Month 1 · Lead Self
Identity Before Influence
Separate identity from output so ambition can become service instead of self-protection.
Capacity being formed
Identity & Calling
Lead from belonging and calling instead of comparison, performance, or image.
Evidence of formation
The participant can make one costly decision from values rather than image, comparison, or applause.
Language from Mike
“My identity was a gift to be received, not a reward to be earned.”
Biblical anchor · ESV
“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Discovery tool
Identity & Influence Timeline
Build an Identity & Influence Timeline: formative moments, labels received, roles performed, graces recognized, and the next faithful assignment.
Roles
List the five roles or titles that have carried the most emotional weight.
Coach: “Which role would be hardest to lose, and what would its loss seem to say about you?”
Labels
Record the positive and painful labels you received from family, authority, success, and failure.
Coach: “Which label still has a vote in your decisions?”
Grace
Circle repeated gifts, burdens, fruit, and assignments that existed before the current platform.
Coach: “What has God consistently formed in you across changing seasons?”
Decision
Choose one current decision and write the image-driven response beside the identity-led response.
Coach: “What would faithfulness choose if nobody applauded it?”
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 Colossians 3:3. 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 | Identity & Influence Timeline | Guide the four fields in order. Do not interpret ahead of the participant. Start with: “Which role would be hardest to lose, and what would its loss seem to say about you?” | 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 | Coach names a realistic pressure scenario. Participant pauses, reads the identity declaration aloud, and answers with one identity-led sentence and one next action. Repeat twice with greater specificity. | 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 identity must become behavior
Values become more usable when translated into a specific cue and response. The identity declaration in this module is paired with one observable act so insight becomes practiced leadership.
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.
Daily · 2 minutes
Read: “In Christ I am received before I am recognized. Today I will lead from ____ by ____.” Fill both blanks.
Evidence: Seven dated declarations each week.
Weekly
Complete one quiet act of faithfulness that no audience rewards.
Evidence: A one-sentence description of the act and the motive it challenged.
Care + scope boundary
Do not use spiritual identity language to dismiss grief, burnout, trauma, or practical limits. Receive identity and tell the truth about capacity at the same time.
Monthly evidence review
Measure formation in real life.
Private reflection
What are you afraid would be true if your current role disappeared?
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.