The 8th Habit- from Effectiveness to Greatness

"The 8th Habit- From Effectiveness to Greatness"

By Stephen Covey

Chapter 8

"The Voice of Trustworthiness"

Presented to: Janelle Christie

Date: October 20, 2006

Subject: Project Management

Submitted by: Sarah and Steve

Table of Contents

Introduction: 1

Personal Trustworthiness 1

Modeling is Living the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People 2

Principles Embodies in The 7 Habits 3

The Modeling Tool- The Personal Planning System 4

Conclusion 5

References 6

Lesson Plan 7

Appendices 8

"The Voice of Trustworthiness"

Chapter 8

Introduction:

In chapter 8, "The Voice of Trustworthiness" in Stephen Covey's book "The 8th Habit, From Effectiveness to Greatness" the importance of trustworthiness and how our society is quick recognize the need for "trustworthiness, for character, for producing trust in the culture". To be a model leader or effective leader you cannot get by without trustworthy and having the people around you trust in you. In chapter 8 we explain how to go about becoming trustworthy and the things you need to become a model leader with Personal Trustworthiness, Modeling is Living the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Principles Embodies in The 7 Habits and The Modeling Tool- The Personal Planning System. "Trustworthiness is the 'Glue' of organizations".

Personal Trustworthiness

Only with a strong character and competence will you develop trustworthiness. It is with these assets that others will view you as a person that they can trust and thus you will be viewed as a good, if not a great leader. The majority of the population these days, when surveyed will show that they value integrity as number one when looking for a good leader. Throughout the years these outlooks on this mater has changed and evolved as different technologies and social statues have also changed. "More and more people are seeing the need to look deeply into their own souls, to sense how they, themselves, contribute to the problems, and to figure out exactly what they can do to contribute to the solution and serve human needs." (www.stephencovey.com)

There are three main areas of personal character:

Integrity Living by Morals that govern consequences of our behavior.

Maturity Dealing with delicate issues with compassion

Abundance Mentality Rather than a competition you see life as an ever enlarging opportunity of resources and wealth

There are three main areas of Competence

Technical Skill and knowledge to accomplish a task

Conceptual Being able to see the big picture

Interdependency Aware of the reality that all life is connected

"90% of all leadership failures are character failures" (covey pg147). This is an important fact because it shows that most leaders understand and are able to do the tasks involved but are unable to uphold the three major character traits. Integrity is when you obey the principles natural laws that you personally have decided upon. This involves things like lying and cheating. Maturity deals with the ability to compassionately understand situations and act appropriately with integrity. The abundance mentality revolves around thinking about the best possible outcome for all parties. It is about feeling good for those who succeed and not being jealous. It is only with a combination of these skills that one will become truly trustworthy and will be trusted as a leader in their organization.

Modeling is Living the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

All 7 Habits are essentially a leader or organization "becoming a balanced, integrated, powerful person(s) and creating a complementary team based on mutual respect" for each contributing member. Highlighted below, is the main points from the first 7 habits.

Habit 1-Be Proactive Responsibility / Initiative

Habit 2-Begin with the End In Mind Vision / Values

Habit 3-Put First things First Integrity / Execution

Habit 4-Think Win-Win Mutual Respect / Benefits

Habit 5-Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood Mutual Understanding

Habit 6-Synergize Creative Cooperation

Habit 7-Sharpen the Saw Renewal

All of the first 7 habits as well as the 8th habit must be acknowledged and practiced to some degree for Dr. Covey's vision to be fully understood.

The first 7 habits can be easily grouped into different sections. The first section consists of the first 3 habits. This is all about promises, being able to make a promise, the content of the promise, and finally, being able to keep the promise. Habits 4, 5, &6 deal with group dynamics and problem solving. Each team or group must have a mutual respect for one another, as well as a mutual understanding of uncontrollable issues, mixed in with some creative cooperation with one another. In Habit 7, "Sharpen

...