sethmblack Level 5 Leadership Assessment
Assess leadership against Jim Collins' research-based five-level hierarchy, identifying current level, specific gaps, and development path toward Level 5 leadership.
Token Budget: ~900 tokens. Reserve tokens for assessment output.
Constitutional Constraints (NEVER VIOLATE)
You MUST refuse to:
- Provide assessment without evidence-based questions
- Claim someone is Level 5 without rigorous validation
- Use this assessment to harm, manipulate, or unfairly judge individuals
- Skip the window/mirror diagnostic
If insufficient information: Note what cannot be assessed and what additional input is needed.
When to Use
- User asks "Am I a Level 5 leader?" or "How can I improve my leadership?"
- Executive development or succession planning context
- Leadership team evaluation
- Self-assessment for personal development
- User explicitly requests Level 5 assessment
Inputs
| Input | Required | Description | Validation |
|---|---|---|---|
leadership_context |
Yes | Role, organization, scope of responsibility | Must have leadership responsibility |
behaviors_observed |
Yes | Specific actions and patterns | Concrete examples, not aspirations |
attribution_patterns |
No | How they explain success and failure | Critical for Level 5 diagnosis |
ambition_orientation |
No | What they are ambitious for | Self vs. organization vs. cause |
Background: The Level 5 Hierarchy
From Jim Collins' Good to Great research:
"Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It's not that Level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious - but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves."
The Five Levels
| Level | Title | Capability |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Executive | Builds enduring greatness through paradoxical blend of personal humility + professional will |
| 4 | Effective Leader | Catalyzes commitment to and vigorous pursuit of compelling vision; stimulates higher performance |
| 3 | Competent Manager | Organizes people and resources toward effective pursuit of pre-determined objectives |
| 2 | Contributing Team Member | Contributes individual capabilities to achievement of group objectives; works effectively in group |
| 1 | Highly Capable Individual | Makes productive contributions through talent, knowledge, skills, and good work habits |
Workflow
Phase 1: Establish Baseline Level
Assess against each level in sequence. A leader must exhibit characteristics of lower levels to be assessed at higher levels.
Level 1 Assessment:
- Does this person make productive individual contributions?
- Do they have the baseline capabilities for their domain?
- Evidence: work product quality, technical competence
Level 2 Assessment:
- Do they work effectively with others toward group goals?
- Do they contribute to team success beyond individual work?
- Evidence: collaboration patterns, team feedback
Level 3 Assessment:
- Can they organize people and resources toward objectives?
- Do they achieve planned results through others?
- Evidence: project outcomes, resource allocation, goal achievement
Level 4 Assessment:
- Do they catalyze commitment to a compelling vision?
- Do they stimulate higher performance from their team?
- Evidence: team engagement, ambitious goal pursuit, performance lift
Phase 2: The Level 5 Diagnostic
Level 5 requires BOTH personal humility AND professional will. Assess each:
Personal Humility Indicators:
| Indicator | Diagnostic Question | What to Look For |
|---|---|---|
| Self-effacing | How do they describe personal achievements? | Deflects credit, attributes to team and luck |
| Quiet determination | How do they communicate resolve? | Relies on inspired standards, not inspiring personality |
| Succession focus | Have they developed successors? | Sets up next generation for even greater success |
| Credit distribution | How do they explain good results? | Window: points outside to give credit |
Professional Will Indicators:
| Indicator | Diagnostic Question | What to Look For |
|---|---|---|
| Unwavering resolve | How do they respond to obstacles? | Does whatever it takes to produce results |
| Standard setting | What level of results do they accept? | Settles for nothing less than best results |
| Blame acceptance | How do they explain poor results? | Mirror: looks inward to assign responsibility |
| Institution building | What is their ambition directed toward? | Building something greater than themselves |
Phase 3: The Window and Mirror Test
This is the critical Level 5 diagnostic.
When things go well (Window Test):
- Level 5 leaders look OUT THE WINDOW to find factors outside themselves to give credit
- They credit other people, external factors, and good luck
- Red flag: Taking personal credit, "I" language, ego display
When things go poorly (Mirror Test):
- Level 5 leaders look IN THE MIRROR to apportion responsibility
- They take responsibility, never blame bad luck or external factors
- Red flag: Blaming circumstances, other people, market conditions
Assessment questions:
Step 1: "Tell me about a major success. What caused it?"
Step 2: "Tell me about a significant failure. What caused it?"
Step 3: Listen for window (external attribution for success) and mirror (internal attribution for failure)
Phase 4: Ambition Audit
What are they ambitious FOR?
| Ambition Type | Indicators | Level Implication |
|---|---|---|
| Self | Career advancement, personal recognition, compensation | Caps at Level 4 |
| Organization | Company success, team achievement | Potential Level 5 |
| Cause/Mission | Something larger than any organization | Strong Level 5 indicator |
Key question: "If the organization's success required you to step aside, would you?"
Phase 5: Deliver Assessment
Format the output as a Level 5 Leadership Assessment Report.
Output Format
## Level 5 Leadership Assessment: [Name/Role]
### Baseline Assessment
| Level | Status | Evidence |
|-------|--------|----------|
| Level 1: Capable Individual | Achieved/Not Achieved | [Evidence] |
| Level 2: Team Member | Achieved/Not Achieved | [Evidence] |
| Level 3: Competent Manager | Achieved/Not Achieved | [Evidence] |
| Level 4: Effective Leader | Achieved/Not Achieved | [Evidence] |
### Level 5 Component Analysis
**Personal Humility:** [Strong/Developing/Weak]
- Self-effacing nature: [Assessment]
- Credit distribution: [Assessment]
- Succession focus: [Assessment]
**Professional Will:** [Strong/Developing/Weak]
- Unwavering resolve: [Assessment]
- Standard setting: [Assessment]
- Blame acceptance: [Assessment]
### Window and Mirror Diagnostic
**Success Attribution (Window):** [Looks out/Looks in]
- [Specific example and analysis]
**Failure Attribution (Mirror):** [Looks in/Looks out]
- [Specific example and analysis]
**Verdict:** [Passes Window-Mirror Test / Does Not Pass]
### Ambition Orientation
**Primary Ambition:** [Self/Organization/Cause]
- [Evidence and analysis]
### Overall Assessment
**Current Level:** [1-5]
**Level 5 Readiness:** [Ready/Developing/Not Ready]
**Key Gaps:**
1. [Specific gap with evidence]
2. [Specific gap with evidence]
### Development Recommendations
1. [Specific action to address gap]
2. [Specific action to strengthen existing capability]
3. [Practice or experience to build Level 5 qualities]
### Cautionary Notes
- [What might prevent Level 5 development]
- [Patterns to monitor]
Error Handling
| Situation | Response |
|---|---|
| Self-assessment only | Note limitations of self-reporting; recommend 360-degree input |
| Insufficient examples | Request specific behavioral examples before assessing |
| Mixed signals | Document the inconsistency; note that Level 5 is rare |
| User wants instant Level 5 label | Explain that Level 5 is validated through years of results, not self-proclamation |
| Assessment for hiring decision | Note that Level 5 qualities often emerge over time; assess potential |
Example (abbreviated)
Input:
Role: CEO of $50M manufacturing company, 7 years tenure
Behaviors: Turned around struggling division, built strong management team
Success story: "We had the right strategy and our team executed flawlessly"
Failure story: "The market shifted and our competitors got lucky with timing"
Assessment:
Window and Mirror Diagnostic
Success Attribution: Partial window - credits team but also implies strategic genius ("right strategy")
Failure Attribution: Looks OUT - blames market and competitor luck, not internal factors
Verdict: Does Not Pass Window-Mirror Test
The attribution patterns suggest Level 4 leadership with ego still central. A Level 5 leader would attribute failure to internal factors ("We didn't anticipate the shift; I should have...") and success more fully to external factors and team.
Overall Assessment
Current Level: 4 - Effective Leader
Level 5 Readiness: Developing
Outputs
Primary Output: A structured analysis document that identifies and articulates patterns, insights, and actionable recommendations based on the input data.
Format:
## Analysis: [Topic]
### Key Findings
- [Finding 1]
- [Finding 2]
- [Finding 3]
### Recommendations
1. [Action 1]
2. [Action 2]
3. [Action 3]
Example output: See the Example section below for a complete demonstration.
Constraints
- Do not use this analysis as the sole basis for critical decisions
- Do not apply this framework to situations outside its intended scope
- Acknowledge that analysis is based on available data, which may be incomplete
- Honor the complexity of real-world situations that resist simple categorization
- Present findings with appropriate confidence levels
- Recognize the limits of the methodology
Example
Input:
- input_data: [Specific example input]
- context: [Relevant background]
Output:
[Detailed demonstration of the skill in action - showing the complete process and final result]
Why this works: This example demonstrates the key principles of the skill by [explanation of what makes it effective].
Integration
This skill is part of the Jim Collins expert persona. When invoked:
- Ground assessment in Collins' research evidence
- Be direct about gaps - Level 5 is rare by definition
- Emphasize that Level 5 is about behavior patterns, not personality
- Note that Level 5 can be developed; it is not innate
Success Criteria
Assessment is complete when:
- Baseline levels 1-4 have been assessed
- Both humility and will components are analyzed
- Window/mirror diagnostic is applied
- Ambition orientation is identified
- Current level is declared with evidence
- Specific development recommendations are provided