THE 8th HABIT
FROM EFFECTIVENESS TO GREATNESS
By Stephen R. Covey
The 8th Habit shows you how to tap the limitless value – creation promise of the Knowledge Worker Age. It shows you how to solve the major contradictions inherent in organizational life-most of which are a carry over from the Industrial Age.
This book is divided into two parts. The first focuses on “Finding Your Voice” and the second on “Inspiring Others to Find Their Voice”.
FINDING YOUR VOICE
The essence of this habit is that you will find your voice when you say you are 100% involved with what you are doing in your life, so that your body, mind, heart and spirit are all engaged in whatever is important to you. To find your voice, you need to examine your natural talent, what you absolutely love to do and what really interests you.
Finding your voice is divided into two sub-topics. There are Discover Your Voice and Express Your Voice.
(i) Discover Your Voice
Each individual is born with the potential to be great because of the three most important gifts:
1) The freedom to choose – You have the power to direct your own life based on your own values.
2) The natural laws or principles – These are universal, timeless, inarguable principles that transcend culture and geography. These principles include kindness, fairness and honesty.
3) The four intelligences. These are mental intelligences, physical intelligences, emotional intelligences and spiritual intelligences.
(ii) Express Your Voice
All great achieves have expanded their four innate human intelligences and capacities into:
1) Vision – Seeing with your mind what is possible in yourself, in people, project, causes, endeavors and enterprises.
2) Discipline – Commitment
3) Passion – it is the fire or the drive that sustains the discipline to achieve the vision.
4) Conscience – is the still, small voice within. It is quite. It is peaceful.
INSPIRE OTHERS TO FIND THEIR VOICE
When you have found your voice, you can begin inspiring others to do the same – this is really about leadership. Great leaders have always inspired people to be self aware, to find themselves and to find their voice – that is the essence of greatness. Leadership greatness is about 4 roles of leadership into 2 sub-topics. There are focus (Modeling and Pathfinding) and execution (Aligning and Empowering).
(i) Focus – Modeling and Pathfinding
Modeling is the spirit and center of any leadership effort. Modeling has four important aspects. There are:
(A) The voice of influence - Be a trim tab
A trim tab is a “rudder on the rudder” of a ship. It is what makes it easier to turn the rudder, and, in turn, easier and quicker to turn the ship.
To be a trim-tab leader, you must take the initiative to extend your circle of influence no matter how small it may be. You must, however, be sensitive and wise while you take initiative. Practice perfect timing. Do not step on other peoples toes and not portray negativity.
(B) The Voice of Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness is an important factor in any relationship-personal and professional. It is the glue that holds together a family and an organization. Trustworthiness comes from character and competence.
There are three aspect of character that builds trustworthiness:
1) Intergrity: You incorporate principles and natural laws when dealing with people. You are honest and you keep promise made to yourself and to others.
2) Maturity: You can deal with difficult issues with compassion.
3) Abundance mentality: You see life as full opportunities. You don’t compare yourself with others and you are sincerely happy for other people’s success.
The three aspect of competence are:
1) Technical competence: the skill and knowledge required to finish a task.
2) Conceptual knowledge: the ability to see the big picture.
3) Interdependency: the awareness that everything in life is interconnected.
(C) The Voice and the Speed of Trust
Seeking to expand the circle of influence and inspiring others to find their voice means that you have to build strong relationships. The higher the trust one earns, the easier it would be for you to communicate with people.
(D) Blending Voice-Searching for 3rd Alternative
The most important skill in life is communication and this can be broken down into four categories-reading, writing, speaking and listening. Of the four, listening represents 40 to 50 percent of communication time. Unfortunately, only a miniscule percentage of people have been trained formally on how to listen.
Below are 5 levels of listening:
- Ignoring
- Pretending to listen
- Selective listening
- Attentive listening
- Emphatic listening
Two steps to searching for a third alternative:
- You must be willing to search for a solution that is infinitely better than what all parties have proposed.
- You must agree to one simple ground rule-no one can make his or her point until they have restated the other person’s to his or her satisfaction.
Pathfinding is the toughest undertaking of all since you have to deal with many issues, personalities, agendas, levels of trust and egos. To fully comprehend and execute the pathfinding role, you must know and wrestle with 4 realities. You need to clarify these four realities before you can focus on where the organization is heading.
The four realities:
- Market realities
- Core competencies
- Stakeholder wants and needs
- Values
(ii) Execution – Aligning and Empowering
(A) The voice and the discipline of execution – aligning goals and systems for results
Discipline is needed at this phase. You need to be able to align your structures, systems, processes and culture to be able to realize your vision. Aligning requires constant vigilance. It requires constant adjustments due to changes realities. Systems must be change to keep up with the times but must also be base on unchanging universal principle. One alignment tool that you can use is the Balance Score Card feedback system. This system can inform you if your strategy is still in-line with your mission, or you are still on track in meeting your goals.
(B) The empowering voice – releasing passion and talent
Empowerment is the result of personal and organizational trustworthiness. It allows people to take control, manage and organize their live and careers. When people are empowered, the leader ceased to be the boss. He becomes a servant to the organization. It shows that the leader is not afraid of losing control. Rather, the leader is giving his people the power to take control of the things that directly affect them.
As a review you must to remember what part each role plays and their importance:
- Modeling: inspired trust without expecting it.
- Pathfinding: creates order without demanding it.
- Aligning: produces institutionalized moral authority.
- Empowering: unleashes human potential without external motivation.
Modeling and pathfinding give you focus. Aligning and empowerment, on the other hand, make things happen.
In conclusion, The 8th Habits gives you the key to understand and unleash both you own potential of the other people around you. You must find your voice and inspire others to find theirs. Start by creating your own personal significance. After you have done so, inspire others to do so as well.
Review by :Zara Nur Arissa
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