Three Distinct Stages of Personal Growth - Book Report/Review Example

Business 8th Oct The 7 Habits of Highly Effective/Successful People Stephen Richards Covey a very well known author of the bestselling book of 90’s “the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. In his book, he promotes the “Character Ethics”: adjusting one’s value with so-called principles. He proclaims that principles ultimately determine effects or results, but values impose regulations on peoples’ behavior. He conveyed his teaching in a series of habits evidencing as a advance from dependence via independence to interdependence. The key phrase title of the book is “People-Focused”. It helps people to focus on developing or tackling our relationship personally with others. This book helps people to change personally, professionally and as well as more effective than before. The three distinct stages of personal growth, which help out people to move through as if we develop these habits in ourselves, are described in this book. 1. Dependence: This is a starting stage; we are dependent on other people in this stage. If we don’t groom-up ourselves, we would stick in this earlier stage without our personal development. 2. Independence: When we groom-up ourselves, we become more independent. We take responsibilities of our each action but still in this stage we aren’t more effective or we can say that we aren’t act like as a effective person. 3. Interdependence: At this stage we adopt the idea of working together for better results. After becoming more self-reliant we still need other people to help out or to accomplish our goals. The 7 habits which covey explained in his books are: 1. Be Proactive: The word proactive means that we are responsible for everything for our own lives. How we behave is a function of our own decision it’s not vary on our condition. We can rank feelings to values. Proactive people usually don’t blame anyone for anything like conditions, circumstances or social conditioning for their behavior. They give behavior importance to their own consciousness which based on Values, rather then of their conditions, based on Feelings. There Values based on choice and response which are directly influenced by external stimuli. 2. Begin With the End in Mind: The Habit two is based on Goal Setting. It focuses on future that what we want to be and to achieve that goal what should we plan. It also tells that if you haven’t any goal and plan in your mind you never think about tomorrow. Begin with the end in mind actual means to start with the clear Vision of your Mission, so the steps you take to fulfill your desired destination should be the right in direction of attaining your own destiny and ensure the future you visualize. 3. Put First things First: This habit relates to Personal Management, in this, habit 1 and 2 come together. In this Habit covey conveyed the message that we should know the purpose, value and priorities of our life. We mostly get confuse over important with the urgent, the urgent is easy to see but the important is hard to distinguish and it depends on us that how can we recognize those things personally who has worth. If we give priorities to put first thing first we’ll never fall at any stage of achieving our goals. We must Organized and Do around priorities. 4. Think Win-Win: This habit is about Collaboration and Interactions as a cooperative arena not competitive. Win-win should be mutually beneficial and satisfying agreements or solution between both parties. You should be empathic, brave and confident too for Win-win. The real fundamental of Win-win is to achieve the balance between the Courage and Thoughtfulness this is the essence of Maturity and Integrity. In Win-win you expect both nice and tough. 5. Seek First To Understand, Then Too be Understood: It relates to Empathic Communication, it means you should know that what other parties want and without good listening skills and communication skills you can’t find out that thing. We must understand the words which are coming from the other side the other way to see the world and other things by their point of views. By empathic listening we can increase qualities of our own ideas. 6. Synergize: Synergize means Creative Cooperation. It depends on teamwork, open-mindedness and effective communication. It is the essence of principle-centered leadership within people. By mutual understanding you open new possibilities and territories. You become pathfinder and other people can follow you. You must value differences by respect them by build strength to correct weaknesses. 7. Sharpen the Saw: It means enhancing and maintaining ourselves. It’s mean to regenerating the balanced life in four dimensions of our nature- physical, spiritual, mental and social/emotional by meditation, prayer or by reading good literature or listening to good music because these things make positive impact on our mind and life. Every day gives new opportunity to recharge you so it depends on us that how we must work to develop our emotional and social connection with other peoples, and for this we need is just the knowledge, desire and skills. Yes, this book influenced my leadership style. This book is really a true guide to correct our habits and to understand the how to act or react at every stage of life. This book also guide that when you move to interdependence stage, you step into a leadership role and this role enhance yourself and makes positive impacts on your personal development. As, we know that there are four types of leadership style, now it depends on leader who must know that which style should be use for different situations and when to exhibit these particular approaches regarding their need. Democratic leader is the second situational leadership style in which a learner is disillusioned learner. It helps people to identify their own strengths and weaknesses. The style requires the leader to be a “Coach” who must have these qualities like he/she should be a good listener and counselor. Who encourage, delegates and give high support to his learner because Democratic leader’s connects person’s goals with the organization’s goals which give positive output both sides. Covey’s Best Quotes from 7 habits of highly effective people: “Private victory precedes public victory. Algebra comes before calculus”. “Effective people are not problem-minded, they are opportunity-minded”. “The key isn’t to prioritize your schedule but to schedule your priorities”. “Trust is the highest form of motivation”. “While you can think in terms of efficiency in dealing with time, a principle-centered person thinks in term of effectiveness in dealing with people”. “Writing is another powerful way to sharpen the mental saw. Keeping a journal of our thoughts, experiences, insight and learning promotes mental clarity, exactness and context”. (Covey) Works Cited Covey, Stephen. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. U.S: Free Press, 1989. Print. Read More