Month 10 · Lead Leaders
Become a Springboard
Trade indispensability for secure leadership that releases capable people.
Capacity being formed
Empowerment
Release ownership, coach capability, and celebrate people who may outgrow your role.
Evidence of formation
A developing leader owns a meaningful responsibility for 30 days and teaches or improves part of it.
Language from Mike
“You should not be in authority unless you’re first under authority.”
Biblical anchor · ESV
“And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”
Discovery tool
Delegation Ladder
Build a Delegation Ladder: observe, assist, own with review, own with exceptions, teach another, improve the system.
Outcome
Define the result, why it matters, proof of done, and deadline. Do not prescribe every method.
Coach: “Are you delegating ownership or errands?”
Level
Choose: observe, assist, own with review, own with exceptions, teach another, or improve the system.
Coach: “What level matches demonstrated capability—not your anxiety?”
Authority
List decisions they can make, resources and access, non-negotiable guardrails, and escalation triggers.
Coach: “What information or access is missing?”
Review
Set check-in date, feedback method, learning question, and what you will not take back.
Coach: “How will you coach without reclaiming the work?”
No-prep facilitator guide
The complete 90-minute run-of-show
Bring the participant’s CT Scan result, this page, a timer, and a way to write. Read the coach language as written when useful; follow the person more closely than the clock when safety or truth requires it.
| Time | Phase | Coach does + says | Participant does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–7 | Arrive | Say: “This conversation is confidential within the limits we agreed. What would make these 90 minutes useful?” Then lead three slow breaths and a brief prayer. | Rate present intensity 0–10; name one desired outcome. |
| 7–15 | Witness | Ask for one piece of evidence since the last session. Reflect effort, choice, support, and result—without inflating it. | Name what changed, what helped, and what remains difficult. |
| 15–25 | Language | Read the Mike Signorelli line and 2 Timothy 2:2. Ask what each exposes or invites in the live situation. | Underline one phrase; explain it in your own words; choose the phrase you need today. |
| 25–45 | Delegation Ladder | Guide the four fields in order. Do not interpret ahead of the participant. Start with: “Are you delegating ownership or errands?” | Write concise answers for all four fields using one current, concrete situation. |
| 45–57 | Locate | Ask the remaining tool prompts, then: “What is the pattern beneath the performance?” Allow silence. | Name the governing story, protection, motive, expectation, or system and the cost it creates. |
| 57–70 | Rehearse | Participant gives the handoff. Coach role-plays the developing leader and asks: “What can I decide? What requires escalation? What does excellent look like? When do we review?” Revise until every answer is clear. | Practice the new response out loud; receive feedback; repeat until the first step is clear and natural. |
| 70–82 | Prescribe | Choose the smallest sustainable practice. Specify cue, frequency, duration, support, and visible evidence. Explain the research carefully as support—not certainty. | Select the practice, calendar it, and identify the witness or environmental support. |
| 82–90 | Covenant | Ask: “What will you do, by when, who will know, and what proof will exist?” Read the safety boundary before closing in prayer. | State one commitment, one witness, one due date, and one piece of evidence. Rate confidence 0–10; shrink the plan if below 7. |
Why the practice can work
Why delegation needs pre-decisions
Specific if-then plans reduce ambiguity at predictable decision points. In delegation, clear exceptions, review triggers, and authority boundaries help the developing leader act without waiting for rescue.
Read the primary source →Gollwitzer & Sheeran (2006), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119
Thirty-day prescription
Practice until it becomes available under pressure.
Weekly
Transfer one meaningful decision or advance one person one ladder level.
Evidence: Outcome, authority granted, decision made, and learning.
At review
Ask before telling: What worked? What did you learn? What will you change? What support is needed?
Evidence: Leader’s next decision, not merely the coach’s advice.
Care + scope boundary
Delegation does not transfer duties that law, policy, competence, ordination, licensing, or safeguarding reserve for an accountable role.
Monthly evidence review
Measure formation in real life.
Private reflection
Where does being needed protect your identity?
Source lineage
Original SLS facilitation design synthesized from Mike Signorelli’s books and leadership frameworks. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, used by permission. All rights reserved.