Are you a student of leadership?
In John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, the very first law he addresses is the Law of the Lid. What exactly is that you ask? He explains it as this…
“Leadership ability is the lid that determines a person’s level of effectiveness. Your leadership ability always determines your effectiveness and the potential impact of your organization. The lower an individual’s ability to lead, the lower the lid on his potential. The higher the individual’s ability to lead, the higher the lid on his potential.”
If a person’s level of effectiveness and potential is determined by their leadership ability, then here are two important questions for you.
(1) How would you rate your leadership ability? If you had to rate your leadership ability on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being no leadership ability and 10 being extremely strong leadership ability, how would you rate yourself? What would others say?
(2) Now that you have reflected on that, what are some ways you can increase your leadership ability?
Each new transition in our life…a new role, a new job, a new business challenge, a new location, a new team, the list goes on…gives us an opportunity to assess our leadership ability. The law of the lid essentially points us in the direction of becoming a life-long student of leadership. If our effectiveness is directly correlated to our leadership ability, then we need to always continuously be growing in this area.
But here’s what we sometimes find:
Organizations want better results, increased associate engagement, and increased customer loyalty. However, the investment in leadership development is inconsistent across most companies. It all depends on the core values and the key leaders in that organization. It’s often the first line item cut and typically reserved for the top leaders in the company. The effectiveness of an organization is directly connected to the effectiveness of that organization’s leaders. Investment in the development of your leaders at all levels is the key to creating change in your key focal areas of business in the year ahead.
In addition, individuals want career advancement, higher salaries, and to feel valued by the companies they work for and/or run. However, most individuals do very little for their personal investment above and beyond what their company will pay for. And if they do, the investment is often minimal. Investing in your own personal and leadership development is the key to creating the change you want in your career in the year ahead.
As we enter a new year and you create your 2014 plans, here are four steps to master the law of the lid:
(1) Rate and reflect on your current leadership ability
(2) Assess the outcomes you want for the year ahead
(3) Determine how you need to develop in your leadership ability to accomplish your goals
(4) Invest in yourself to create the leadership growth you need
Your success and leadership effectiveness in 2014 is contingent on upon your leadership ability. Let’s grow together.
About the Author
Melissa Nixon is a Featured writer with the John Maxwell team Blog.
She has over 15+ years as an HR and Organizational Development leader and is a certified John Maxwell coach, trainer, and speaker.
She is the founder of RedRoxx, LLC, a leadership and personal development company for multi-cultural women. She coaches and mentors emerging, mid-level, and executive women to succeed in their careers and leading organizational change.
Contact Melissa at http://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/melissanixon/