If you have not read Stephen Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, or maybe have not read it in a while, I highly encourage you to pick it up or dust it off. I love that the advice is still relevant and right on target! I thought it might be useful to share these important habits I am learning to apply to my daily work life.
Habit 1: Be Proactive
Covey writes that in order to be effective, at work or in any aspect of my life, I need to understand how I focus my time and energy. He describes a “Circle of Concern” in which my worries and concerns are placed in things I cannot change. He also goes on to explain another circle within the circle, “Circle of Influence,” which encompasses the things I can control and have influence over. After reading this book, I realize I focus much of my time in the Circle of Concern. I worry about the insignificant things I cannot control like my co-workers’ negative moods, the role I have in a project, and whether their attitude is going to affect my performance for the rest of the day. And the truth is that the more I allow myself in this circle, the more I become reactive and less effective with my projects. Now I understand that I have taken the first step towards the Circle of Influence. I no longer think reactively but rather proactively.
Learning this habit has helped me identify the things I can control so I can have influence over my overall ability to be effective. Only you and I have the power to do this!
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
I am intrigued with the way Covey encourages his readers to create goals for themselves. This inspired me to focus on what I want to accomplish at work. I did this by envisioning my goals first, then working backwards to achieve them. For example, the other day I was working on a project involving social media. In the midst of this, I asked myself “What do I want to accomplish out of this? How can I best achieve it? And what will I do to get it done?” Once I figured out the answers, it was much easier to implement them.
This second habit helped me realize that my imagination does in fact play a huge role in my ability to achieve goals. If I want to make my projects a real success, I must regularly envision them being completed.
Habit 3: Put First Things First
In implementing this habit in my daily routine, I have been able to:
• Prioritize
• Organize around my priorities
• Discipline myself
Covey has taught me the importance of personal management and how it is extremely critical in being a highly effective person, especially in the workplace.
I have just recently started making quick lists of the most important things I need to finish at work. I call it the “get ‘er done” list because these are the items I organize from highest to lowest in importance. Doing this has also really helped me balance my college school load with my work priorities. It is the greatest feeling ever!
Habit 4: Think Win-Win
It has become clear to me that in business relationships there will almost always be disagreements with work related issues and approaches. Thinking win-win means that the disagreement is with the ideas and not the people who lay the ideas out on the table. I have seen this method practiced with the employees here. Whenever we have group meetings and an idea is presented, not everyone will always agree. I have noticed that such disagreements are opportunities to help create discussion to build more effective and innovative solutions than the one person who had initially presented it.
Seeing the impact of this habit in the workplace has further encouraged me to think in terms of “win-win”, instead of fighting to “have it all my way or their way”. I have found it amazing that when I do take this approach when working with co-workers, a better and/or more creative solution is often found.
Covey definitely emphasizes the “magic” of thinking win-win or no deal!
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand
I find that this habit is especially important for the managers of our different departments. My boss, for example, responds to situations presented at work by first seeking to understand all angles. Once he has done this, he always determines the best possible solutions for the company and the employees. I realize that such effective problem solving was satisfactorily completed only after he had taken the time to fully understand the situation.
Empathetic listening is an extremely powerful tool because it can help anyone in the workplace draw into other’s feelings and points-of-view in creating new ideas for upcoming and current projects.
Habit 6: Synergize
In this chapter, Mr. Covey brings about the old saying, “the sum is greater than the parts,” which he defines as synergy. In our company, I have seen this principle in action because of our innovative talents. My co-workers take pride in thinking differently (out of the box if you will), and bring a bit of their own spice to the table of ideas. This has proven to be very beneficial to us.
Such creativity and diversity is what has helped us grow into the successful business we are today. I find that synergizing helps us build on ideas that would have otherwise been only acceptable. This is why our company objective is to always excel in finding solutions!
Synergizing…take a whack at it!
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
I love the last habit and the example Mr. Covey uses about the person who’s been trying to saw down a tree for five hours and is getting nowhere. When a person asked, “Why doesn’t this man stop sawing and sharpen the saw first before going at it again?” the response was simply, “he did not take the time to stop and sharpen his saw because he was too focused on just sawing it.” This same scenario can be applied to any job. For example, if I want to move into a higher position I would take the time to improve my knowledge and skills necessary (i.e. sharpening my tools) unlike the person sawing the tree who did not bother to sharpen his tools to successfully finish what he had in mind. Get to sharpening!
I’m curious, how do you use these habits or see them applied to your work? I would love to hear your stories!
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