Jim Collins made the concept of Level 5 Leadership famous. In a nutshell, Collins studied great companies and what was common across all was a leader who had both unbelievable humility coupled with fierce resolve.

You can’t just turn into a Level 5 leader overnight. I’ve never had a problem with having fierce resolve, or what my friends tease me about, having what is called an “unwavering commitment” in everything I do. But I wish I had more of my father’s humility. I admire my father for this, as evidenced in this quotation from him at the age of 86: “Still, I am learning”. That’s powerful. Most of us think we already have it all figured out, when in actuality we’re kidding ourselves.

At the time of the Collins writing, these two leadership attributes were an amazing paradox, one that I personally still have not figured out, but a recent David Zweig book called “Invisibles–The Power of Anonymous Work in an Age of Relentless Self-Promotion” has introduced a newer, and equally difficult paradox for me:

Work out Loud, but be invisible. That one, I admit, I don’t have figured out.