production, People Development, and Pinnacle are the five stages developed by John Maxwell that you should know to improve your leadership skills.
Leadership is more necessary today than ever before as talent is needed to face the uncertainty of the markets. This is how companies can successfully adapt to new and constant challenges.
In this article, we will explore the characteristics of these 5 levels of leadership and give you some examples so that you can start on the road to inspiring leadership that is up to the new times.
What are the 5 Levels of Leadership?
The 5 Levels of Leadership is a classification of the different stages of leadership that is intended as a roadmap to help leaders understand the path, implications, and challenges of leadership.
The author of this classification is John Maxwell, author, speaker, and coach, thanks to the information gathered in his more than 40 years of experience as a successful leader.
In a schematic way, as we develop each level in the following section, the 5 levels of leadership consist of:
- Position: It focuses on rights and is based on the fact that people will follow a leader primarily because they have to by virtue of their status.
- Permission: At this level, relationships are worked out so that people follow the leader because they want to.
- Production: Results are important here, as teams will follow the leader because of the benefits gained by the entire organization.
- People development: This step is about what the leader has done for the people, the reason they follow.
- Pinnacle: At the top of the ladder, respect is essential. People follow leaders because of who they are, what they stand for, and how they inspire them.
Therefore, true leadership is about transforming leaders (measurable through a leadership assesment test, among other ways) into people who invest in others, improve the company’s bottom line and inspire their teams while bringing out the best version of their people.
In this way, people develop, increase their commitment to the project, and in turn, become leaders.
Leader vs manager: understanding the difference
While the terms “leader” and “manager” are sometimes used interchangeably, they represent fundamentally different roles.
A manager focuses on processes, systems, and maintaining order. They are tasked with planning, organizing, and overseeing operations to ensure productivity and efficiency.
A leader, however, is someone who inspires, influences, and empowers others toward a shared vision. Leadership is about people, not just performance.
Being a manager doesn’t automatically make someone a great leader. The title of “manager” grants authority, but true leadership must be earned through trust, empathy, and results.
Leadership is not a position — it’s a journey of growth, influence, and character.
That’s where Maxwell’s 5 Levels of Leadership offers clarity. This framework answers powerful questions like:
- Where are you as a leader at the moment?
- What do you need to achieve to get to the next stage?
- How to become a Pinnacle leader?
This model helps organizations:
- Create a culture of mentorship and growth
- Identify strengths and areas for development
- Build sustainable leadership pipelines
With clear steps and actionable insights, Maxwell’s model transforms leadership from a vague concept into a practical path for personal and organizational excellence.
Maxwell, author of The Five Levels of Leadership
John C. Maxwell is one of the most respected and recognized leadership experts in the world.
Named the #1 leader in business by the American Management Association, and ranked as the world’s most influential leadership expert by Inc. Magazine in 2014, Maxwell’s influence spans across industries, continents, and generations.
Through Maxwell´s lens, leadership becomes accessible to everyone willing to grow and inspire.
He has authored more than 100 books, many of which are international bestsellers, including The 5 Levels of Leadership, Developing the Leader Within You, and 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.
His books have sold over 20 million copies in more than 50 languages, establishing him not only as a prolific writer but also as a trusted mentor for millions of aspiring and established leaders worldwide.
Maxwell’s writing draws on decades of real-world experience as a former pastor, corporate trainer, and leadership consultant.
He has worked with Fortune 500 companies, government organizations, and nonprofits, always focusing on developing leaders from the inside out.
Maxwell is also a highly sought-after keynote speaker, delivering leadership conferences around the globe.
His teachings are known for being both practical and inspirational. One of his most famous quotes encapsulates his approach:
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
It’s this balance of integrity, action, and mentorship that has made Maxwell a global authority in the leadership space.
His insights are not theoretical — they are grounded in experience, service, and a lifelong mission to grow leaders at every level.
In the next section, we’ll break down the characteristics and real-life examples of each of the 5 Levels of Leadership, helping you identify where you are on your own leadership journey — and where you can go next.
Characteristics and examples of the 5 Levels of Leadership
In the following sections, we will go deeper into the characteristics of the 5 Levels of Leadership and illustrate them with some examples to help you understand their implications.
Position
When you are proposed for a leadership role in an organization, you accept the responsibilities that come with the position, as well as the expectations that team members have formed about your work.
People will follow you because of your position and, in order to develop as a leader, it is important that you develop team and project management skills.
In terms of attitude, it is essential that you are approachable and have a collaborative spirit.
Example: When you’re first promoted to team lead, people follow you because they have to — you hold the title.
But you soon realize that authority doesn’t equal influence. This is Level 1 leadership: Position, where people follow based on your role, not because they believe in you yet.
Permission
The relationship between leaders and their team members is a pillar of this stage of leadership that must be built on respect.
People will follow leaders willingly if they trust them.
To build this relationship of trust, it is necessary to establish continuous two-way communication and practice active listening to people’s opinions, problems, and needs.
Example: When you take time to listen to your team, support their ideas, and show genuine care, they begin to trust and follow you — not because they have to, but because they want to.
This is Level 2 leadership: Permission — where relationships become the foundation of your influence.
Production
Moving from words to actions is the foundation of this third level of Maxwell’s 5 Levels of Leadership.
As a leader, you need to become an inspiration to your team in order to motivate them to complete tasks, keep people motivated, meet deadlines, etc.
The difficulty at this stage is to maintain a balance between the company’s goals and people’s needs.
Adopting an affiliative interpersonal leadership style will help you identify and mitigate stressful or conflicting situations, improving the work environment and therefore productivity.
Example: When your team starts seeing real results under your leadership — projects delivered on time, goals consistently met — they follow you because your direction leads to success.
This is Level 3 leadership: Production — where your influence grows through the tangible impact you make on performance and outcomes.
People Development
This level of building a good leader focuses on exponential leadership, a humanistic dynamic with a vision of the future that drives the development of people and turns them into leaders.
To achieve this, you can set up a continuous feedback system and monitor task progress daily to guide people when they need it.
Employee performance evaluation is a tool that allows you to improve the results of your teams and actively participate in their development.
Example: When you invest time in mentoring team members, helping them grow their skills and confidence, they follow you because you’ve helped shape their success.
This is Level 4 leadership: People Development — where your influence comes from empowering others to become leaders themselves.
Pinnacle
Finally, this level of leadership is the most difficult to achieve because it requires constant and persistent work over time to create a kind of symbiosis between the leader’s personal growth and the long-term development of other leaders.
The Pinnacle Leader builds a legacy by leading by example and contributing to the development of other people and the organization to which they belong.
These experienced leaders are often sought after by headhunters because of the many benefits they bring to the organization.
Example: When your leadership inspires others beyond your team — people seek your guidance, admire your values, and aspire to lead like you — they follow because of who you are.
This is Level 5 leadership: Pinnacle — where your influence stems from reputation, integrity, and the legacy you’re building.
Relationship between the 5 Levels of Leadership
The 5 levels of leadership are not isolated levels but create communicating vessels between them.
In this sense, the leader must consider the following guidelines, according to the strategy proposed by John Maxwell:
- Moving up a level does not mean forgetting the previous one; this method works in a binding way, and the new skills and milestones must be unified and feed each other.
- It is important to understand that you will find yourself in one stage or another depending on the person who values your role.
- As you progress in this guide to being a good leader, this work will require more dedication and commitment, so it is essential to continue to train and, if necessary, to use executive coaching to facilitate talent management.
- Remember that moving up is a slow and persistent path, but you can go down very quickly.
- The leader who does not care about moving up will end up negatively impacting the teams and, consequently, the organization as a whole.
- This process is a team process, a leader cannot move up a level alone, so it is important to lead by example, inspire people, listen to them and push them to excel.
5 Levels of Leadership: final thoughts
John Maxwell’s 5 Levels of Leadership offers more than a theory — it’s a practical guide for leaders who aspire to grow and make a lasting impact.
From gaining trust and producing results to developing others and building a leadership legacy, each level challenges you to become more intentional, authentic, and influential.
It reminds us that leadership isn’t about a title or a position — it’s about the ability to inspire, serve, and elevate others.
Whether you’re just stepping into a leadership role or striving to reach the Pinnacle, this model provides a clear path forward.
Remember, great leadership is not achieved overnight — it’s cultivated through consistent action, personal growth, and a genuine commitment to those you lead.
By applying the principles in this framework, you can become the kind of leader people choose to follow — one who not only drives success but also transforms lives. The journey starts with one simple question: Where are you now?
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