One of the first books I started reading about Leadership was John Maxwell’s – 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (Amazon affiliate link).  In this book he presents in detail 21 Laws of Leadership he has written.  I highly recommend you get a copy.  You can even click the link above and put it on your Amazon Wish List for Christmas this year.

Law of the Lid defined

Today I want to talk about The Law of the Lid.  The law of the lid a fundamental leadership law.  John Maxwell’s defines the Law of the Lid as “ Leadership ability is the lid that determines a person’s level of effectiveness.  The lower an individual’s ability to lead, the lower the lid on his potential.  The higher the leadership, the greater the effectiveness. “

What this means

What this means is the stronger you are as a leader the more effective you are going to be in leading your organization.  In the book John says, “ If your leadership is only a 4 then your effectiveness is going to be a 3.”

There are many examples of the Law of the Lid.  The most recent and probably to most news worthy is the firing of Rich Rodriguez, former football coach for the University of Michigan.  There are many reasons cited for Coach Rodriguez’s departure from the University of Michigan.  It comes down to Leadership and the Law of the Lid.

Coach Rodriguez was not an effective leader as U of M’s head football coach.  As a coach and leader he was responsible for all aspects of the team’s success.  He struggled on and off the field with NCAA practice rules violation and a defense that did not improve throughout the season.

Build your effectiveness as a leader

The lesson is that we need to increase our effectiveness as a leader.  To build effectiveness you need to start learning.  You have to start focusing on the right strengths to build your effectiveness.  One starting point is to look at your Lominger competencies (Amazon affiliate link).

Improving effectiveness begins with understanding what is holding you back.  You can try this free test to get an idea of what is holding you back and possible hidden strengths.

The point to take with you is always continuing learning as a leader.  We need to learn and improve everyday.  Building your effectiveness as a leader does not happen overnight, it take many small steps to add up into large growth.