Leaders help support participants as they move through Leadership Compass.
Assigning participants to leaders makes progress tracking clearer, keeps support focused, and helps protect participant privacy by making sure leaders only see the people they are responsible for.
What does it mean to assign a participant to a leader?
A participant-to-leader assignment connects one participant with the leader responsible for supporting them during the Leadership Compass process.
This assignment may determine what the leader can see on their dashboard.
For example, a leader may be able to see:
- which assigned participants have started
- which assigned participants are in progress
- which assigned participants are stalled
- which assigned participants completed the selected pillars
- high-level progress across their assigned group
The leader should not automatically see every participant in the organization.
Why participant assignments matter
Assignments help answer practical questions:
- Who is responsible for encouraging this participant?
- Which leader should follow up if someone is stuck?
- Which participants should appear on a leader dashboard?
- Which progress data should a leader see?
- Which participants should remain outside a leader’s view?
Clear assignments make the Leadership Compass experience easier to manage and safer from an access-control perspective.
Who can assign participants to leaders?
Participant-to-leader assignments are usually managed by a Champion or Admin.
A Champion may assign participants during cohort setup or update assignments later if roles change.
When should participants be assigned?
Ideally, participants should be assigned to leaders before the cohort launches.
This helps leaders understand who they are supporting from the beginning and gives the Champion a clearer view of the cohort structure.
Assignments can sometimes be updated later, but it is best to set them correctly before participants begin.
What leaders are responsible for
Leaders are not responsible for completing the participant’s reflection work.
Instead, leaders help create accountability and encouragement.
A leader may:
- encourage participants to start
- notice when someone is stuck
- remind participants about deadlines
- help remove obstacles
- reinforce the importance of the program
- support follow-through after the guide is complete
Leaders should not rewrite a participant’s Compass or pressure participants to share private reflections.
What leaders may be able to see
Depending on your organization’s configuration, leaders may be able to see progress information for assigned participants.
This may include:
- participant name
- cohort membership
- start status
- completion status
- pillar progress
- overall progress
- last activity or last saved date
Leader dashboards are intended to support follow-up and accountability.
What leaders should not automatically see
Leadership Compass includes personal reflection content. That content should be handled carefully.
Leaders should not automatically see:
- private reflection answers
- facilitator-only notes
- unshared guide content
- participants outside their assignment group
- private check-in messages intended for facilitators
If a participant chooses to share their final guide, that is a separate action.
Can one leader support multiple participants?
Yes.
One leader may be assigned to several participants.
For example:
- a manager may support all direct reports in a cohort
- a department head may support several team leads
- an executive may sponsor a small group of emerging leaders
Can one participant have more than one leader?
This depends on your organization’s setup.
Some organizations may use one primary leader per participant. Others may allow multiple leaders or support contacts.
If more than one leader is involved, make sure responsibilities are clear so participants do not receive conflicting guidance.
Can a leader also be a participant?
Yes.
A leader can support assigned participants and also complete their own Leadership Compass work.
For example:
- a department head supports team leads as a Leader
- the same department head also completes Leadership Compass as a Participant in an executive cohort
When someone has more than one role, access should be based on the specific cohort and role assignment.
How assignments affect the leader dashboard
The leader dashboard should show the participants assigned to that leader.
This makes the dashboard useful without overwhelming the leader with unrelated information.
A good leader dashboard helps the leader see:
- who has not started
- who is currently active
- who may need encouragement
- who has completed all selected pillars
- where follow-up may be needed
How assignments affect participant privacy
Assignments are part of the privacy model.
A leader should not gain broad visibility into everyone’s Leadership Compass work just because they have a Leader role somewhere in the organization.
Leader access should be scoped to:
- the cohort
- the assigned participants
- the appropriate level of progress visibility
This keeps support targeted and protects participant trust.
What should Champions check before launch?
Before launching the cohort, Champions should confirm:
- every participant who needs a leader has one assigned
- each leader has the correct participants
- leaders are not assigned to unrelated participants
- leaders understand their role
- participants know who is supporting them
- facilitator assignments are also correct, if facilitators are being used
Changing leader assignments
Leader assignments may need to change over time.
Common reasons include:
- reporting structure changes
- someone was assigned to the wrong leader
- a leader leaves the organization
- a participant moves teams
- a new leader takes over a cohort
- the cohort structure changes before launch
When changing assignments, confirm whether the previous leader should still have access to that participant’s progress.
Best practices for Champions
- Assign leaders before launching the cohort.
- Keep assignments aligned with real support relationships.
- Avoid assigning leaders broadly unless they truly support all participants.
- Review assignments when reporting structure changes.
- Explain to leaders what they can and cannot see.
- Protect participant reflection privacy.
- Use facilitator roles for deeper reflection support.
- Use leader roles for progress support and encouragement.
Best practices for Leaders
If you are assigned as a Leader:
- encourage participants without taking over their work
- focus on progress and accountability
- respect participant privacy
- do not pressure participants to share personal reflections
- ask the Champion or Facilitator when you are unsure what to do
- celebrate completion and follow-through
Common questions
Why can’t I see all participants?
You may only be assigned to specific participants. Leader access is usually scoped to the people you support.
I am a leader but my dashboard is empty.
You may not have any participants assigned yet. Ask the Champion to review your assignment.
I see the wrong participants.
Ask the Champion or Admin to review participant-to-leader assignments.
Can leaders see reflection cards?
This depends on the organization’s configuration. In general, leader visibility should focus on progress, not private reflection content.
Can leaders message participants?
This depends on the program setup. Some cohorts may use facilitator-led messaging instead.
Can a participant change their leader?
Usually, the Champion or Admin manages assignments. If the wrong leader is assigned, contact the Champion.
Troubleshooting
A leader cannot access the leader dashboard.
Confirm that:
- the user has the Leader role
- the user is assigned to the cohort
- the cohort is active
- the leader has assigned participants
- the user is in the correct organization
A participant is missing from the leader dashboard.
Confirm that the participant is assigned to that leader in the cohort.
A leader sees too many participants.
Review whether the leader has broad cohort access or whether assignments are too broad.
A participant changed teams.
Update the leader assignment if the participant should now be supported by a different leader.
Summary
Participant-to-leader assignments help make Leadership Compass easier to support.
They give leaders a clear group to encourage, give Champions better structure, and help protect participant privacy by keeping access scoped to the right people.
