The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Summary of the book by Stephen R. Covey He who rules over others should be master of himself According to Covey, effective leadership in change is a three-stage missile. The first stage consists of three properties that focus on personal and individual development. They ensure that you learn to act independently as a person. The three subsequent properties are about effective collaboration and form the second stage. The seventh property is about developing and maintaining the other six properties. This property forms the third stage, together with the eighth property: the ability of people to live their full potential and to inspire others to do the same.
The first stage: basis for independence
People who are independent choose their own goal. Independent people act from their own core and are not so much influenced by what others do. They take the initiative, deliberately set their own targets and set priorities. Independent people keep things close to themselves and don't blame other factors. According to Covey, life is mainly determined by oneself and not so much genetic ("it's in my genes"), psychological ("it's because of my upbringing") or social factors ("it's everyone else's fault"). Covey describes achieving independence as a "victory over yourself". What must one do to become independent? In short, it concerns the following:
Habit 1. Be proactive "I am strong." Being proactive is more than taking initiative. Proactive people take initiative, influence events which they can influence. Many people wait or blame the fact that they don’t take their responsibility to external events or others. Proactive people focus mainly on their own behavior and their own thoughts. Essential here is the influenceability of things. Covey speaks of a circle of concern and a circle of influence as shown below. In the outer circle there are things we cannot influence, such as 'the world', our upbringing, our origins and the past.
According to Covey, we shouldn't worry about things we can't influence. We should only focus on the inner circle: proactive people mainly focus on what they can influence. The following is at least as important: we can of course not influence everything that happens to us. But what we can do is determine how we respond to things that happen to us. Proactive people realize they choose their own reaction to the things they are confronted with. Between 'stimulus' and 'response' is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. Habit 2. Begin with the end in mind
"Determine your own destiny, or someone else will do it for you". How do you direct your life, your team or your organization? Do you live day to day or do you set clear goals and determine your own future? Effective people and teams work from 'back to front'. They have principles and a vision about what they want to achieve. In this way they determine their own future. In order to manage the consequences of our choices, we must continually use principles such as justice, kindness, respect, fairness or integrity,’ saysCovey. Such principles are universal, that is, they transcend time, place and culture. People are disoriented without principles. With principles, people have a compass and they know where 'the north' is. The message is: think about where you want to go. Develop a clear picture of your destination. To this end, Covey asks the morbid question: “What would you like people to say during your eulogy about you? ” And if you know that: organize your life so that it actually happens.
Habit 3: Put First Things First "Set priorities". The world seems to get busier and busier. Everything has to be done right away and continues for 24 hours a day. In order to still be effective, it is of the utmost importance to set priorities, according to Covey. Don't let the most important things fall victim to all kinds of urgent but unimportant things. This property is rooted in the principle of integrity and relates to being able to act purposefully. Effective people spend their time mainly on things that are important. They are not guided by the issues of the day, but plan their own lives. If these qualities are met, people can focus on more fruitful collaboration with others. After all, being independent is not enough, especially in a world where everything is connected to everything.
The second stage: basis for mutual dependence It is at this point that the rocket's second stage enters into action: learning to realize our mutual dependence. Working in a meaningful way with others requires yet another victory, not now on yourself, but on your environment. This victory is the result of three more properties: Habit 4: Think win / win
In order to collaborate effectively, one must not think in terms of competition ("win-lose"), but in terms of win-win. A well-known principle from Thomas & Kilmann’s theory of conflict management styles. According to Covey, thinking in terms of abundance is at the basis of this fourth habit. Many
people think in terms of scarcity; they lack confidence and think there will not be enough for them. They think the other must lose so that they can win. Covey, on the other hand, says that there’s enough for everyone of the most beautiful things in life - such as love, attention and happiness. Don't be afraid to give other people as much as you get. This also applies in business life. Habit 5: Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood
Mutual understanding, that's what it's about. Only when we really listen, we’ll understand others. It is not without reason that a person has two ears and one mouth: he can listen twice as much as speak. According to Covey, almost all problems arise from poor communication. And especially because of our inability to really listen to the other person with empathy, without immediately wanting to respond (‘Listen to understand not to respond). The opportunity to speak and be understood yourself comes naturally. However, many leaders are unable to listen: “They are too full of themselves and do not listen. They should spend more time listening and explaining the background of their actions.” If we really understand each other, we will become more creative in solving common problems. Habit 6: Synergize
Synergy means choosing the third way from creative cooperation: not my or your way, but a third and better way. It is about respecting and valuing differences. Fuelled by the intention to overcome mutual differences, by looking for solutions that do justice to everyone's wishes. A synergistic team is a team in which people complement each other and in which the whole is more than the sum of the parts (see also the team roles of Belbin). We often tend to smooth out differences by making compromises (jellyfish conflict style). According to Covey, this is not the right way: we should try to come up with creative and better solutions (conflict style of the owl). De derde trap: basis voor permanent leren en inspireren
Independence and mutual dependency are completed by the third stage of the rocket: continuing to learn and improve and the ability to inspire people and encourage others to find their sources of inspiration. Habit 7. Sharpen the saw - continuous development
This attribute is about the continuous renewal of the four dimensions of our lives: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. This trait is the "last" of the seven traits long propagated by Covey.
Habit 8. Live from your strength and learn to inspire others Live from your full potential and inspire others to do the same. Covey has described this ability in detail in his recently published book ‘The 8th property’.
The 8th characteristic of effective leadership. Like the other seven traits, the eighth trait is a combination of attitude, skill, and knowledge. According to Covey, effectiveness is a necessary, but by no means sufficient condition for survival and growth. It is more and more necessary to show greatness in addition to effectiveness. This is no longer about personal independence or optimal cooperation, but about a completely new dimension,
namely the ability of people to live according to their full potential (their "inner voice") and to inspire others to do the same. The underlying problem Although the world has changed dramatically, most organizations still operate from the now obsolete management paradigm of the industrial era. As stated earlier, this paradigm is not aimed at optimizing the potential of people, but at controlling and steering. The effect of the control-oriented paradigm is that people become increasingly passive: after all, they are not asked anything! As this feeling spreads, a downward spiral gradually develops, as passivity becomes part of the culture. This in turn reinforces the feeling among managers that they should manage their subordinates more sharply, often turning to managing details ("micromanagement"). Ultimately, the more a manager checks, the more behavior he provokes that calls for even tighter control. In that case, Covey speaks of a "culture of mutual confirmation". Here we see a parallel with the influence and conflict management strategies discussed earlier. This essentially concerns the principle of complementarity from the ‘Rose of Leary’: leading provokes following, and vice versa. In terms Leary: above behavior (control) evokes below behavior (apathy) and below behavior evokes above behavior.
According to Covey, the negative spiral is visible on three levels: - On a personal level, organizations have many intelligent, talented and creative people who feel that they are in a straitjacket. They feel undervalued, frustrated and uninspired and don't believe they have the power to change things. - There is a fundamental lack of trust at a relational level. Many lack the skills and thinking to creatively resolve differences. Ultimately, the problem is that most people are used to comparing themselves to others and being in competition with each other. - At the organizational level, the management philosophy of control prevails. This suppresses inspiration and the full use of human talent
The Solution
According to Covey, there is a simple reason why so many people are dissatisfied with their work and why many organizations fail to benefit from their people's talents, ingenuity and creativity. It is because they themselves use an incorrect paradigm about who they are, about our human nature. Humans are not things to be motivated and controlled, but humans are four-dimensional beings with body, head, heart and soul.
Paradigm of the complete human In this paradigm of the whole person, as Covey calls it, we find dimensions that occur in all (Eastern and Western) philosophies and religions: the physical / economic, the mental, the social-emotional and the spiritual. The complete human manifests itself in four corresponding ways: - The head stands for learning, developing. Every person wants to grow and has wishes, dreams, goals and plans. - The heart stands for passion and is expressed in optimism, enthusiasm and emotional connection. People have a relationship with the organizations, managers and colleagues. They want to be respected and taken seriously. - The body represents the physical. People want to be rewarded for their contribution and a safe and comfortable working environment. - Lastly, the soul is the motor behind meaning and matter. Employees want to make a meaningful contribution, a contribution they can support themselves and that the organization as a whole benefits from.
What is the direct connection between the mental programming in which people are seen as things and the inability of managers and organizations to tap into people's talents and powers? The answer is simple: people make choices. People consciously and unconsciously choose how they want to give themselves at work. They are guided by the way they are treated, by the possibility to use all four parts of human nature. These choices range from rebellion to stimulating creativity.
Choices Covey goes beyond the solutions we offered concerning the role of core values in connecting, captivating and inspiring. Not only these core values contribute to the energy and effectiveness of employees. According to Covey, it’s a much broader spectrum. We quote: "Take a look at which of the six options you would choose from the figure above. - In the first scenario, you are not treated fairly. That is, many political games are played in your work environment, there is nepotism and the reward system is unfair. What you get paid does not reflect the level of your performance. Which behavior would you choose? - In the second scenario, the reward is fair, but you are not treated very kindly. That means you are disrespected, your boss is inconsistent, arbitrary and capricious depending on his mood. Which behavior would you choose? - In the third scenario, you are well paid and treated kindly, but there is no room for your own opinion, your opinion is determined for you. In other words, your physical need is met and your heart is valued, but your head is not. Which behavior would you choose? - In the fourth scenario, you will be well paid (body), treated kindly (heart) and your opinion will be appreciated (head), but you will have to dig a hole and then close it again. Or you should make reports that no one reads. In other words, the work is meaningless (soul). Which behavior would you choose? In the previous scenarios, Covey describes all four parts of the paradigm of the complete man: body, head, heart and soul (the latter divided into two components: meaninglessness of the work and the unethical way in which the work is performed). Who, as a leader, ignores one of the parts, treats the other as an object. Who in the current information age treats knowledge workers as complete people with complete work, can count on positive cooperation, sincere involvement and stimulating creativity.