Four Steps To Lifting The Lid On Your Potential

Do you feel like you’ve hit a wall in your success – either in your personal life or professional development? Like there’s nowhere else to go but down or sideways? Being stuck and not knowing what to do about it is one of worst feelings in life, no matter who you are and what you do. But the good news is there’s a way to get un-stuck, and it starts with you and your leadership ability!

The Law of the Lid

Each one of us has a lid on our potential that is only lifted by our willingness to learn how to lead. When we start to improve our leadership ability, we see that lid lifted and the pathway to reaching our full potential revealed. This idea is what I call the Law of the Lid – the first law in my book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

The law is simple: Leadership ability determines a person’s level of effectiveness. The higher the individual’s ability to lead, the higher the lid on their potential.

Leadership ability is something anyone can achieve.

I’ve always defined leadership as influence, and we all influence others in some way. Whether we’re trying to inspire action, paint a vision of hope, serve people well, or help make a difference that leads to powerful, positive change in people’s lives, homes, and communities, there’s a leader inside all of us.

If you can take steps to improve your leadership ability, you can start to break through the barriers to your success and see the inspiring impact of leadership on every aspect of not only your life, but also the lives of those around you. So, how do you start?

Four Steps to Lifting the Lid on Your Potential

Lifting the lid on your potential starts with understanding what your lid might be. Here are four ways you can start to uncover that:

1. List 5-10 major goals. Focus on ones that are significant, that will take time to achieve. Then identify the ones that will require the help and cooperation of others – these are the goals that will be influenced the most by your leadership ability.
2. Rate yourself. Give yourself a rating on a scale of 1 to 10 assessing your abilities when it comes to people skills, planning and strategic thinking, vision, and achieving results.
3. Ask others to rate your leadership abilities: Talk to a mentor, your boss, your partner, your best friend, a couple of colleagues who are at the same level and a few people who you lead or who look up to you. Ask them to rate you in each of the areas listed above.
4. Study your scores. Compare the averages of the ratings you received from others to the ratings you gave yourself. Is there a gap? If so, what do you think is the cause (your lid)? And how willing are you to grow and advance your leadership development in this area?

For better or for worse, your leadership ability will always determine your impact – on your own life, on your organization, on the world. And the world needs more leadership, more of you, more of the potential you have to inspire, empower, and grow others. So, what are you waiting for? Start taking the steps to lift the lid on your potential as a leader today!

Grow Your Leadership Potential with Maxwell Leadership

To read more about the Law of the Lid, check out The 21 Laws of Leadership. And if you want to begin raising the lid on your leadership potential, start today by downloading the C.L.E.A.R. personal growth app to access 30 days of lid-lifting resources – for free!