The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey - Book Report/Review Example

SEVEEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, was published in 1989, and is one of the most wonderful books that I have ever come across in my life. It is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. The book lists very simple at the same time most essential seven principles that if I follow, I can achieve true interdependent effectiveness in all walks of my life. This book has given me an opportunity to look into myself and bring out my leadership skills and the most important fact is that all aspects are expressed in a very simple language. Each and every person has individual set of habits that form the character. Most of us find if very difficult to change the habits that are formed over the years. However, Stephen Covey says that it can be done by great commitment. The seven habits that he mentions in this book are achievable and it can lead a person to true leadership. The initial chapter focuses on a person to achieve interdependence through the achievement of independence. In this book Covey has expressed the term leader which implies effective use of influence that is somewhat independent of the formal authority granted to an individual because of position. Leadership cannot be granted to a person by a higher authority; rather, those who decide to follow bestow it on an individual. While managers have formal authority, leaders have the informal ability to get things done by attracting and influencing followers. Effective managers in any organizations must be leaders also, and many leaders become managers, leaders, and directors. The two sets of roles and functions, however, differ. It can be said that the Seven Habits is a principle-centered paradigm. Principles can be defined as guidelines for human conduct that are proven to have enduring, permanent value -- they are fundamental. Covey speaks about character ethics and personality ethics. The character ethics focus on integrating the principles of effective living into ones character which may be a very long process. However, I feel that this is one of the most important aspect that one need to focus on since working on the character simply means getting to the root from which behavior evolves. On the other hand, the personality ethic mainly deals with the skills and techniques one may have to learn, that can bring success to an individual. Covey explains that there are seven habits that one need to follow or in other words successful or highly effective individuals has a set of seven habits that form the basis for their success. The following are the list of seven habits: 1. Be Proactive 2. Begin With The End In Mind 3. Personal Management 4. Think Win/Win 5. Seek to Understand, Then Be Understood 6. Principles of Creative Cooperation 7. Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal The first three habits can be categorized as the ones that deal with self mastery. I feel that these are the habits that need to be developed by our own effort and no one else can do it for us. For instance, being proactive not just means doing regular routines, rather it means to take initiatives. According to Covey an individual can either be proactive or reactive when it comes to how you respond to certain things. He separates what happens around us from how we react to it. In fact, I feel that this is an important lesson to me and I need to change my self from being reactive to being more proactive. Leaders need to be proactive in nature. When we are reactive in general we blame other people or circumstances for the problem caused. Being proactive refers not only taking action but also taking responsibility for everything in one’s life. Covey explains that man is different from other creatures on the earth as he has self-consciousness. Besides, men also have the ability to separate themselves and observe their own self and have individual thoughts. Interestingly, Covey talks about stimulus and response and we have the power to choose between stimulus and response. Being proactive is one of the most important lessons I have learned from this book. From now on I will take the responsibility for all my actions and also I will stop being reactive in my life. I will also improve my leadership by being more proactive and going an extra mile will be my goals. The habit of being proactive is the one without which an individual cannot go through the other six and reach the success.  Covey gives his own experiences in the book and conveys the messages very clearly. He relates how he discovered the essence to be proactive even as he was working as an academic in Hawaii. The second habit that Covey talks about is “Begin with the End in Mind”. This is nothing but leading a goal oriented life. It is about setting up goals and achieving it. Leadership is all about building peak performing teams, teams focused on accomplishing goals. Leaders are able to effectively communicate and motivate the team to perform the set goals. Dreams and goals are common topics that are covered in many of the leadership seminars and workshops. A person is only able to achieve success if he/she is goal oriented. This chapter talks about setting long-term goals based on "true north" principles. Covey stresses on the importance of formulating "personal vision statement". This will help the individual to document their perception of their own vision in life. The visualization process is an important and effective tool to accomplish goals. In this chapter he also mentions about how organizations need to set goals and leaders need to guide the team in achieving the set goals. Organizational vision statements give the team a perfect direction in which they need to travel to achieve success. It is important to understand that good leaders are made and not born. Each individual has the potential in his/her own way to be a leader in their own fields. Leaders carry out process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills. Leadership differs in that it makes the followers want to achieve high goals, rather than simply bossing people around. Prioritising is the next important habit that Covey talks in this book. He says “First Things First”. Covey systematically explains a framework for prioritizing work that is intended at short-term goals, at the cost of responsibilities or jobs that appear not to be urgent, but are actually very important. He puts it in a simple four quadrant format dividing it into urgent and not urgent and important and not important. I have found this time matrix tool to be very useful in my life. In fact after I have made my chart I am able to prioritise various things that I need to do to be successful and achieve my goals in life. Allocation of these tasks is presented as an important part of time management which in turn is an important aspect of leadership. Successful allocation of tasks, according to Covey, focuses on results and benchmarks that are to be decided in advance. For most people procrastination is common - but some are so chronically affected by procrastination that it disrupts their careers and thwarts even their best efforts. The key to controlling and ultimately combating this destructive habit is to understand how and why it happens and to take a few simple steps to better manage time and outcomes. Whatever the reason behind procrastination, it must be recognized, dealt with and controlled before any one miss opportunities or their career is derailed. Part of the solution is to develop good organizational and personal effectiveness habits. The tool that Covey presents in this book helps to establish the right priorities, and manage time in such a way to make the most of the opportunities. To do this, it is imperative to understand the difference between urgency and importance. With proper planning and some self-discipline, many urgent matters disappear altogether or, when they do surface, planning and discipline makes them less urgent and easier to deal with. I believe that the increasing complexity of work, managing a diverse workforce, the need for higher levels of productivity and employee commitment all combine to perform in ways different than in the past. Today, leaders in most of the organization face the challenge of being part of a group while simultaneously leading it. This is hard to do well and requires a mix of skill, hard work, initiative, and discretion. A leader’s ultimate responsibility is the management of the group: ensuring safety, while providing an experience for the participants. Leaders work to make the expedition run smoothly and work together to ensure the project aims are met. A good leader recognizes that they cannot do everything and they have to involve their team. Many of the leader’s responsibilities can be delegated to members of the group. Leaders should remember that for many tasks, demonstration is better than explanation. Think Win/Win is another habit that Covey has described in this book. I feel that all leaders need to think win/win in order to get maximum potential from their team. He describes an attitude whereby mutually beneficial results are sought that satisfies the needs of oneself. In fact it can be said that this habit is an attitude of mind. Leaders in an organization need to keep this in mind to find solutions that will really benefit mutually. Covey specifies that the win-win idea is not based upon negotiation - that is where most arguments obviously end rather he says that such negotiation is the result of not correctly perceiving the likely synergy of the situation. Covey says that the more an individual practices this habit, the more committed they will become to find solutions which beyond doubt benefit both parties. This attitude is a very effective tool to gain the support of the opposite party as it works well by liberating the individuals concern from the effort of trying to persuade them to shift ground or compromise. Thinking win-win is a very good way to building a strong leadership. As leadership is all about building a performing teams and leadership needs to earn the trust of its team. A leader is always pleasant and friendly to all his team members. Above all a good leader is always generous in praising and recognizing each individual who is a performer and appreciate all contributions, big and small. My goal in life has been to do my best in whatever field I take up. I have been among the top rankers during my school and college life. Leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lee Iacoco, Eleanor Roosevelt, Angela Davis inspires me a lot and I have learned that all these leaders think win-win. They are known because of what they have accomplished. My aim in life is to have a magnetic personality like many of these leaders, so that I can influence people to lead a better life and help them reach their destiny. And I believe that leadership is important because it influences the destiny of people. The fifth habit that Covey mentions is “Seek First to Understand and then to be Understood”. I feel that this habit is one of the most important key for developing good inter-personal relationship. It can be in a family between husband and wife or it can be in the work environment between a manager and his team. It is this habit that allows the real leaders to evolve. Since leaders need to be good listeners, it is only through this habit that one can attain the peaks of leadership. In fact Covey says that People become more open, more teachable, more interested in what you may have to say and with the mutual understanding that flows from this habit. He also warns that giving out advice before actually thoughtfully understood a person and their situation might cause reparation and will mostly result in rejection of that advice. The sixth habit is called the “Synergize”. This habit describes a way of working in teams. To have a top performing team, it is essential for a leader to apply effective problem solving capacity and also have good decision making capacity. It is important to remember that it should always be a win-win situation feel secure and the solutions that are found. Team should always feel secure and leaders need to build on divergent strengths and find a synergistic solution to any problems. This book suggests that when synergy is pursued as a habit, the result of the teamwork will exceed the sum of what each of the members could have achieved individually. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” The last habit that Covey conveys through this book is “Sharpen the saw”. This habit focuses on balanced self-satisfaction. In this habit, Covey says that any person who aspires to be a leader needs to be like a saw that need to be sharpened for better performance. Leaders are the highly effective people and Covey says that these are the people who always take time to Sharpen the Saw. According to Stephen Covey leadership is not just about management. Covey tries to differentiate the concepts of leadership from that of management. He says that leadership focuses on the top line and Management focuses on the bottom line. While managers focus on the numbers, leaders focus on people. Management is doing things right whereas leadership is doing the right things. Team building and vision is the core of leadership. Organizations requires effective leadership because all of them are affected by their contexts, philosophies, governance structures, value systems, and the legal ground rules under which they operate. These are the forces and factors that control their leadership and management needs. In today’s world of competence, leadership is the most important aspect. All organization weather it is large or small, public or private sector needs strong and competent leaders to succeed. Leadership is not just for the top leaders, but it is a need for each segment of an organization. Managers, supervisors, employees and volunteers, all of them need to lead and lead well. This is because the world is changing too rapidly and the environment is too complex for strategic intelligence, decision making and initiative to come from the top alone. Leadership has become an urgent issue in most of the organizations as a consequence of rapidity and unpredictability of change. Finally, I would like to say that this book has helped me to change myself. It has also provided incredible tools that I have never come across in my life. With this book the path of becoming a leader looks much simpler. I feel that if any person applies these principles in their life and inculcate these seven habits, good leadership can be assured. I believe that every one who aspires to be a leader, who wants to lead a content life, who wants to be remembered like the great leaders, need to go through this book not once but a number of times. Reference Steven Covey The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. 1st edition. (1989) Franklin Covey CO. Read More