Suppose for each integer $n\geq 1$ we have a submonoid $M_n\subset \mathrm{Self}(\{1, \dots, n\})$ of self-maps of $\{1, \dots, n\}$. Suppose we can decide in polynomial time in $n$ whether a given self-map lies in $M_n$. Then consider the problem of deciding whether a given element of $\{1, \dots, n\}$ lies in $M_n(1)$. How large can its asymptotic worst case time complexity be?