EDITORIAL Strange Times Call for Level 5 Leadership! by Master Toby Milroy I think we’d all agree, the last couple years have been challenging. We faced never before seen challenges. Between the COVID 19 virus itself, local, state and federal responses to the virus, consumer confidence and behavior changes, and the economic disruption all this has caused, it’s been a roller coaster ride for most of our industry. As I’ve written previously, we’re seeing a growing ‘divide’ in our industry, accelerated by these somewhat extreme circumstances. Some schools have come back stronger than ever, setting new all time records, while others have closed their doors for ever or are struggling to stay afloat. CERTAINLY, state by state, county by county schools are dealing with dramatically different circumstances and imposed limitation, BUT, even so, we’re seeing this divide widening even in the same state, and in substantially similar circumstances. So, what is the difference? Why are some doing so well, while others suffer? I’ve been drilling into this for more than a year now, speaking with clients, colleagues in the industry, vendors, service providers, and some of the most successful school operators in the world, and I see clear patterns in those schools and businesses that have managed and overcome these challenged more effectively. I’m reminded of the book “Good to Great” by Jim Collins, a ‘must read’ for school operators in my view. Jim writes about his study of companies that have had dramatic ‘breakthroughs’ in their performance, while other, substantially similar businesses in the same category did not. Interestingly, one of the ‘commonalities’ Collins identified in the more successful companies is a concept he calls ‘Level 5 Leadership’. I’m seeing essentially the SAME dynamic in this industry, under these circumstances. In my view, and from my research, the schools that are far outperforming the ‘average’ demonstrate the same ‘Level 5 Leadership’ Collins describes. As a quick primer, leaders tend to ascend through these stages: ● Level 1 – Highly Capable Individual ● Level 2 – Contributing Team Member ● Level 3 – Competent Manager ● Level 4 – Effective Leader ● Level 5 – Executive Leadership Level 5 leaders demonstrate an almost paradoxical combination of personal humility, a deep focus on self-analysis, observe, embrace and learn from their mistakes, and a powerful ‘professional will’. Leaders who largely lead from their own ‘ego’ and are unwilling to quickly adjust strategy where it’s needed have found this pandemic potentially fatal for their business and their organizations. We have some WONDERFUL examples of “Level 5 Leaders” in our industry, and now, more then ever, they are easy to spot, and they are scooping up market share at a rate we’ve not seen in decades. Now is the time to step up your leadership, sharpen your saw, raise the quality of your staff, improve your programs, and build deeper relationships with your students. Together, we can take our industry to a future brighter than anyone would have imagined! MASTER TOBY MILROY is a 5th degree black belt. Known as “The Master Systemizer,” Master Toby Milroy has positively influenced more martial arts schools than anyone in our industry. He has built a successful multi-school organization, lead the national trade association for the martial arts industry, and coached some of the most successful martial arts school operators in the world. 6 MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME <strong>22</strong> | ISSUE 1
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