The Seven Habits model of management and leadership guru Stephen
Covey is a theory that is applicable to our personal life, our social
life and our working life. However the Seven Habits framework is highly applicable
for leaders and managers. According to Covey, our paradigms affect how we
interact with others, which in turn affects how they interact with us. Therefore
Covey argues that any effective self-help program must begin with an "inside-out"
approach, rather than looking towards our problems as "being out there" (an
outside-in approach). We must start with examining our own character, paradigms,
and motives.
The Seven Habits of Covey
- Be proactive. This is the ability to control one's environment,
rather than the opposite, as is so often the case. Managers need to control
their own environment, by using self-determination and the ability to respond
to various circumstances.
- Begin with the end in mind. This means that the manager must
be able to see the desired outcome, and to concentrate on activities which
help to achieve that end.
- Put first things first. A manager must manage his own person.
Personally. And managers should implement activities which aim to achieve
the second habit. Covey says that habit 2. is the first, or mental creation;
habit 3 is the second, or physical creation.
- Think win-win. This is the most important aspect of interpersonal
leadership, because most achievements are based on shared effort. Therefore
the aim needs to be win-win solutions for all.
- Seek first to understand and then to be understood. By developing
and maintaining positive relationships through good communications, the
manager is understood by others, and he can understand the subordinates.
- Synergize. This is the habit of creative cooperation: the principle
that collaborating towards attaining a purpose often achieves more, than
could be achieved by individuals working independently.
- Sharpen the saw. We should learn from our previous experiences.
And we should encourage others to do the same. Covey sees development as
one of the most important aspects for being able to cope with challenges,
and for aspiring towards higher levels of ability.
In his 2004 book: "The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness", Covey
introduces an additional eighth habit:
- Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs. Striving towards
"greatness", means to act with integrity as an individual and to help others
to do the same. According to Covey, this habit represents the 3rd dimension
of his model. Greatness is the overlap of:
- Personal greatness. Applying the 7 habits in the forms of: vision,
discipline, passion and conscience.
- Leadership greatness. Applying the 4 roles of leadership, which
are modeling the 7 habits:
- Path finding. Creating the blueprint.
- Aligning. Creating a technically elegant system
of work.
- Empowering. Releasing the talent, energy, and
contribution of people.
- Modeling. To build trust with others. The heart
of effective leadership.
- Organizational greatness. This is greatness turned into a vision,
mission and values. This brings clarity, commitment, translation, synergy,
and enables accountability.
Book:
Stephen Covey: Seven Habits
of Highly Effective People
Book:
Stephen Covey: The 8th Habit:
From Effectiveness to Greatness
Forum discussions about the Seven Habits. Below you can ask a question about this topic, share your experiences, report a new development, or explain something.
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Write a Personal Mission Statement
Would you like to focus your life on what really matters to you and who you want to be in your life?
Covey described the following pearl of wisdom in his book Seven Habits:
"The key to the a...
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Stephen Covey 1932-2012
It's with great sadness I write that FranklinCovey Company announced the passing of Stephen Covey peacefully this morning due to the residual effects of a bicycle accident he suffered this past April....
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Effectiveness to Greatness
I feel being effective alone will not lead to greatness. But being effective and efficient while being also Emotionally Intelligent will lead to greatness. Mr. Covey should take that as a separate top...
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Seven Habits: Reprogram your Mind
It's never late to learn and apply the seven habits of Covey, because these habits are the only tool to reprogram your mind to travel the path to success....
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Extra Habit: Spirituality
Be nice! Be good! Love is a powerful weapon against troubled people. Love and hate are contagious. Select first! Don't fall in dangerous games and keep your mind away from negative influences....
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Reasons for the 8th Habit
Anyone knows why the 8th habit came about. I feel it has to do with all the 7 not having the power of influence, no matter how proactive one remains, in bringing a significant change to the environmen...
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Principled-centered Leadership
There seems to be an ongoing debate re who should come first - customer or employee. Yet, I can think of situations when it is family first.
If you were in a high-powered client or employee meeti...
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The best, top-rated topics about the Seven Habits. Here you will find the most valuable ideas and practical suggestions.
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Habits inhibit Freedom?
I feel the 7 habits inhibit the freedom to act spontaneously as perceived by the Zen Management approach which demands "Being In The Present"....
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Advanced insights about the Seven Habits. Here you will find professional advices by experts.
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Seven Habits of Highly Effective Salespersons Distinguishing Top Salespeople In the article "The Seven Strategies of the Highly Effective Salesperson" (Industrial Distribution, February 2008), John...
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Modeling...
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The Principles Behind the 7 Habits Reflection, Coaching, Mentoring, Leadership Development, Management Development Steven Covey explained what are the universal, timeless principles behind his 7 habits:
1. Be proactive is based on the...
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Why EFFECTIVE in the 'Seven Habits of Highly EFFECTIVE People'? Stephen Covey chose the Word Effective, not Efficient nor Successful As a 7H certified trainer, we start our sessions by looking at the title of the book. Stephen carefully chose the word "...
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Ten Traits of Effective Leaders Effective Leadership In an excerpt titled “Ten Traits of Effective Leaders” (Harvard Management Update, 2005, Vol. 10, No. 10) from his book ...
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Various sources of information regarding the Seven Habits. Here you will find powerpoints, videos, news, etc. to use in your own lectures and workshops.
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7 Habits Presentation Overview Good overview presentation by Think Inc....
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The Habit of Continuous Personal Development Lifelong Learning, Continuous Education, Continuous Learning, Personal Development, Professional Development There is no habit that guarantees your success in life more than the habit of lifelong professional and personal improve...
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Stephen Covey on Lifelong Learning Lifelong Learning, Continuous Education, Continuous Learning, Continually Learning This video provides background on Covey's 7th Habit ("Sharpening the Saw"). Many employees are reluctant to fulfill the ...
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Steven Covey on his 8 Habits of Effective People / Managers / Leaders Understanding the 8 Habits of Covey. Leadership Development, Management Development, Coaching, Mentoring In this video Steven Covey explains his 7 habits plus the 8th habit he added later:
1. Be proactive
2. Begin with the ...
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Seven Habits Outline Map Summary Mindmap Summary and outline of the 7-habits theory.(Courtesy of Bruce Liu, who produced and shared the map)...
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Stephen Covey on the Speed of Trust Corporate Strategy, Global Economy, Banking System, Leadership Development, Stakeholder Management Steven Covey hints at some of the reasons why trust is so fundamental for corporations, the banking system, financial in...
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