According to John C. Maxwell, we all have what he refers to as a lid; a leadership lid that is. In his best-selling book, the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John describes the “Law of the Lid”, what the lid is, and how it can impact leaders and their organisation.
When explaining the Law of the Lid, John speaks about how organisations can’t rise above the level of its leader’s lid. What he means by this is that the success of the business will always be limited by the ability and capacity of its leaders. This is a very important leadership law to grasp as leaders often attribute a lack of business success to other factors such as market conditions or poor staff performance and results. What they often fail to acknowledge is their leadership lid and that it’s responsible for the business failing.
So, what can be done to raise the lid on your leadership and invariably the success of your business? Well, the first thing is to understand your leadership level and the leadership level of your people. Below, I paraphrase John’s five levels of leadership so you can determine your current level and identify what you can do to be a better leader and grow your business.
Level 1 – Position. This is the lowest level of leadership. It takes no real leadership knowledge, people skills, or effort to be a level 1 leader. Anyone can be appointed to a leadership position and they often are based on their previous achievements in technical or administrative roles. At level 1, the leader relies on people following them because of their position. This only works because the leader has power over their followers who risk losing their job if they don’t do as they are told. This leadership style is directive and controlling, and stifles innovation and creativity. People who remain at level 1, will find it difficult to work with volunteers because they don’t have power over them and can’t influence them. Volunteers will only follow a leader they want to.
We all start out as level one leaders and not just in our first leadership position. This is because moving past level one requires the building of trust with our followers and that takes time and actions that allow your followers to believe in you as a leader. Level 1 is a prime time to invest in developing your leadership style and growing your potential as a leader. It’s astonishing how many leaders never move beyond level 1, but there’s good news. If you use your time at this level wisely and learn to lead yourself through priorities and self-discipline, you can transition to the next level.
Level 2 – Permission. At this level, leadership is based on relationships and followers choose to follow because they want to. They give the leader permission to lead them. At this level, the leader takes an interest in his or her people and really connects with them at a personal level. You like them and they like you, which is helpful because you can’t lead without followers, so you better learn to like people if you’re going to be a good leader.
If you treat your followers as individuals who are important and have value, you will develop positive influence with them. You will develop trust which will grow into mutual respect and create a positive environment. This holds true at all levels of relationships including family, sports, clubs, and volunteer organisations as it does in the workplace. Level 2 is where lasting relationships are formed which allows you to move to the next level.
Level 3 – Production. The best leaders know that success, be it in business, sport, family, or any enterprise is measured in the deepness of relationships and results achieved. Level 3 leaders inspire and motivate their followers to be highly productive and achieve the desired results. Leveraging relationships to achieve results really is the art of Level 3 leadership. At this level, people still follow the leader because of their relationship but they become highly productive because of the leader’s example.
Level 3 is where the leader is really able to effect change and significantly improve results. Motivation is high, morale goes up and everyone pulls together to improve profits, reduce churn, and achieve the mission. Momentum is created, difficult problems are solved, and bottlenecks are removed. Influencing others to achieve their best is now the game you’re playing and leading becomes enjoyable for you and your followers. Everyone can see the progress and are inspired to be more effective and efficient and achieve more.
Level 4 – People Development. This level is all about succession and producing the next cohort of leaders. At Level 4, you identify and develop as many leaders as possible. You invest time, resources, and money in their development to help them grow. Organisations rise and fall on leadership, so it makes sense to have as many good leaders as possible. This will allow your organisation to achieve its mission and be more successful overall.
To be truly effective at this level you need to prioritise investing in your future leaders through deliberate training, structured mentoring, and relevant coaching. Do this continuously and over time you benefit greatly from your investment.
The added benefit of growing leaders within your organisation is that you will have more good leaders, and good leadership is contagious. At this level, you can change the entire culture of the organisation and inspire others to want to be better leaders, and also better followers. Learning to be a better leader is a lifelong pursuit and the mentoring relationships you develop are likely to endure beyond your current organisation.
Level 5 – Pinnacle. The highest level of leadership is also the hardest to attain. It requires a lifelong dedication to investing in the development of others. If you are dedicated and focus on growing yourself and others as you transition through each level of leadership, you will develop other leaders who are willing and able to develop other leaders. By doing this you will eventually reach the leadership pinnacle. Level 5 leaders develop whole organisations. They set the culture and values and create opportunities other leaders don’t. People follow them because of what they stand for and who they are. They develop a reputation as a great leader and inspire others to do the same. Because of this, “Level 5 leaders often transcend their position, their organisation, and sometimes their industry”.
As you transition through the 5 levels of leadership, you don’t discard the previous levels as you move forward. Rather you build upon each previous level by adding new leadership techniques and strategies.
