Dr. Afarah Board posted a question in the comments section of my blog entitled Expanding Your Lid. (If you have not read or listened to that blog, please do.) First of all, Dr. Board is very well-versed in the topics and the practice of leadership, so I think that her question was written to stretch me and have me look a little deeper into the topic I was discussing. The question she asked was, "How does a leader know or realize they have a low lid?" Great question, Dr. Board! I will begin to answer this question with a statement made by Jason Brooks on the Maxwell Leadership Podcast entitled Focused Thinking (Part 2). Mr. Brooks said, "What makes a person teachable is that they're humble, they're hungry, and they hustle". So, here's my answer, thanks to Mr. Brooks, a leader must be teachable and humble so that they will know or have an idea of the level of their lid. So here's why.
No one, not even the best of the best of leaders, is at a level where they do not need to improve and grow in an area of their leadership. It is when the leader becomes unteachable, lacking the humility to learn and grow from others, that they will miss knowing the level of their lid and their leadership influence can become little to non-existent because of their unwillingness to be teachable. So, how does one display teachability and humility among those they lead? They must seek feedback.
If you desire to improve and continue to improve your leadership to be the best leader for your people, then you have to be humble enough to be vulnerable by seeking feedback. As frightening as this might sound, a leader can learn what they need to work on by asking questions and providing opportunities to receive feedback. I know from firsthand experience how uncomfortable it feels to send out an anonymous feedback form to staff and not know what the results will be and what will be placed in the open-ended comments section. But teachable leaders who are proactive, humble, and willing to be vulnerable will learn whether their lid is low or high. Instead of waiting for a review or evaluation from their evaluator to rate their leadership and performance, they seek the feedback beforehand and start making the necessary steps to improve and expand their lid.
In Radical Candor (2019), Kim Scott says two things that speak to being a teachable leader who displays humility. The first thing she says is, "Too many managers fear that public challenge will undermine their authority. It's natural to want to repress dissent, but a good reaction to public criticism can be the very thing that establishes your credibility as a strong leader, and will help you build a culture of guidance." The second statement made by Ms. Scott is, "Manage your feelings rather than letting them manage you. Remind yourself going in that no matter how unfair the criticism, your first job is to listen with the intent to understand, not to defend yourself." I love these statements by Ms. Scott. They communicate that humility when receiving criticism, or what I call feedback, can establish credibility and strength in leadership.
