Law of the Lid

Everyone has the Potential to

become a Leader
(Adapted from John C. Maxwell’s Book: The 21 most
powerful minutes in a Leader’s Day, 2000)
Law of the Lid
 Leadership ability
determines a person’s
level of effectiveness.
– The higher you want to climb
the more you need
leadership
– The greater the impact you
want to make – the greater
your influence needs to be
 Leadership ability is the
LID that determines a
person’s level of
effectiveness.
Law of the Lid
 Your leadership ability
- for better or worse –
determines your
effectiveness and your
potential impact in your
organization
 To reach the highest
level of effectiveness,
you have to raise the
lid on your leadership
ability.
Law of the Lid
 Good leaders will look for
Lid Lifting experiences to
grow in their leadership
capacity
– Seek opportunities to grow
your leadership
– Search for opportunities to
improve organizational
structures and procedures
– Seize opportunities to create
greater efficiencies and to
assist others in lifting their
lids
Law of the Lid
 Every leader faces
obstacles, challenges,
tests, and trials.
– Ineffective leaders will wait
to see what happens during
these times
– Effective leaders will act by
seizing the moment and will
rise to the challenge.
– Example: General Stonewall
Jackson verses General
Ewell
 Law of the Lid
Gave us a vision  It is a leader’s choice to
for the future and change and grow
spoke to the – Effective Leaders (True
greatness Leaders) will admit mistakes
of America or shortcomings. They lift their
lid of leadership by
 Accepting responsibility
 Changing their behavior
– Ineffective Leaders (Positional
Leaders) do not acknowledge
shortcomings or mistakes for
fear people will perceive them
as ineffective and/or weak.
Blamed American  The irony is they already are.
people for the  They do not accept
recession responsibility and they look to
told us to get use to blame others
having
less
Law of the Lid
 Ineffective-Positional
Leaders:
– Title of a leader but without trust
or rapport from their followers
– They stay as positional leaders
because they do not see the
value in building relationships,
trust, and rapport with their
followers
– They are a big liability to the
organization
– They demand compliance which
 Rubs people the wrong way
 Decreases motivation
 If followers do work it is out of
obligation
 They do not seek to grow!
Law of the Lid
 Effective-True Leaders:
– Take time to build
relationships with their
followers by
 Paying attention to the
interests and passions of
their followers
 Seeking to gain trust and
rapport
 Investing time with their
employees, and
 Being a Lid Lifter
 In your leadership have
you been a lid lifter?
Law of the Lid
 Every Leader has Lids
– Everyone is born with
Lids; titles and positions
do not eliminate them
– The issue is not do you
have Lids but what are
you going to do about
them
 What are the Lids
leaders face?
Lids that Leaders Can Face
 Fear
 Impatience
 Denial
 Impulsiveness
 Deceit
 Jealously
 Anger
 Confidence
 Lack of Knowledge
 Lack of Understanding
 Peoples’ perception of them
 What are your Leadership Lids?
Some Lids can be lifted by the
Leader
 The leader must first lift
his/her Lids before s/he
can grow the organization
– In order to grow an
organization leaders must
also grow the leaders they
serve
– You grow leaders by helping
them to lift their lids
 How have you helped lift
some lids from leaders,
teachers, and staff in your
area of service?
Lid Lifters
 All leaders will face
times when they alone
cannot lift their own
lids
 When leaders hit those
lids, that is the
beginning of the end
for their organization
 Why?
Lid Lifters
 Because they give up and
stop growing as a leader
 However, a few leaders,
those with courage and
humility, will seek other
leaders for help, support,
and encouragement so
their lid can be lifted
 Do you have enough
courage and humility to
seek that help?
 Lid Lifters
 Lid Lifters always demonstrate
three qualities that enables
them to help leaders go to the
next level.
– Their words: The encouragement
they express
– Their actions: The commitment to
backing up their words
– Their Sacrifice: The selflessness
that allows another leader to go
to the next level even if it means
ahead of themselves

Who are the LID LIFTERS in your life?

Bring the Law of the Lid to Life
 Summary
– Everyone has the
potential to be a leader
– Every leader has lids
– Some lids can be lifted
by the leader
– Few leaders let others
lift their lids in their lives
Bring the Law of the Lid to Life

 How are you with the

various lids in your life?
 What is your attitude
concerning them?
 Are you taking
responsibility for them?
 Do you have enough
humility and courage to
allow a lid lifter into your
area of need?