I recently had the privilege to interview Doug Keeley. He’s an accomplished musician but that not what he’s known for. He is the CEO and Chief Story Teller at Mark of a Leader and his title is very telling about what his company is all about. Doug is a born storyteller and he tells some very compelling leadership stories in this video interview
View the short video interview with Doug
During our talk Doug shared his company’s five levels of leadership (Spirit, Imagination, Intellect, Heart, Hands). In essence, these levels cover the many facets of leadership, including creativity, passion and intellect to name a few. It’s interesting that none of the five levels of leadership that Doug describes are restricted to one level in an organizational hierarchy. Doug’s view of leadership is much broader than that defined by a person’s position. He feels leadership is everyone’s responsibility.
Doug highlights some fairly consistent HR statistics to back up that belief. In a typical organization, he says, 20% of people are leading, 60% are following them doing whatever they’re told, and 20% are actually wrecking it for everyone else. Doug concludes, “The most powerful thing you can do is get more people thinking and acting like leaders.”
“There’s no secret sauce, no special gene that others are born with” says Doug, “Leaders are ordinary people fully engaged at all five levels of leadership.” You can help develop those leaders through powerful stories, says Doug, “stories that have made a company great; that our top performers have to tell; that you could show new employees.”
For more insights from Doug, view the full interview:
Title: Five Levels of Leadership
Featuring: Doug Keeley, CEO and Chief Storyteller, Mark of a Leader
Length: 6:45 minutes
Check out more podcasts from the OREA Centre for Leadership Development.
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