Regularly I facilitate leadership roundtables using the book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by leadership expert John C. Maxwell.  In the first session we talk about the Law of the Lid which says:

“How well you lead determines how well you succeed.”

               Let me unpack this for a minute.  Imagine trying to jump as high as you can, but you are in a room with a six-foot ceiling.  You will be limited on how high you can jump because of the ceiling.  Our leadership of ourselves can be the ceiling that limits our success.

               How do we raise that lid?  Her are a few ideas.

Change Your Environment

               Jeff Bezos was a successful computer scientist on Wall Street when he changed his environment.¹  He saw an opportunity in the early years of the internet and left his “safe job” to enter into a brand new venture.  In order to build the Amazon we know of today required multiple shifts of his environment. 

               As a leader at times we need to get out of our normal environment into rooms where people are thinking differently than us.  These may be rooms where we know nothing about the topic.  Spend time around leaders in different industries and learn from their challenges to raise your leadership lid.

Change Your Mindset

               Have you ever heard the phrase “this is how we’ve always done it”?  If so, then maybe you are around people who need to switch their mindset to grow.  Or if you are the person thinking this way it requires a shift in your mindset.

               Leaders who raise their lid continually think about growth.  The first place growth occurs is within the leader themselves.  I have found a key question that helps me grow in leading myself comes when situations are getting difficult.  I find myself wanting the situation to be easier.  In reality, I need to be asking myself:  how can I be better?

               Ask this question as a leader regularly and you will develop a mindset focused on growth.

Change Your People

               Have you heard of the rule of five?  This is the idea that the five people closest to you most impact the person you become.  John Maxwell calls this the Law of the Inner Circle:

“Those closest to you determine the level of our success.”

               I am not suggesting you need to burn relational bridges.  It wouldn’t hurt to ask yourself:  are the people closest to me helping me be better?  Do the people closest to you challenge your thinking and stretch you?  If the answer is no, it may be time to change how much time you spend with those people.  Maybe you need to add people into your life who intentionally challenge you such as a coach or mentor.

               Raising our leadership lid is easier than trying to raise a physical ceiling.  Do you need to change one of these areas?  Write down which area you need to change and one step you will take today to make that change.  Need help thinking into how you can raise your lid?  Contact me for a no cost powerful coaching session.  Keep raising your lid and growing to reach your full potential.  Lead Well!

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1. https://www.inc.com/business-insider/people-who-found-success-and-changed-careers-after-30-years-old.html retrieved 9/10/24