The Law of The Lid: How To Perform Beyond Your Capacity By A. Joshua Adedeji (@) at CentreNDL |June, 2025| We EQUIP Servant Leaders

John C. Maxwell, in his famous book titled - The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, proposed the Law of the Lid. He claimed that a person's leadership ability is a lid on his effectiveness. Implying that a person cannot perform beyond his leadership capacity.

Come to think of it, how FAR can you see above your present position if you're standing outside your house? Should you come inside your room, how FAR can you see? If you notice, you can see more when you're outside than when you're inside. No wonder, each time we talk about creativity, the word usually used is, "think outside the box"!

If you must perform beyond your capacity, then you must increase your capacity: for no man can give what he doesn't have. To give more, you must go beyond wishing for more to having more. The secret of great performers in different works of life is in their consistent commitment to their personal development. Knowing that if only they can shift their horizon, they can conceive and do great things.

Take a jug of water for instance that has a capacity of 1000ml (100cl) and an empty bottle of 75cl. Naturally, everything in the jug is available for the empty bottle; however, the bottle can only receive and retain 75cl of water. To receive and retain more water, the bottle must increase its capacity to 100cl capacity.

The greatest risk in any generation is for people of smaller capacities, seeking for opportunities, privileges and responsibilities that are larger than them. At end, both the people yearning for more and the citizens praying for better lives will suffer collapse and woes.

If you have great desires, match your desires with a readiness to increase your leadership capacity. You can't have a leadership and slavery mentality at the same time; and if would continue to think like slaves, you must start seeing yourself, growing yourself and challenging yourself as a leader.

Thanks for the gift of your time, A. Joshua Adedeji!
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