Leadership 3.0 The Evolution Every Leader Must Make from Level 1 to Level 2 to Level 3.
In this episode, we are going to highlight how developing yourself personally will drive how you develop professionally as a leader at work.
As you may have seen in our introductory overview podcast, these two development paths are practically indistinguishable.
For each leadership level (1.0, 2.0, and 3.0), we will provide one key area for development in the 3 Ps - Personally; Professionally; and Purposefully.
SECTION 1: Leadership 1.0 – The Performer Who Just Became a Manager
Leadership Theme: Doing → Directing
Here are the five truths of Leadership 1.0:
1. Authority Comes From the Title, Not Trust: People follow because they have to.
2. Leadership Equals Technical Expertise: You lead by showing people how to do the job like you did it.
3. Tasks Dominate All Conversations: Checklists, status updates, deadlines — that’s the entire operating system.
4. Personal Productivity Is Still the Safety Net: When things break, you jump in. You fix it.
You do it faster. You’re still acting like the top individual contributor.
5. Delegation Feels Threatening: Because your identity is tied to being the expert.
SECTION 2: Leadership 2.0 – The Manager Who Learns the Business
Leadership Theme: Directing → Driving Results
This is where most leaders plateau because they keep managing like they’re still in Leadership 1.0. But the transition to 2.0 is where you learn to run the business.
Here are the five truths of Leadership 2.0:
1. They Shift From Functional Expertise to Business Expertise: They understand revenue, margins, process bottlenecks, revenue and customer capacity, and systems.
2. They Lead Through People, Not Around Them: Influence becomes more important than authority.
3. They Own Performance and Results: Their scoreboard becomes the team’s scoreboard.
4. They Begin to Build and Protect Culture: They realize culture drives execution.
5. They Either Rise… or Regress
They either elevate into true leadership —or fall back into micromanagement.
SECTION 3: Leadership 3.0 – The Leader of Leaders Who Builds Culture
Leadership Theme: Driving Results → Developing Leaders
This is the highest level of leadership: The level where you stop managing and truly transform the company through your own personal transformation and your transformation of the teams that you are responsible for.
Your leadership, how you run the groups, becomes visible across the company because of the high performance and high morale they have.
Here are the five principles of Leadership 3.0:
1. Culture Becomes Their Operating System: Strategy, structure, systems, processes, programs — all aligned with people and values.
2. They Develop Leaders, Not Just Manage Employees: Their success is measured by the leaders they produce.
3. They Lead With Vision, Long-Term Thinking, and Alignment: They protect the future, not just chase the present.
4. They Remove Complexity and Create Organizational Clarity: Everyone knows the mission, the rules, the expectations, the standards.
5. They Lead With Character, Humility, and Transparency: This is where influence becomes legacy.
Visit https://www.youtube.com/@you3.0.joeldavis