The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Created by Lena Maria Thyen (s202969)

Abstract

The skills and competences of a project manager are crucial for a project to succeed. Besides technical project management skills and strategic and business management skills, a successful and effective project manager is also characterized by leadership skills and competences. Some of the most important leadership skills, qualities and competences include: being optimistic and positive, being collaborative, being able to managing relationships and conflicts, asking and listening, being a problem solver, being a life-long learner who is results- and action-oriented, being able to focus on the important things, being able to have fun and share humor effectively with team members (pp. 51-62). These skills and competences are discussed in the personality development book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which the American author Stephen Covey wrote in 1990. Covey describes an inside-out approach that focuses on character ethics rather than personality ethics. According to Covey, personal and professional success is going to be achieved by adopting these seven habits: 1) be proactive, 2) begin with the end in mind, 3) put first things first, 4) think win-win, 5) seek first to understand, then to be understood, 6) synergize, 7) sharpen the saw. When implementing these habits into the character, three stages 1) dependence, 2) independence and 3) interdependence are passed in succession, which Covey describes as the maturity continuum. The fact that these skills and competences can be trained as habits and thus be integrated into the character enables employees and thus companies to achieve increased effectiveness in project management through the use of this personality development tool .

Background

The basis of this book arose when Covey was looking for a solution for his son who was not doing well in school. Covey and his wife encouraged their son and tried to make him believe that if he would do his best he would succeed. However, by that the parents took their son under protection and indirectly apologized for their son, thereby robbing him of his dignity. That led to the opposite of what the parents had hoped for with their support. Through intensive research into perception and its mode of action, Covey came to the realization that it was not his son who should change, but himself and his view on his son in order to dissolve the son’s negative self-image (pp. 6-7). This was the trigger for Covey to clearly separate the points of view and principles between personality ethics and character ethics. He realized that he and his wife was looking at their son from the perspective of personality ethics. Through this perspective, success is defined by personality, public image, attitudes and behaviors, skills and techniques, that eases the processes of human interaction. However, this resulted in poor self-esteem for Covey’s son and further to failure. With the principles of character ethics success is defined completely different. In that point of view success is measured in terms of integrity, humility, fidelity, temperance, courage, justice, patience, industry, simplicity, modesty. From this perspective, the focus is on treating others as you would like to be treated yourself. By changing the view from the perspective of character ethics, the parents were able to recognize strengths in their son and thereby they learned to honestly appreciate him. As a result, the son's self-confidence increased and he blossomed. This was a lesson for Covey and he concluded that the perspective from character ethics is essential in order to maintain lasting human relationships and to achieve long-term success (pp. 8-9). This is the history behind this inside-out approach.

What are Habits

Aristotl once said “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”. Also according to Covey, the composition of habits forms the character of a person. A habit is the intersection of the knowledge of what to do and why, the skills of how to do, and the desire which is the motivation of want to do. These factors are often unconscious patterns that constantly express our character on a daily basis and determine our effectiveness or ineffectiveness (pp. 22-25). So that means that we can influence and change our habits ourselves. In order to make something in our life a habit, we have to work with all the three factors knowledge, skills and desire equally (pp. 22-25). How habits arise and how new habits can be implemented in the character is discussed in section "How to achieve new habits".

What are the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

1: Be Proactive: With the first habit "Be Proactive", people should learn to take responsibility for their own actions. Instead of blaming others for their own behavior and thus life, this habit creates awareness that one's own behavior is something that one chooses for oneself. Proactive people can take advantage of this knowledge / awareness by taking responsibility and focusing their time and energy on things they can control and influence in order to achieve more positive results. These are things such as your own fitness, your education, your hobbies or your habits, which are assigned to the so-called “Circle of Influence”. Reactive people however, focus their time and energy on things that are assigned to the so-called “Circle of Concern”. These include, for example, the weather, the opinion of strangers or the driving style of other drivers, i.e. things over which they have little or no control. Hence, there are two ways of living life. In order to become a proactive person, it is essential to develop an awareness of what things we can influence with our actions and to focus on them (pp. 31-44).

2: Begin with the End in Mind In order to achieve one's goals in life, a clear vision of these goals, or according to Covey called a personal mission statement, is required. The second habit "Begin with the End in Mind" is supposed to put you in the position of an author, of your own life. With clear visions of your own goals and your own mission statement, proactive action should lead to reaching these goals. For example, the mission statement ensures that whenever a decision has to be made, the focus on whether these decisions are in line with one's own goals or with the mission statement of the person you want to be (pp. 45-73).

3: Put First Things First The third habit “Put First Things First” is about time and life management. The things that lead you to the goals defined in habit 2 should be prioritized and implemented first. In other words, by adopting habit 3, the first two habits are united, in that decisions are implemented independently and according to self-chosen priorities. In habit two you should have understood that you are the author of your own life. This habit is about writing your own life, i.e. turning your visions into reality and making decisions accordingly. In order to define which things to put first or also to schedule tasks according to their urgency and importance, Covey created a scheme in which the tasks can be divided and prioritized accordingly (see Figure xx) (pp. 73-90).

4: Think Win-Win Habit number 4 is to acquire a win-win mind-set. This has the advantage that knowledge is shared, we can work together, grow and benefit from one another (pp. 102-119). More information will be added.

5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood Habit number 5, “Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood”, is about listening to your counterpart first and understanding them intellectually and emotionally from their perspective in order to be on the same denominator. This type of listening is also called empathic listening and is the highest form of listening which creates a feeling of care and empathy. Only by this form of listening an honest and valuable advice can be given from one's own point of view through individual experiences, values, beliefs and memories. Other forms of listening include ignoring the other person completely, pretending to listen, selectively hearing only certain parts of the conversation, or just focusing on the words being spoken but missing the meaning entirely. These types are not really effective, but are the most commonly practiced forms of listening. The reason for this is that most people do not hear in order to understand, but with the want to answer. People want to convey their point of view in order to be understood (pp: 119-133).

6: Synergize Habit 6, "Synergize" is about synergizing, i.e. working creatively together in a team. The goal here is to cooperate with people with different backgrounds, perspectives, opinions, ideas and strengths in order to incorporate the value of each individual and thereby achieve better results. Through synergy, things can be discovered that someone is less likely to discover alone (pp: 133-146).

7: Sharpen the Saw Habit number 7, Sharpen the Saw, is a metaphor for maintaining yourself in order to be and stay effective, just as a saw needs to be sharpened to be able to saw properly. Because if you saw with a sharpened saw, you need less time and energy for the same work that would be carried out with an unsharpened saw. It is the same with self-care in real life. Only those who take the time for self-care and self-renewal can feel good and lead a balanced life, which is the basis for growth and change. This habit focuses on the maintenance of the physical (beneficial eating, exercising and resting), social and emotional (making social and meaningful connections to others) and the mental and spiritual (spending time in nature, spiritual self through meditation, music, art, Expand prayer or ministry) conditions. This habit is the basis for staying balanced to be able to handle the other six habits (pp: 147-158).

The maturity continuum

The maturity continuum consists of the three successive levels 1: Dependence, 2: Independence, and 3: Interdependence, which describe a person's degree of maturity. The development of being dependent to being independent occurs by implement the first habits 1 to 3, which in sum are about self-mastery and helps an individuum to become more effective by developing inner strength, character purpose and values. Habits 4 to 6 will help an individual to deal with people, to read the needs of people, to empathize and to corporate with people. These habits also helps to build up strong relationships and to have a “we” mindset which helps to think like a team. While implementing habit 4 to 6 into the character a person will move from being independent to become interdependent (pp. 23-25)

How can the 7 habits provide a higher effectiveness in project management?

A project manager is the person chosen by the organization to lead a team that is responsible for achieving a projects objective. The tasks and activities of a project manager can vary depending on the project and organization. In general, however, the skills of a project manager and the way he leads his team plays a decisive role in achieving the project goal (pp. 51-52). The Project Manager Competency Development (PMCD) framework is well suited to structurally assess the skills and competences of potential project managers. The most effective and for that project well-suited project manager should be found by focusing on the three key skill sets 1: Technical project management, 2: Leadership and 3: Strategic and business management, which are shown in The PMI Talent Triangle. In addition, a project manager should have a balance of these three skill sets in order to achieve the highest effectiveness while carrying out a project (pp. 56-57).

The three skill sets are described in the PMI's PMBOK ® Guide (pp. 57) as follows:

• Technical project management: The knowledge, skills, and behaviors related to specific domains of project, program, and portfolio management. The technical aspects of performing one’s role.
• Leadership: The knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed to guide, motivate, and direct a team, to help an organization achieve its business goals.
• Strategic and business management: The knowledge of and expertise in the industry and organization that enhanced performance and better delivers business outcomes.

In addition to the technical and professional skills relating to project, program and portfolio management, as well as commercial knowledge and interest, skills in the field of leadership play an equally important role. These competencies correspond to the 7 habits of highly effective people which according to Covey can be learned. Therefore, these will be discussed in more detail next (pp. 56-62) (pp. 31-158).

Projects are getting more complicated as an increasing number of companies implement their strategy through projects. Project management is more than just working with numbers, templates, charts, graphics and computer systems. A common denominator in all projects are people. In addition to leading, motivating and leading the project team, the project manager's leadership skills and qualities are also required when working with project stakeholders, the steering team, and project sponsors. This is why the project manager's leadership qualities such as negotiating skills, resilience, communication, problem solving, critical thinking and interpersonal skills are essential for successful project management (pp. 56-62). These skills and competencies or habits, as Covey calls them, can be learned by using the personality development tool "7 habits of highly effective people". The most important leadership skills defined in PMBOK can be assigned to the 7 habits of the 7 habits of highly effective people (pp. 31-158).

Leadership skills / competences needed in project management learned by adopting the corresponding habit

(Own creation, based on sources: pp. 56-62 ; pp. 31-158)

Habits 1 to 7	Leadership skills / competences
1: Be Proactive	Being a life-long learner who is results- and action-oriented.
2: Begin with the End in Mind	Being a visionary (e.g., help to describe the products, goals, and objectives of the project. Be able to dream and translate those dreams for others). Being able to apply critical thinking (e.g., application of analytical methods to reach decisions) and identify him or herself as a change agent.
3: Put First Things First	Being able to focus on the important things, including: - Continuously prioritizing work by reviewing and adjusting as necessary. - Finding and using a prioritization method that works for them and the project. - Differentiating high-level strategic priorities, especially those related to critical success factors for the project. - Maintaining vigilance on primary project constraints. - Remaining flexible on tactical priorities. - Being able to sift through massive amounts of information to obtain the most important information.
4: Think Win-Win	Being respectful (helping others retain their autonomy), courteous, friendly, kind, honest, trustworthy, loyal, and ethical. Exhibiting integrity and being culturally sensitive, courageous, a problem solver, and decisive. Giving credit to others where due.
5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood	Being able to communicate by: - Spending sufficient time communicating (research shows that top project managers spend about 90% of their time on a project in communicating). - Managing expectations. - Accepting feedback graciously. - Giving feedback constructively. - Asking and listening.
6: Synergize	Being collaborative. Being able to build effective teams, be service-oriented, and have fun and share humor effectively with team members. Managing relationships and conflicts by: - Building trust. - Satisfying concerns. - Seeking consensus. - Balancing competing and opposing goals. - Applying persuasion, negotiation, compromise, and conflict resolution skills. - Developing and nurturing personal and professional networks. - Taking a long-term view that relationships are just as important as the project. - Continuously developing and applying political acumen.
7: Sharpen the Saw	Being optimistic and positive. Being well-balanced. Having a holistic and systemic view of the project, taking into account internal and external factors equally.

How to achieve new habits

Title ( page. references ).

There are different ways to learn new habits or to replace them with old habits. This section will focus on how new habits can be implemented into the character. To do this, it is first important to understand the steps involved in this process, the so-called habit loop. The habit loop process is composed of the three components: cue, routine, and reward.

• The cue describes the trigger that makes you perform a certain action. A cue can be a specific location, time, emotional state, other people or an immediately preceding action. This can be, for example, getting up in the morning, which acts as an activator for brushing teeth or making coffee. The more often this connection is activated the stronger the cue will get and the more automatically the performance of that action will become. The cue is followed by the routine in the habit loop.

• The routine is the actual behavior of a habit.

• The reward is the positive reinforcement or a satisfied desire of all kinds, which occurs through the practice of the routine. The reward is the reason that the act becomes and remains a habit. The more satisfying the reward, the easier it is to carry out the routine.

In order to finally implement a new habit in the character, a cue must first be identified that activates the routine. Next, a reward must be found that will ensure the routine is performed and kept. An effective / functioning habit loop process is individual and must therefore be individually adapted to each person (pp. 312-322).