Written By: Dr. Kandice Smith
Business Instructor | Aston American University
A person can be effective by setting targets to achieve an overall goal. Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," believes there are seven habits that a person can use in order to obtain personal and business success. It has been proven that if a person develops these habits, they can be highly successful while working on projects at work or in school.
Habit #1: Be Proactive
Individuals must be able to use this rule because they are responsible for being able to adjust to changes when encountering different problems with projects. They must possess this skill so that they can pass this quality to their team members in a professional setting.
Habit #2: Begin with the End in Mind
Which means that each person should have values in mind of what they want to accomplish.
Habit #3: Put First Things First
This also focuses on personal growth. This concept deals with the urgency and importance of where you are spending your time. Urgent activities include tasks, which have a deadline associated with them.
Habit #4: Think Win/Win
It involves fostering an attitude that is committed to always finding solutions that will truly benefit both sides of a dispute. The more you practice with this habit, the more committed you will become as you find solutions to a problem. This effort is spent on trying to understand, which is where the fifth habit is practiced.
Habit #5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
This explains how individuals must understand their team members so that they too, can be understood. Individuals must have effective listening, not only to hear what others are saying, but to put themselves in that person’s position based on their own experience. Therefore, a person must be able to listen empathically for both meaning and feeling.
Habit #6: Synergize
A person should express ideas, feelings, and experiences where it will encourage others to open up.
Habit #7: Sharpen the Saw
The concept relates to renewing yourself physically, spiritually, mentally, and socially/emotionally. It helps to prevent individual burnout when working on projects. The renewal process is good for individuals personally and professionally, but the process has to be balanced.
Dr. Covey’s seven habits can be used to attain personal development, which causes a person to work more effectively and efficiently. These habits can benefit both the manager and the workers, while working together in a business setting to complete a task or project. It is highly recommended that individuals become knowledgeable about these habits to be more effective and productive in their work behaviors.
