What’s Your Lid?
David Freund, Chief Leadership Officer

Would you believe me if I told you that you determine your lid? That’s right; you determine how much you grow. As Marcus Buckingham said at Live2Lead 2019, “There is no such thing as a high or low potential person.” Each one of us has the opportunity to grow and develop in our own unique way. In his bestselling book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell reveals why this is so critical. Law Number 1, The Law of the Lid, states that our organization can’t rise above our own level of leadership. If we are a four out of 10, our organization will never rise above a three. We are the limiting factor.

The key to raising your lid is to realize that you haven’t arrived yet. Far too many people think they have arrived and stop growing. Sadly, these people typically have sold themselves very short. They have convinced themselves that they are good, or good enough, and closed themselves off from the possibility of learning and growing to an even higher level. Others have deceived themselves into thinking that they are smarter than others and hence feel they have arrived. Both tragically remain bound by their own lack of self-awareness. It’s very easy for us to spot this in others, far more difficult to see it in ourselves.

Perhaps the greatest thing you can do to keep raising your lid is to stop talking. If you need to talk, ask questions. The only way to learn something new is by listening, and you can’t learn anything while you are talking. Ask others how they are doing. Have someone conduct a 360-degree assessment of you so you can really see what it’s like to be on the other side of you.

Are you ready to raise your lid?

If you would like to hear more on his topic, why not join Marisa Norcross and me for Episode 139 of The Next Page podcast as we share what we have learned about this important topic.

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