The leadership lid

I just added the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell to my reading list (again after so many years)! It is one of the most profound (for me) books on leadership and influence that I have ever read.

One of the first principles is the Law of the Lid which simply establishes that our (or business’) success is directly related to our ability to lead.

In fact, our success is contained by a lid, our leadership lid. For example, on a scale of 1-to-10, if your business is at a 4, then as a leader you are a 5. If the business is at a 6, as a leader you are at a 7. So on and so forth. So our businesses can only go as high as our leadership lid and not higher.

Now, if you’re stuck at a 4 or a 5. There’s hope. Because leadership is a skill. And like all other skills, it can be developed further or from the ground up. All you need is a little patience and willingness to add “value.” Because adding value creates influence. And leadership is nothing but influence.

Here’s the best part — anyone can add value. Notwithstanding the magical effect adding value will have. The more you add value, the more influence you will have, which further develops your potential to lead and literally raising your leadership lid.

The question is how willing are you to add value and raise your leadership lid?