Thoughts on: “Principle-Centered Leadership” by Stephen R. Covey

Stephen Covey, of “7 habits”-fame, shares his formula for what he calls principle-centered leadership. The book has start with broad, general and timeless guidelines to enhance the life you lead. You will have heard a lot of it before, but it’s these fundamentals we tend to forget in our busy everyday life. A refresher might be good!


The second part is more specific to management and organizations. What motivates people? How can we strive amid constant change? A mission and common goals a invaluable. Empower people and see them raise to the occasion. Involvement and managing expectation is key.


Pros:

– Leadership principles, not only for the workplace, but also for relationships, parenting and over yourself.

– contains a short version of the “7 habits of highly effective people”.


Cons:

– Repetitive.

– Feels a bit dated.


📝 “principles, unlike values, are subjective and external. They operate in accordance to natural law”


📝 Principle-centered people discover that as their circle or knowledge grows, so does it’s outside edge of ignorance.


📝 habit 2: “Begin with the end in mind”


📝 habit 5: “Seek first to understand, then to BBe understood. Most people problems are basic communication problems.”


📝Trying to please everyone and become “all things to all people” and you eventually become nothing to everyone.


📝 Affirm a persons worth and potential if you want them to grow. Goethe: “Threat a man as he is and he will remain as he is; treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be”


📝 Abundance Mentality: Thinking there is plenty out there for everybody. Most people are scarcity minded and think win-lose and lives in a zero-sum paradigm of life.


📝”Our ability to perform better will increase as we exercise the discipline of doing important and difficult work first…”


📝”I don’t care how much you know until I know how much you care” Empathy is key. Keep you open and others feel you are learning and are influenceable.


4/5

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