Week 1: Becoming a Leader People Love to Follow (10.05.2026)

Podcast: Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast
Episode: “Becoming a Leader People Love to Follow”

Description: Craig shares practical steps to increase trust, develop character, and lead yourself well so others want to follow your lead.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What's the difference between caring about people and being a nice leader?
  2. What does an uncentered leader do to the people around them
  3. "You can have control, or you can have growth.” Do you agree with that? Is it really that black-and-white?
  4. What's the difference between vulnerability and oversharing?
  5. What’s one practical change you could make this week?

Personal Development Plan Assignment 1

Foundations: Identity & Calling

  • Theme: Who am I in Christ?
  • Scripture for Reflection: Psalm 139:13-16
  • Prayer Focus: Gratitude for God's design and calling
  • Exercise: Write a short reflection on your life story and identify 2-3 moments where you clearly see that God was shaping your path

Required Reading

Atomic Habits by James Clear
Introduction and Section 1: The Fundamentals (Chapters 1-3)

PURPOSE

This study guide is designed to help your group process and apply the key ideas from Chapters 1–3 of Atomic Habits. You do not need to answer every question. Allow the conversation to go deeper when appropriate, while keeping an eye on the time so everyone has an opportunity to participate.

Choose one person in your group to help keep the conversation moving.

1 | OPENING CONVERSATION

Suggested Time: 8 minutes

Start by having everyone answer:

What was one idea from Chapters 1–3 that grabbed your attention, challenged you, or made you think differently? Why?

As others share, listen for themes that show up across the group.

2 | SMALL HABITS, BIG RESULTS

Chapter 1 | Suggested Time: 12 minutes

One of the foundational ideas of Atomic Habits is that small changes can seem insignificant in the moment while producing remarkable results over time.

Discuss

    • Where have you seen a small habit compound (for better or worse) in your own life?
    • Clear distinguishes between goals and systems. What is the difference, and why does it matter?
    • Why can two people have the same goal but experience very different results?
    • Think about an area where you want to grow as a leader. Do you currently have a system that is actually moving you in that direction?
    • What is one small improvement you could make that might produce a significant difference if you sustained it for the next year?

Consider

Personal habits shape the person who shows up to lead.

Where might you be focused on achieving a result when you actually need to build a better system?

3 | WHO ARE YOU BECOMING?

Chapter 2 | Suggested Time: 15 minutes

Clear shifts the focus of behavior change from simply asking, “What do I want to accomplish?” to asking a deeper question: "Who do I want to become?”

Take a moment to complete this sentence: I want to become the kind of leader who...

Discuss

    • What habits would reinforce the identity you just described?
    • What repeated behaviors might actually work against the leader you say you want to become?
    • Are there identities or labels you have accepted about yourself that could be limiting your growth?
      • “I'm just not organized.”
      • “I'm not good with people.”
      • “I avoid conflict.”
      • “I'm always late.”
    • Clear suggests that our repeated actions provide evidence of the kind of person we are becoming. How does that change the way you think about seemingly small choices?
    • If someone watched your habits for the next 30 days (but could not hear your intentions) what would they conclude is important to you?

4 | HOW HABITS WORK

Chapter 3 | Suggested Time: 12 minutes

Clear describes four stages involved in forming a habit: CUE → CRAVING → RESPONSE → REWARD

From these stages, he develops four principles for building better habits: Make it obvious → Make it attractive → Make it easy → Make it satisfying

Discuss

    • Choose a real habit from your life - positive or negative. Can you identify its cue, craving, response, and reward?
    • Which part of this process have you tended to overlook when trying to change a habit?
    • Why isn't simply “trying harder” usually enough to create lasting change?
    • How could understanding the habit loop help you not only lead yourself, but also lead other people?
    • Think about a team, ministry, workplace, or environment you currently influence. What behaviors are your existing systems making easy? What behaviors are they making difficult?

5 | PUT IT INTO PRACTICE

Suggested Time: 10 minutes

Take a quiet minute to think and write before sharing with your group.

IDENTITY: I want to become the kind of leader who ...

HABIT: One small habit that would reinforce that identity is ...

ACTION: This week, I will make that habit easier by ...

Share your answers with the group.
Help one another get specific. If an answer is broad, challenge one another to dig deeper.“Be more disciplined,” “pray more,” “listen better,” “be more organized”should turn into a small, concrete action that can actually be repeated.

6 | WRAP UP

Suggested Time: 3 minutes

Go around the group one final time:

What is one idea from tonight's conversation that you want to carry with you this week?

Close your time together in prayer.

BEFORE YOU LEAVE

Remember: the goal isn't to completely reinvent yourself this week.

Choose one small action.

Repeat it.

Let your habits become evidence of the leader you are becoming.

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