Dr. Stephen Covey has always been a highly influential leader and management guru. His book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People provides guidance on the personal development and also on how one can be an influential leader. His concepts can help an individual to grow, become efficient and change in leading any human responsibility aspects that can seem to be unimaginable. The book indicates that one can become a good leader by adopting principle-centered leadership.
He adopts the style where the principles that he discusses can apply in different areas of life and leadership being one of those areas. The author uses concepts that are simple and easy to understand, but some people encounter difficulties in applying it to the leadership practice. His style requires one to critically think so that they can be able to act in a desirable manner. The concepts are aspirational and inspirational to anyone seeking to live a purposeful life.
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The book adopts a principle-centred leadership theory which has the basis of servant leadership.It emphasises that if a leader looks at the world based on the principles, the followers can get the empowerment of realizing their full potential and it will make the organization grow. Focusing on the principles helps everybody understanding those principles to behave well without continuous controlling, correcting, monitoring or evaluation (Goleman, 2000). The principle-centred leaders should be able to promote creativity, shared vision, emotional stability, interdependence, servant leadership and self-supervision. According to this theory, the creation of the principle-centred powered is possible when there is an overlap between the leader and the follower’s values. There is the existence of control which is through self-control. The followers can risk doing right things just because of the leader models and values those ideas. The style resembles the transformational leadership (Russell, 2001).
The book presents different leadership qualities which can be applicable in many areas of life. To be a leader one has to believe in other, that is, understanding their potential and helping them achieve the best (Covey, 1991). One has to be service oriented since life is a mission where a leader has to deliver. He/she should continually learn from different experiences. A leader should have positive energy, i.e. by being optimistic and cheerful. Leaders should lead balanced lives where they try to understand changes that are always occurring. Exercising self-renewal, i.e., mental, physical, spiritual and emotional is a quality any leaders should possess (Rost, 1993). One has to see life as being an adventure where the leader gets the best experience from different encounters.
Stephen Covey had adopted leadership as a calling since he has written many books which have an element of leadership and inspiration. He was a great speaker who could give speeches that address different aspects of leadership in diverse areas such as counseling, relationships, parenting, etc. All these areas require an individual to possess leadership skills so that they efficiently overcome the challenges that may arise (Lee & Krayer, 2003). Stephen Covey takes leadership as a calling, and he could often provide training services to many leading corporations globally. The main aim was to ensure that the leaders possess the relevant values which can enhance the productivity of the organisation. He has been able to produce a substantial amount of teaching and educational work. He believes that all the individuals including children should possess the leadership traits and this can be possible if they receive adequate training on how to be leaders.
Covey has strong leadership values and qualities which a person can wish to emulate. First, he encourages the aspect of humanity and integrity. To serve other people well as a leader, I have to reflect on the feelings of the follow -ships that I am leading.it will promote mutual understanding between the leader and the followers. The second quality is trying to understand the personalities of those that you lead. People are unique and possess different characteristics thus wants to know them without generalisation can enhance their productivity. Covey is a leader who emphasises on prioritising. It is a paramount aspect as a leader since you will be able first to tackle issues that need urgency.
The shortcoming of Covey is discouraging people from applying the use of authority in leadership. To be a leader, you are in the position of power and authority. Using the power in leadership means that you are at the forefront and other people should learn from you. There are circumstances when the use of the absolute authority is relevant so that the followers can listen to the set rules and regulations. Being in authority will make the juniors accord the leader proper respect.
Lastly, Stephen Covey is a great writer who has many leadership qualities. His book seven habits of highly successful people explains different leadership qualities that can help an individual to be successful. Covey uses a straightforward and easy to understand style which triggers the reader’s mind on how they can implement what is on paper. He possesses the qualities of humanity and integrity which I admire. The author emphasises the use of principle-centred leadership theory as it will encourage the followers to obey what their leader dictates quickly. Covey’s theoretical framework is excellent as it can help one better themselves by becoming confident and active leader striving to work with their juniors towards improving the working environment productively.
References
Covey, S. R. (1991). The 7 habits of highly effective people . New York: Simon & Schuster.
Lee, W. W., & Krayer, K. J. (2003). Organising change: an inclusive, systemic approach to maintaining productivity and achieve results . John Wiley & Sons.
Goleman, D. (January 01, 2000). Leadership That Gets Results. Harvard Business Review , 78, 78-93.
Rost, J. C. (1993). Leadership development in the new millennium. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies , 1(1), 91-110.
Russell, R. F. (2001). The role of values in servant leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 22(2), 76-84.
