Tools for Leaders
One page each. Use them this week.
Five tools drawn from the LEADS steps and the Scripture behind them. Each one fits on a single page. Read the tool here, download the PDF, or print a copy for your next meeting.
Free Tools
Five tools, one page each.
LEADS step: Listen
The Four Checks
Run these four checks before you give advice to someone who is struggling. Job’s friends sat with him in silence for seven days and did well. The trouble began when they started to explain (Job 2:13).
- 1. PresenceDo I understand what this person is facing? Have I listened long enough to say the problem back in words the person would accept?
- 2. BlameAm I making the cause too simple? Am I assuming this person brought the trouble on?
- 3. HumilityWhat do I not know? What would change my advice if I learned more?
- 4. MotiveIs what I am about to say for this person, or for me? Do I want to help, or to be finished with the conversation?
Use: if any check fails, ask one more question and keep listening. Advice can wait a day. Presence cannot.
LEADS step: Listen
The Three Questions
Ask yourself these three questions before a meeting or a hard conversation, especially with someone whose background differs from yours.
- 1. ExpectationsWhat expectations may shape this conversation, mine and the other person’s?
- 2. PostureWhat posture will help me listen? Where should I sit, when should I speak, and what should I leave unsaid?
- 3. HelpWhom can I ask if I am unsure how my words will land?
Use: write one line for each question before you walk in. After the meeting, note which answer turned out to be wrong. “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak” (James 1:19, ESV).
LEADS step: Earn Trust
The Quarterly Integrity Review
Once a quarter, a leadership team compares what the team practices with what the team says. Amos spoke to a people who worshiped well and treated others badly. This review looks for the same gap (Amos 5:21–24).
- 1. Word and actionWhere did what we said this quarter differ from what we did?
- 2. Money and resourcesWould our spending make sense to the people we serve if they saw every line?
- 3. AuthorityWhere was authority used for the leader’s comfort and not for the team’s good?
- 4. The overlookedWho on the team, or in the community, is being stepped over (Amos 2:7)?
Use: one hour, four questions, written answers. End with one action, one owner, and one date. Review that action first at the next quarter’s meeting.
LEADS step: Delegate Authority
The Team Scorecard
Four measures, one owner each. Nehemiah rebuilt a wall in fifty-two days by putting a name beside every section (Neh. 3). A measure that belongs to everyone belongs to nobody.
- 1. Choose four measuresOne for people, one for quality, one for speed, and one for developing others. Four is the limit.
- 2. Name one owner for eachA person, not a team. No person owns more than two.
- 3. Hand over the decisionWrite what each owner may now decide without asking.
- 4. Set the datesReview at 30, 60, and 90 days. The owner reports, not the leader.
| Measure | Owner | Today | 90-day goal | May decide alone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Use: if a measure has not moved after two reviews, change the action, not the owner.
LEADS step: Character
The Leadership Vision Worksheet
One paragraph that says who you intend to be as a leader. “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it” (Hab. 2:2, ESV). Answer the four prompts, then write the paragraph.
- 1. Who I intend to beThree words I want people to use about me in every room: at work, at home, at church, and alone.
- 2. Whom I serveThe names of the people entrusted to me.
- 3. What I will do firstMy lowest LEADS step from the Self-Check, and one action I will take on that step this month.
- 4. Who will hold me to thisOne person who has permission to tell me when I am off course.
My leadership vision, in five sentences or fewer:
Use: read the paragraph aloud to your team, and ask them to tell you when your actions and your paragraph disagree.
Use Them Together
All five tools are used in one day.
In the One-Day Workshop, a team works through each tool with a facilitator and leaves with a signed 90-day plan.
Find out where your team stands.
The LEADS Self-Check takes five minutes and shows which step to work on first.