The Law of the Lid: Leadership Ability and Effectiveness

Law of Leadership Thinking
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Law of Leadership Thinking
John Calvin Maxwell is known for his intensive efforts in leadership. Maxwell was born in 1947; he initiated his career as a pastor in Indiana, California (Sakharam, 2018). However, he soon developed the leadership power that forced him to become a leadership speaker and author. Since then, the author wrote over 50 books, "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" is his masterpiece. This book represents 21 laws of leadership designed as a separate chapter. Among these, the first chapter that determines "The Law of the Lid" is mainly of higher meaning. This chapter is important because it represents a detailed understanding of leadership effectiveness, the difference between leadership and management, and evaluation of personal leadership ability.
At first, the chapter explains that an individual's leadership ability reflects his effectiveness level. This chapter defines leadership ability as the useful capability of an individual. For me, leadership was a responsibility to direct people for the sake of organizational benefits. However, after exploring Maxwell's leadership laws, especially the Law of the Lid, I understood that leadership is far more than just directing people. It is more dependent on personal awareness. A leader is not only responsible for his people, but he is also accountable for his strengths and weaknesses. As described by Maxwell (2007), "The higher you want to climb, the more you need leadership" (p. 8). Altogether, this chapter emphasized the need for personal ability to lead others and boost effectiveness. I can relate this to an experience of mine as a team member. Our team leader never communicated well. This ineffective communication altered my ability to perform better.
Secondly, the chapter smartly exemplified McDonald's brothers' story to indicate the difference between effective managers and leaders. The brothers ...