How do I take the HCLA?
Starting the Health of a Christian Leader Assessment, answering each statement, stopping part-way and coming back, and what happens when you finish.
- Leaders
- On your own
- Web
- iPhone
- iPad
The Health of a Christian Leader Assessment (HCLA) asks you to rate 125 statements about yourself. They sit in 25 short sections, across 3 areas: psychological well-being, spiritual vitality and transformative leadership.
There are no right answers and no pass mark. Answer for how things really are, rather than how you would like them to be. An honest picture gives you – and your mentor, if you have one – the most to work with.
How do I start?
- Go to Assessments. On the Health of a Christian Leader card, select Start – or Take Again if you have started one before.
- Under Choose Your Assessment Type, select Personal Reflection to answer on your own.
- Your assessment opens at the first section.
Not sure which type to choose? See Which assessment should I take? The 180° and 360° types open once you have completed one HCLA.
Selecting a type starts your assessment straight away. If you leave before answering anything, we use that same empty assessment next time, rather than adding another one.
How do I answer?
Each section shows 5 statements about one behavioural expression. Rate each statement from 1 to 4.
| Answer | What it means |
|---|---|
| 1 | Not true of me |
| 2 | Slightly true of me |
| 3 | Mostly true of me |
| 4 | Very true of me |
Think about the past month as you answer each statement, as the page asks.
The top of the page shows how many of the 125 statements you have answered, and which of the 25 sections you are in.
When every statement in a section has an answer, select Next. To change an earlier answer, select Previous.
Can I stop and come back later?
Yes. We save your answers each time you select Next.
- Finish the section you are on, then select Next.
- Select Save and continue later. You go back to Assessments.
To carry on, go to Assessments and select Take Again on the Health of a Christian Leader card. The page now says Continue Your Assessment.
- Continue Assessment opens it with your saved answers filled in. It opens at the first section, so select Next to move through the sections you have already done.
- Start New begins a fresh assessment. The unfinished one stays in your history, where you can discard it. See How do I track my progress over time?
You can also carry on in the iPhone and iPad app – see below.
How do I finish?
In the last section, Next becomes Submit Assessment. It works once all 125 statements have an answer.
What happens next depends on the type you chose.
- Personal Reflection: your results open straight away. We also email you your report as a PDF, with the subject “Your HCLA report is ready”. If your mentor has added a booking link, the email includes it. See How do I read my HCLA results?
- 180° or 360° Feedback: you go on to Send Feedback Invitations, to invite the people you would like to hear from. See How do I invite people to give feedback on my HCLA?
If your mentor asked you to take the HCLA, we mark their request as done when you submit.
Once you have submitted a Personal Reflection, it stays in your history, and you cannot delete it. A 180° or 360° stays marked Awaiting Feedback. You can still discard it, but that also deletes the answers people have given you. See How do I track my progress over time?
On iPhone and iPad
The Verve Lead app for iPhone and iPad is in testing.
- Tap Assessments. On the Healthy Christian Leader card, tap Start assessment, or Take again if you have finished one before. If one is in progress, tap Start a new assessment instead.
- Tap Personal reflection.
- Each statement fills the screen. Tap the answer that fits, from 1 · Not true of me to 4 · Very true of me. The app moves to the next statement on its own.
- To go back or forward, tap Back or Next at the bottom, or swipe.
- After the last statement, the Review screen lists every section. Tap Submit assessment.
If your latest HCLA is a 180° or 360° waiting for feedback, the card shows View results so far instead. To start a new assessment, use the web.
A few things that help in the app:
- Stopping part-way: tap Save for later at the top right. Your answers are saved to your account as you go. To carry on, tap Continue on the Healthy Christian Leader card, or pick it up on the web.
- Seeing every section: tap the list icon at the top right. It shows each section and how many statements you have answered.
- Between areas: the app pauses to show your progress. Tap Continue to move on.
- Tapping Next yourself: to stop the app moving on by itself, go to Settings and turn off Advance automatically under Assessments.
- Answers in 2 places: if you have answered on the web and in the app, and the 2 no longer match, the app asks which copy to continue from. It then replaces the other copy.
- No connection when you submit: your answers stay on the device. The app sends them the next time you open Assessments.
On iPad, the same screens sit beside a sidebar.
Every screenshot here is from our demo environment – an invented organisation, invented people.