Leadership Compass uses roles to determine what each person can see and do inside a cohort.
The main roles are:
- Champion
- Participant
- Leader
- Facilitator
- Admin
Each role supports a different part of the Leadership Compass experience.
Why roles matter
Leadership Compass includes personal reflection, leadership development work, facilitator feedback, participant progress, and final guide content.
Because some of this content is private or role-specific, access must be controlled carefully.
Roles help ensure that:
- participants complete their own Compass
- leaders see appropriate progress for assigned participants
- facilitators support only the people or cohorts assigned to them
- champions manage the program without needing to complete the participant workflow
- admins can configure the module when needed
Champion
The Champion is the person responsible for managing Leadership Compass inside the organization.
Champions usually coordinate the program, create cohorts, assign people, and monitor progress.
A Champion may be an HR leader, executive sponsor, internal coach, learning and development owner, or another person responsible for the program.
Champions can typically:
- create cohorts
- edit cohort settings
- add participants
- assign leaders
- assign facilitators
- review cohort progress
- manage cohort status
- help participants get started
- coordinate launch and follow-up
Champions should use this role to:
- make sure the right people are in the right cohort
- confirm the correct pillars are enabled
- make sure leaders and facilitators are assigned correctly
- monitor whether participants are progressing
- help resolve access issues
Participant
A Participant is the person completing the Leadership Compass process.
Participants answer the pillar questions, review reflection cards, accept or edit their content, and build their final Leadership Compass Guide.
Participants can typically:
- enter CliftonStrengths results
- skip CliftonStrengths if allowed
- complete enabled pillars
- review reflection cards
- edit reflection cards
- accept reflection cards
- generate a Leadership Compass Guide
- edit, sign, and share their guide
- log alignment moments after completion
- message a facilitator if one is assigned
- request a check-in if that feature is available
Participants are responsible for:
- answering honestly
- reviewing generated reflection cards
- editing content so it sounds like their voice
- accepting reflections when ready
- completing the selected pillar workflow
- using their Compass after the program ends
Leader
A Leader supports a group of participants.
In many organizations, leaders are managers, department heads, executives, or team leads responsible for encouraging participants through the process.
A Leader may also be a Participant in the same or another cohort.
Leaders can typically:
- view assigned participant progress
- see which participants have started or completed pillars
- encourage participants
- understand where their group is in the process
- help remove obstacles to completion
Leaders should not automatically see:
- every participant in the organization
- private reflections for people not assigned to them
- facilitator-only notes
- guide content unless it has been intentionally shared
Leader access should be scoped to the participants or groups assigned to that leader.
Facilitator
A Facilitator supports participants through the Leadership Compass process.
Facilitators may be internal or external. Some facilitators may be certified, while others may be internal coaches, consultants, HR partners, or leadership development staff.
Facilitators can typically:
- view assigned participants or cohorts
- review participant reflection progress
- provide feedback on reflection cards
- add notes where appropriate
- message participants
- respond to check-in requests
- support participants through the guide-building process
Facilitators may be able to add:
- feedback visible to the participant
- private facilitator notes
- suggested discussion points
- labels such as “Discuss,” “Strong,” or “Needs Review”
Facilitators should use this role to:
- guide participants without taking over their voice
- help participants refine their reflections
- support accountability and follow-through
- help leaders and participants stay aligned with the program goals
Admin
An Admin has broader system access.
Admins may enable Leadership Compass, manage organization-level settings, or help resolve setup and access problems.
Depending on your organization, the Admin role may be separate from the Champion role.
Admins can typically:
- enable Leadership Compass
- configure module availability
- manage organization settings
- help troubleshoot user access
- support Champions with setup
Can one person have more than one role?
Yes.
A person may have more than one role depending on the cohort setup.
For example:
- a Champion may also be a Leader
- a Leader may also be a Participant
- a Facilitator may support more than one cohort
- an Admin may also manage a cohort
- a participant may belong to one cohort while leading another group elsewhere
When someone has multiple roles, their access may change based on the page they are viewing and the cohort they are working in.
What are virtual users?
A virtual user is a user record that does not count as a standard paid user in the organization.
Virtual users can be useful for external facilitators, consultants, or other support roles who need access to Leadership Compass but are not regular organization members.
Virtual users should still have clear role assignments and access boundaries.
What can each role see?
Exact access depends on your organization’s configuration, but the general principle is:
Participants
Participants primarily see their own Compass work.
Leaders
Leaders see progress for participants assigned to them.
Facilitators
Facilitators see the participants or cohorts they are assigned to support.
Champions
Champions see the cohorts they manage.
Admins
Admins may see broader configuration and setup tools.
Privacy and visibility
Leadership Compass includes personal leadership reflections, so privacy matters.
A participant’s work should only be visible to people who have a reason to support that participant in the program.
In general:
- participants own their reflections and guide
- leaders should see progress, not necessarily every private reflection
- facilitators may review reflection cards if assigned
- private facilitator notes should not be visible to participants unless intentionally shared
- sharing the final guide should be invitation-based
Common role setup examples
Internal leadership cohort
A company runs Leadership Compass for twelve managers.
- HR Director: Champion
- Department heads: Leaders
- Managers: Participants
- Internal coach: Facilitator
Executive team cohort
A senior team completes Leadership Compass together.
- CEO or HR leader: Champion
- Executives: Participants
- External consultant: Facilitator
Department cohort
A department leader sponsors Leadership Compass for team leads.
- Department VP: Champion and Leader
- Team leads: Participants
- HR business partner: Facilitator
Troubleshooting
I cannot see a cohort.
You may not have been assigned to the cohort, or your role may not have access. Contact your Champion or Admin.
I can see the cohort but not the participants I expected.
You may not be assigned to those participants. Leaders and facilitators usually only see participants assigned to them.
I am a facilitator but cannot access facilitator tools.
Confirm that you have been added as a Facilitator for the cohort.
I am a leader but cannot see my team.
Confirm that participants have been assigned to you as their Leader in the cohort setup.
I am a participant but cannot start a pillar.
The cohort may not be active, the pillar may not be enabled, or you may not have completed a required previous step.
I have the wrong role.
Contact your Champion or Admin and ask them to review your Leadership Compass role assignment.
Best practices for Champions
Before launching a cohort:
- confirm every participant is assigned correctly
- make sure leaders are connected to the right participants
- assign facilitators before participants begin reflection work
- avoid giving broad access when scoped access is enough
- confirm external facilitators have the correct user setup
- test access from at least one participant, leader, and facilitator account when possible
Good role setup makes the Leadership Compass experience clearer, safer, and easier to support.
