Which are you?
There’s a phrase I heard recently that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about:
People are either lids or launchers.
The context was marriage. The idea that the person you marry either becomes a lid that restricts you, limits you, or slowly shrinks your world… or they become a launcher. Someone who calls out your potential, believes in your growth, and creates the kind of environment where you become more of who you were meant to be.
And honestly? I think this applies to far more than marriage.
It applies to friendships.
Family.
Coworkers.
Leaders.
Teams.
Even the way we speak to ourselves.
Lids don’t always slam shut loudly.
Sometimes they lower slowly over time.
But launchers?
Launchers breathe oxygen, possibility, and confidence into people.
They remind you what’s possible.
They celebrate your growth instead of competing with it.
They ask questions that expand your thinking.
They make you feel safer to try, fail, evolve, and become.
Life
And here’s the part that challenged me most:
We aren’t just surrounded by lids or launchers.
We also become them.
To our spouse.
To our kids.
To our team.
To the barista explaining their side business idea.
To the friend nervously talking about a career change.
To the coworker who finally speaks up in the meeting.
Our energy, words, reactions, and presence either create lift… or weight.
The question I am asking myself now is:
Do people feel more capability and possibility after spending time with me?
Leadership
I think about lids versus launchers in leadership too. Some leaders unintentionally become lids because they correct more than they encourage, control more than they trust, or focus so heavily on risk that their people stop bringing ideas forward altogether.
Other leaders become launchers.
Not because they avoid accountability or hard conversations, but because people feel bigger around them. More capable. More trusted. More seen.
And maybe that’s the question worth asking this week:
When people leave interactions with me, do they feel lighter or heavier?
More expanded or more restricted?
More capable or more cautious?
One other thing.
If you consider yourself a launcher (or aspire to be one) and live in the Des Moines area, I would love your help.
On Friday, June 12, 2026, I’m bringing together nearly 150 high school students for a networking event designed to help them practice conversation skills, gain career exposure, and connect with professionals in our community.
And honestly? One encouraging conversation can change the trajectory of a young person’s confidence (it can launch them).
We’re looking for community members to participate in structured networking sessions where students rotate through conversations with professionals from different industries and backgrounds.
Several students have even landed internships and opportunities through these connections.
If you’d be interested in being part of it, send me a message. I’d love to have more launchers in the room.
Have Good Ripple Effect,
Lisa