In order to raise something, someone has to pull it up from above or push it up from below. In this case of leadership, either a superior will help lift your lid for you or you’re going to have to keep pushing that lid up from where you are. I’m sure by that statement you’re thinking it only happens if I make it happen… however, I’d beg to tell you it takes a little bit of teamwork to make this dream work.
Raising your lid can happen in a variety of ways, and when God’s in the equation, sometimes we just can’t see coming the amazing, mind-blowing way He’s about to do that. For the part that’s up to you, you have work to do! But so does your boss. I know this: As you start pushing your lid, the one above your lid will feel it and will almost have no choice but to help lift it higher. If your boss ain’t like that, you might need a new one!! And if you’re a boss and you’re not like that…CHANGE!
I’m blessed enough to have a lid-lifting boss, who gives me the room and tools to help me push my own lid higher. Here are some things I’ve learned along that journey:
Preparation Leads to Opportunity - Yes, take opportunities that are given to you. BUT, you also have to MAKE opportunities happen! This is where preparation comes in. Someone might think about you for a promotion, or a new opportunity to test your leadership or production or influence, but if you have no body of work for them to look at, you’ll probably get overlooked. Have a “portfolio” ready BEFORE you need it. Transparency moment here, that’s what I’m striving to do this year. I want to produce material and resources I believe should be public even before anyone realizes I’ve produced them. This way, when my opportunity comes, I’m ready to walk through the door. Instead of fumbling to find my keys.
Do something YOU weren’t willing to do before. - We always hear: “You have to be willing to do what no one ELSE has done before.” But I offer this challenge today… do something YOU have been unwilling to do recently, so YOU can reach a place YOU’VE never been before!
Maybe the place someone else has gone is only for them to get to. So why do something no one else has been willing to do? Who cares about everybody else, in this instance of course. Instead, challenge YOUrself! If you want to raise YOUR leadership lid, you should start with YOU!
Predetermine Your Decisions - Make right decisions BEFORE you get the chance to make the wrong ones. Determine your course BEFORE giving yourself the chance to be lazy. Lazy is fun, sexy, nice, and easy in the moment, but it NEVER gets you anywhere!
Take this from someone who often used to try and find the path of least resistance. I’ve come to learn that the resistance is the part of the path that points you in the right direction! It’s what makes you who you need to be by the time you get where you need to go.
Laziness is like a car with no wheels. It’s basically a box! You can sit in it and dream, imagine, and plan amazing new inventions, ideas, systems, and movements…but at the end of the day, literally, you’ll be in the same exact spot. Hard work gives you wheels. It allows the fuel of your creativity to jumpstart your engine so you can actually get to your destination!
“Work brings PROFIT, but mere talk leads to poverty!” - Proverbs 14:23
We’ve heard this before, and it’s an old adage because it’s true, but a change as small as one degree will chart a brand new course to a greater destination. So get out of your box and start driving toward the destiny God has for your life! Raise your lid by preparing, doing something you’ve never done before, and predetermining your best decisions. Then look back 1, 2, and 5 years from this moment and see how far you’ve come. That’s the best part of it all.
Rise up, Leader!