Why Should You... and How Can You Grow as a Leader

Why Should You Grow as a Leader?

Leadership expert John Maxwell identified a principle of leadership which he called the “Law of the Lid.”

The “Law of the Lid” helps people understand the value of leadership. If people can get a handle on this principle, they will see the incredible impact of leadership on every aspect of life. The “Law of the Lid” states that 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. For example, if your leadership rates an 8, then your effectiveness can never be greater than a 7. If your leadership is only a 4, then your effectiveness will no higher than 3.

Your leadership ability—for better or for worse—always determines your effectiveness and potential impact with others. Yes, someone can have success as a "supervisor," but it's only a fraction of the success they could have as a leader.

Leadership has many facets: respect, experience, emotional strength, people skills, discipline, vision, momentum, timing—the list goes on. As you can see, many factors that come into play in leadership are intangible. That’s why leaders, at any level, require so much seasoning to be effective.

The good news is that your leadership ability isn’t static. No matter where you are starting from, whether you are brand new to management or have had years of experience, you can get better.

The essential element of leadership is influence. If you are in a position to influence someone to move toward a worthwhile goal, you are engaged in an act of leadership.

In order to achieve tangible results with their followers leaders need to influence the intangibles like morale, motivation, momentum, emotions, attitudes, atmosphere, and timing. How do you measure timing before you do something? How do you put your finger on momentum? To gauge such things, you have to read between the lines. Leaders have to become comfortable—more than that, confident—dealing with such things.

Your leadership journey should be open-ended. Most people have no idea how far they can go in life. They aim too low.

How Can You Grow as A Leader?

Personal growth and by extension, leadership growth, does not happen automatically because people are living or necessarily because they have experiences. Leadership development must be planned, deliberate and consistent. In other words, if we want to realize our true leadership potential we have to work at it daily.

There are four primary ways to develop leadership capability.

The first is to study leadership and apply the lessons learned. In addition to Smart leadership classes there are plenty of great podcasts and videocasts, webinars, blogs, meet-up groups to supplement your company-sponsored formal leadership education.

The second way is to learn from your experiences at work. For example ask to be assigned to a challenging project that will provide you an opportunity to exercise your leadership. Remember that leadership is about influencing positive change. Also, stay alert. Observe situations from different perspectives. Watch how different people handle leadership challenges. Have a teachable spirit and ask for feedback and be open to criticisms about your performance. And above all don’t be afraid to fail. You’ll learn more from failing once or twice than from succeeding all the time.

The third way is to engage a professional leadership coach. A professional leadership coach can help you by providing much needed support and strategies for not only surviving, but thriving under these difficult circumstances. It is a personalized process that provides clarity on what success would look like, understanding the obstacles and barriers that get in the way of achieving it, and specific action steps to take that will lead to a positive outcome. Through active listening and powerful questioning, a coach will help the coachee maximize their potential and move toward a preferred future.  


The final way to develop your leadership ability is to find a true mentor. Typically, a mentor has expertise in your field, and transfers knowledge, skills and experience to a less experienced practioner. The mentor is 'older and wiser', either literally or metaphorically.

Remember, "Everything rises and falls on leadership. And leadership rises and falls on character and conversational intelligence.

Click on the link below here to read comments about SMART coaching's effectiveness in developing leaders at every level.

SMART Coaching Works. Here's Proof.

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant

SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step... 

Interested in learning how leadership coaching and training can help you create a high performance culture and drive results? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please contact: 

Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth. 

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.