How Great Leaders Create Urgency On Their Team
December 17, 2025
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Life has levels.
Think about basketball. There’s a high school starting center. Then there’s a Division I starter. Then an NBA player. Then an All-NBA performer.
Each level requires more skill, more discipline, and more dedication.
Life has levels, and so does leadership.
Unfortunately, many managers are poor. According to BambooHR, 70% of employees report that bad bosses are either somewhat or very common. Other managers aren’t bad, but they stay stuck at the same level for years. They meet expectations and manage results, but they never rise.
Moving to the next level always requires change. A new mindset. New habits. A deeper commitment to growth.
As Chris Vasami shared in our recent episode of The John Eades podcast, “For you to get to a new level, you must stay curious and get uncomfortable. The moment you get comfortable, the moment you think you’ve arrived, you’re actually getting worse.”
That’s the truth about leadership. You don’t reach new levels by staying the same. Said differently:
What got you to your current level won't get you to the next level.
Here are the five levels of leadership and what it takes to rise through them.
Every leader lives somewhere on this spectrum. The goal isn’t perfection but progress, growing through each level one step at a time.
When you’re at Level 1, your focus is on getting things done. You assign tasks, manage schedules, and make sure the work gets completed.
If something isn’t right, you step in and fix it yourself. You often micromanage, not out of ego but out of urgency. You care deeply about results, but relying too much on control limits your team’s growth.
The danger at this level is burnout and frustration. You feel like you’re carrying the entire load because, in many ways, you are.
How to rise: Focus less on doing the work yourself and more on developing the people who do the work.
When you’re at Level 2, you realize leadership is about people, not position. To move your team forward, you must first earn their trust.
You start focusing on relationships, listening, understanding, and connecting one-on-one. You learn that influence comes from care, not authority.
This is the level where people begin to follow you because they want to, not because they have to.
How to rise: Schedule intentional time each week to connect with your team. Ask questions that go beyond performance. Trust is built through consistent communication and personal investment.
At Level 3, you understand that leadership is not about managing performance; it’s about improving it.
You begin to coach, challenge, and provide feedback that helps others grow. You care about making better humans, not just better workers.
This is where leadership starts to scale. Your success is no longer tied to your individual contribution but to the growth of others.
How to rise: Make coaching a regular habit. Give feedback often and follow up on it. People don’t grow by accident; they grow because someone invested in them.
When you’re at Level 4, your focus shifts from managing people to shaping the environment they operate in.
You define and reinforce values, model the right behaviors, and create clarity around standards. You start thinking in years instead of months.
You understand that high-performing teams don’t happen by accident. They are the result of deliberate effort, consistency, and example.
How to rise: Identify the core values that drive your team’s success. Model them daily and hold others accountable to the same standards.
At Level 5, you realize leadership isn’t about followers; it’s about creating more leaders.
You invest deeply in people, passing down lessons, habits, and standards that last long after you’re gone. Multipliers build leaders who can thrive without them.
This is where legacy begins.
Your measure of success shifts from “How did we perform?” to “Who did I help become a leader?”
How to rise: Identify future leaders and pour into them. Multiplication is the mark of mastery.
Reaching a higher level doesn’t mean you abandon what came before it. The best leaders build on each stage, carrying forward the lessons and skills that helped them grow. And any time you step into a new role or face a new challenge, you’ll likely find yourself moving through the levels again, only this time with greater awareness and wisdom.
The best leaders never stop growing. They understand that if they want their team to get better, they have to go first. Growth doesn’t happen by accident; it happens by habit.
That’s why great leaders make time for what I call “Growth 20.”
The best leaders start their day with a routine that helps them perform at their best. Some rise at 4 a.m., others start at 8 a.m., but regardless of the hour, they commit to twenty minutes a day of intentional development.
It might be reading, listening, or watching something that stretches their thinking and expands their perspective. The options are endless with the explosion of podcasts, YouTube, and platforms like LinkedIn. The challenge isn’t finding content; it’s creating a sustainable habit.
Here are a few simple ways to build your Growth 20 routine:
Listen to a podcast or audiobook during your commute.
Read one chapter of a book before bed instead of scrolling or watching TV.
Block twenty minutes on your calendar each day to learn something new.
Small, consistent investments in your growth compound over time. Twenty minutes a day might not seem like much, but it can change the trajectory of your leadership and your life.
You can’t skip levels. Each one demands something new from you, a different mindset, skill, or level of humility.
The question isn’t whether you can grow to the next level. It’s what needs to change in you to get there. As I wrote in the Optimistic Outlook:
If you want to rise, your habits have to rise with you.
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About the Author: John Eades is the CEO of LearnLoft and The Sales Infrastructure. He was named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices. John is also the author of Building the Best: 8 Proven Leadership Principles to Elevate Others to Success. You can follow him on Instagram @johngeades.
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