Leadership Development Interview with Stephen Covey

The call and need of a new era is for greatness.
Its for fulfillment, passionate execution and
significant contribution.
- Stephen R. Covey, from The 8th Habit: From
Effectiveness to Greatness

Making a rare public appearance in Toronto at the Mississauga Living Arts Centre, world-respected leadership authority and author of the international bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Building Leadership Qualities the #1 Most Influential Business Book of
the Twentieth Century, Dr. Stephen R. Covey spoke on his latest book, The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness to a packed
audience.

Having taught principle-centered leadership for over four decades, this living legend and world icon, with his quiet energy and grace, epitomized a call to greatness and earned the respect of the audience -- standing as a grandfather figure for unleashing human potential in many generations.

A hero to millions, Dr. Covey is known the world over for his landmark work around helping people take profound ideas, philosophies, and principles and distilling them into easy-to-use daily habits that anyone can apply. In his inspirational presentation at the Living Arts Centre, he conveyed simple yet very powerful gems of wisdom that I found practical and useful. For example, if you want your children to develop a love of
learning and never have to rag on them again for not doing their homework and not getting better grades, simply ask them when they return from school, Teach me what youve learned today. By using this one simple habit, Covey claims hes never had a problem encouraging his children to learn because teaching is the best way to learn.

Another gem he talked about is the habit of seeking to understand before being understood through empathic listening. In the audience of over 800 people, he In Leader Majority Senate how many people had any formal training on listening; only 13 hands went up revealing just how ego-centric of a me-me-me culture we live in. Covey related how many Native Indian tribes use whats called the Talking Stick which is used in all meetings where the
person holding the Talking Stick is the only person allowed to speak until he or she feels understood; when the possessor of the Talking Stick feels completely understood, then,
and only then, is the Talking Stick passed on to the next person. This creates an incredible understanding and synergy among the team. Every business would do well to
have a Talking Stick!

Covey then went on to the crux of his message which is the 8th Habit of becoming an island of excellence in a sea of mediocrity by finding ones voice and helping others to
find theirs. According to Covey, the main problem is that businesses are still trapped in the old paradigm of Industrial Age thinking even though were well into the Knowledge
Worker Age. Whats required is a new paradigm he calls the whole body paradigm of integrating body, mind, heart, and spirit which he respectively equates to the principles of
discipline, vision, passion, and conscience. The Industrial Age is still very much focused on the body (things, systems, structures, procedures, efficiency, bottom-line). But Covey
estimates that approximately 80 percent of all the value added to goods and services now comes from knowledge work versus things. Twenty years ago that number was the inverse: only 20 percent.

So the key is not behavior its the map. The key is the accuracy of the map. Once paradigm shifts the behavior will also shift. Covey clearly illustrated this point by
asking everyone to close their eyes and point North. When he asked us to open our eyes and look around, I noticed everyone was pointing in different directions! In a similar vein, the majority of organizations have their people pointing in different directions; sighting a recent Harris Poll, Covey states that only 37 percent of workers say they have
a clear understanding of what their organization is trying to achieve and why. No one knows where true North is. There is no moral compass, no conscience, no guiding spirit.

Part of the solution, according to Covey, is to have a transcendent goal, what he calls a WIG or Wildly Important Goal, that serves a greater purpose. Only once this goal
is clearly communicated to everyone in an organization can quantum improvements begin to happen in the workplace.

Here is my interview with Dr. Covey revealing his latest insights from his most recent book, The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness:

What sacrifices have you made to be where you are today?

I have worked very hard to dedicate my personal and professional life to principlecentered living. I am driven by a passion and conscience to spread understanding for
principles and how to apply them to reach greatness. To that extent, there is no sacrifice only a passionate, relentless commitment to my work, family, community and church to
make a lasting difference.

What in your opinion is the most important attribute of a leader and why?

I believe the most important attribute for a leader is being principle-centered. Centering on principles that are universal and timeless provides a foundation and compass to guide
every decision and every act. Ive based my lifes work on promoting principles and teaching the power that resides in principle-centered leadership. Principles are not my
invention; they are self-evident and are found throughout the world. If you look at all enduring philosophies, religions and thoughts, you will find principles such as integrity,
compassion, trust, honesty, Adaptive Leadership and others at their core. I simply translated these principles into a framework of habits, which when followed with consistency and frequency transforms ones character and allows one to earn the moral authority necessary for enduring leadership.

I must also clarify the definition of leadership, which is sadly and narrowly defined as position, title, status or rank. This is formal authority and not necessarily leadership. Through years of study, teaching and working with people all over the world, from all walks of life, I have determined that leadership is: Communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly that they come to see it in themselves. It is the influence we have with others to help them discover their own voice, to find their own purpose, to make their unique contribution, and to release their potential, that truly
defines leadership. Thus, leadership extends to the many personal and professional roles we play as workers, parents, children, teachers, students, swamis, you name it and the
choice we make to live by principles to help others find their voice.

In your book, 8th Habit, you talk about finding ones voice and developing ones unique personal significance. How does one begin doing that?

To achieve greater heights each person must be challenged to find their voice their unique personal significance and purposeful meaning and help others to find theirs.
Voice lies at the nexus of talent, passion, need and conscience. When anyone engages in work that taps into their talent and fuels their passion that rises out of a great need in the world that they feel drawn by conscience to meet therein lies their voice in life. The 8th Habit is all about how to find your voice and help others to find theirs.

What leader do you really admire and why?

One immediate leader who comes to mind is Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank. His story is one that illustrates the path to finding ones voice and helping others find theirs. Muhammad saw a need, felt his conscience move him to try and fill that need and applied his talents and passion to fill it. In the process, he found his voice and helped others to find theirs.

Muhammad wanted to help his impoverished fellow citizens in Bangladesh. He met a woman who made bamboo stools only to make two U.S. pennies each day. He inquired about her work and found that the woman had no money to buy the necessary bamboo, so she was forced to borrow money from a trader on condition that she sell him her finished product at a price he dictated. This poor woman in essence was held hostage by this trader.

This woman was not alone, there was an entire village of 42 hard working people working in unbearable circumstances and Muhammad calculated that it only required $27 U.S. dollars to help them out. He immediately gave the money to the people and told them it was a loan to be re-paid when they were able.

Muhammad even went further to ask the local bank to loan these villagers additional money and offered himself as a guarantor. Much to the skepticism and surprise of the bankers, the villagers paid every penny back on several loans.

Muhammad eventually expanded this loan program by creating his own microcredit lending institution called the Grameen Bank, so he could help numerous villages.

Grameen Bank now works with more than 46,000 villages giving micro-loans, lending approximately half a billion dollars a year to empower the poor (96% of whom are women) to produce and sell their goods and build housing. So far, the bank has assisted 3.7 million people. The micro-credit movement has now spread throughout the world.

What advice would you give youth who will become future leaders of tomorrow?

In my 8th Habit book I share the idea that everyone chooses one of two roads in life, whether youre older or younger, man or woman, rich or poor. The most traveled road is the one that takes us to mediocrity and the other less traveled road takes us to greatness and meaning. The first road limits us and prevents us from realizing our full potential. This road is often the quick-fix or short-cut approach to life. It often lures us to it when we dont take accountability for ourselves or see ourselves as victims. My advice to the youth is to avoid the road of mediocrity. Its probably hard for them to see into the longterm, but if they will try to see themselves as human beings with vast potential, and see that next to life itself their greatest gift is choice they can choose their responses to whatever comes to them in life, and take responsibility for their choices, their behaviors, their feelings and choose to create their future.

My son, Sean, wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens to help [young people] become their best selves. He speaks wonderfully to the youth (much better than I), and I would recommend his book to anyone wanting to start good habits at a young age.

Sharif Khan (http://www.herosoul.com; sharif@herosoul.com) is a professional speaker, freelance writer, coach, and author of Psychology of the Hero Soul, an inspirational book on awakening the hero within and developing peoples leadership potential. To contact Sharif directly, call: (416) 417-1259.

Copyright 2005 by Sharif Khan

Trust - A Leader's And Networker's Currency

Trust is leader's and a networker's bankroll. With trust, he or she is solvent, without it, he or she is bankrupt.

A trusted networker, like a trusted leader, has a thick bankroll of crisp bills. Every time you act inconsistently with your professed values, or break a promise, you must spend some of those crisp bills - when the bankroll is gone, so is the trust that others have in you. At this point, your personal appeals or persuasive arguments cannot buy back that trust. Once lost, trust, and the personal credibility it took Strong Leadership Qualities gain it, may take years to regain.

Trust & Credibility

Trust is much more than credibility. Credibility is a necessary precursor to trust - before someone will place their trust in you, University Leadership Conference have to believe in you. Trust is when a person places something of value to them into your care an stewardship because they believe that you will take good care and, usually, return to them something of greater value.

As a leader, the 'something' may be as obviously important as life - a military leader for example. It may be time or skills or an idea for a business leader. Whatever the situation, we place our trust in the leader. In turn, the leader trust you to deliver on your promise. The relationship is established beforehand, the leader's credibility has been established and the result of this 'transaction' may reinforce or destroy trust.

In networking, the same rules apply. You might offer to introduce someone to a business opportunity. As the initiator, you must trust the person to be capable or risk your personal credibility and the trust your opportunity has in you. The individual you are introducing will also trust that you will genuinely do as you say and that it is a legitimate opportunity. Trust is a two-way street.

Establishing Trust.

1. Be honest and open The top leadership attribute of most admired leaders in Kouzes and Posner's comprehensive survey is honesty. This isn't just about telling the truth, it is also 'doing what you say you will do'. And, it's worth noting that honesty does not always imply that the truth is to your own liking nor the action something with which you agree.

Some networkers though fall into the 'marketing trap' - embellishing aspects of their business or person to such a degree that their honesty could quickly become suspect. It's all very well having a fabulous 30 second 'elevator pitch' designed to intrigue and excite others though if it is too far removed from honesty, you may soon be dealing out some of those crisp bills from your bankroll.

Trusted leaders are open and transparent - particularly in this post-Enron world. The suspicion surrounding UK politicians currently has a lot less to do with their actual expense claims and a lot more to do with questions about why such claims should be so secretive. Openness also means being open to question. Your elevator pitch should (according to those far more expert in this) invite questions - your answers to those being a robust defense citing evidence that supports your pitch. Can you defend your elevator pitch?

2. Don't hide bad news Northern Rock has suffered a major fallout, in part because the leaders hid the bad news (or the potential for bad news), possibly even from themselves. As the bad news leaked out, savers who had entrusted their money queued to withdraw it immediately. To regain some trust, the UK Government had to spend rather more than a few crisp bills from its bankroll.

Advertising of financial or pharmaceutical products now carry a warning of the potential downside or side effects (albeit in tiny print or spoken at a rate few amphetamine addicts would understand). Should our elevator pitch contain such caveats? It would be honest.

3. Don't over promise Making promises you cannot keep? Why do politicians rate as the most untrustworthy of people? They promise the world and seldom deliver.

It's a trap that many parents fall into. Talking to their kids about the exciting places they're going to go and the fun they are going to have. From pimples - "you'll grow out of it" to exhortions to study - "you'll be able to do whatever you like when you graduate with honours".

Networkers are prone to over promise - it's considered perhaps an embellishment, a slight exaggeration or, the catch-all, marketing.

4. Walking the talk

Doing what you say you will do is probably the most critical component of trust. If any of the three points above are in doubt, there is little chance that you will be able to walk the talk.

How many times have you been to a networking event that ends in warm handshakes and empty commitments? When you say that you will introduce a friend to a contact, do it. If you say that you'll pass on their contact information, do that. If you say that you'll turn their business around and they will make 2 grand a month with just 4 hours work a week... Diligent follow-through sets you apart from the crowd and communicates trust.

Your trust bankroll is being spent every-time you: speak falsehoods (however small); hide bad news (even the potential of the downside); over-promise or; under deliver.

How to rebuild trust.

Even the greatest leaders can suffer a loss of trust. This may be the result of error in judgment or a mistake. Or circumstances may conspire against the leader (a favourite of politicians and ex-Northern Rock senior management).

Networkers are also prone to losing trust - perhaps the result of adverse market conditions or the failure of a supplier or partner. A respected and trusted networker can lose years of building trusted relationships through introducing a connection who failed to deliver on their promise. So how do we rebuild damaged trust?

Acknowledge the mistakes. When decisions turn out unexpectedly, the leader owes his followers an explanation. Inflated egos can make a leader quick to assign blame or make excuses, but a mistake unacknowledged is compounded.

A straightforward acknowledgment of the mistake should be the front end and made voluntarily. One forced (because I got caught) does nothing to re-establish trust. "I forgot to call" may not be something a networker likes to admit, but it's more honest than making up a convoluted story of deceit that tries to shift responsibility elsewhere.

Apologize. Admitting that you are fallible, that what you did was wrong, that you made a mistake is an important step to accepting responsibility. Knowing that you made an error is one thing, admitting it to others, though painful, allows you (and often them helping you) to put the incident behind you and take action to avoid making the same mistake in the future.

Make amends. Find a way to make amends with people you have wronged. If you have harmed, make restitution. People often forget that undelivered promises frequently have cost the other party. If, for example, you agree to meet someone at 2pm, and turn up at 2.30 - you've just cost someone 30 minutes. Next time who will turn up and when?

You may not be required to do so, and it may be that circumstances conspired against you, and it may be that it really truly wasn't your fault - but accepting ownership and taking responsibility goes a long way to thickening that bankroll of trust.

Trust is the bedrock of the bond between leader and follower, the bond that makes a network work. As a leader and as a networker, trust will make or break your success in any industry or circumstance.

Copyright (c) 2008 John Kenworthy

Visit us at GAINMORE Leadership now and find powerful leadership development.

Canada's military leadership in Kandahar will inevitably come to an end with a massive influx of American troops into the southern Afghanistan province, the Canadian army commander said Tuesday.

How To Be A True Leader

True leaders are mentors with Super Leadership servant's heart. These are not
just pretty words to fill out space. If you are NOT a true
servant with a true passion for helping people you will not be a
true leader in the real sense of the word. It is that simple.
You may be doing well Effective Leader Quality Educational Leadership Articles a list of people listening to
your advices, but that alone does not make you a leader. People
are not numbers you can just add on your email list, downline or
your company. They are people with dreams and goals like you.
As a true leader, it should be your goal to lead people to where
they want to be.

Being a leader, is not something you have to be born with. You
can develop the qualities of a leader by being a good follower.
True leaders, however, are not average people, they must be
above average. I mean by this, that if you are an everyday
average person, you are most likely a follower, not a leader.
Once you become a leader, your thoughts, actions, and
achievements will be above average, because you will be reacting
differently than the average person.

What are the requirements to be a true leader?

A true leader must have personal confidence, knowledge in his or
her field and compassion for people. Personal confidence is
acquired through knowledge, personal development and practice of
the control of the mind. Knowledge is acquired through research,
reading, study and practice. Compassion for others is a
spiritual quality developed by the conscious mind.

A true leader must be free of selfish desire, doubts, lack of
knowledge, and lack of practice of his or her expertise.

True leaders have a desire to take others to the top with them,
and are not afraid of competition. They are not struck with
jalousie and panic when some of their followers become leaders
themselves. If you are a true leader, you should encourage your followers to
become leaders themselves. That is what a true leader is all
about.

Maybe it took a true leader for you to be where you are now, or
maybe you have not met one yet. If you have not met a true leader to lead you to leadership yet,
you are at the right place at the right time.

Sylviane Nuccio is a leader and a writer With the Certified MasterMind Consultants team of Ted Ciuba, Andrew Cocks and Terry Zambri. To claim your FREE access and learn how you can earn thousands of dollars giving away FREE New Think And Grow Rich MasterMind visit http://sylvianenuccio.com Today!

The General Assembly should enact a law as quickly as possible calling for a special election to fill the Senate vacancy of Barack Obama. No appointment by this governor could produce a credible replacement.

The Most Important Leadership Tool - Great Leaders Use It, Exceptional Leaders Master It

As leaders, you're always doing something. You move from one activity Leadership Alliance task to the next - as you lead, motivate, negotiate, network, and sell.

But before you really do any of the above actions - especially if you want to have Leadership Training successful outcome - you must give some thought to those actions. You must think and plan. How successful you will you motivate your team, develop business, or network at events, will depend on your planning beforehand.

When your thinking is sharp, you're more likely to be at peak performance -- and your team and organization benefit. When your thinking is stuck, possibilities look dim. You and everyone around you must spend precious time and energy getting through it. Therefore, it is critical for you to maintain clarity in your thinking.

But with so much going on, even the most masterful thinkers amongst us have bad days. When you're drained, longing for that vacation, frustrated and impatient, you've entered the "dead zone" -- an uncomfortable place where productivity is low. You'll do just about anything to get out of this challenging place.

Thinking is a valuable leadership competency. It is one the key leadership competencies in my coaching model. Without focused thinking our actions could often be wasted efforts. Becoming aware your thinking to realize if its working for you or against you will help you become a more productive and effective leader. It is critical to your success.

Yet our thinking is typically taken for granted - like the air we breathe. Thinking, like breathing, comes naturally - it just happens. But when you're on the doctor's examination table with a stethoscope on your back, you're suddenly focused on your breathing. You're conscious of it. In this newsletter, I am going to focus you on your thinking - how to become aware of it and how to create it to work more effectively for you.

To move back into a zone of clarity, confidence, and productivity, check-in on your thinking. Listen to your internal thoughts. Are they positive or negative? Don't just listen for a few moments. Take a whole day. You can do it while you work. Notice your thoughts. Perhaps write them down. Do you detect a pattern in them?

Then follow these four time-tested quick leadership tips I use with my clients. With practice these tips will blast you from a negative thinking rut back to your center of positive personal power.

Tip #1: Reclaim Clarity in 2 Minutes

When you're running from one appointment to another, it's hard to remember to take the time to do a check up on the state of your mind.

Tool: A very important tool that won't cost anything and can be done just about anywhere is to bring yourself back to the present moment. Stop what you're doing, even for a few seconds. Get out of your head. Be here now. Quiet your mind - meditate, stop your thinking. When your mind is quieted, you will feel more relaxed. This will allow you to get back to your powerful center - the place where anything is possible.

Remember as a kid, when grown-ups would give a "time out". You were made to go be by yourself and think about what you did. Quieting your mind is similar. It's a time out. But instead of thinking about what you did, you're focused on thinking about nothing, "no-thing."

Practice: If your time is limited, begin by quieting your mind for 60 seconds. Find a quiet spot. Sit in a chair. Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Concentrate on your breathe only. Any thoughts, no matter what they are, that come into your mind -- release. You can always pick them back up again later. As you practice quieting your mind, you'll begin to gain more clarity in your thinking for longer periods of time.

Tip #2: Manage Negativity

Negativity is an energy drain. Something you can't afford in your busy day of running a company or managing a team.

Tool: Become aware of negativity in your surroundings.

Practice: If negativity is externally based -- coming from others, you can choose to walk away from it. You can tell the other person that you're practicing positive thinking and this conversation interferes with it. When you do this, you give yourself a gift of internal peace. Perhaps the other person will get the message.

If negativity is internally based -- coming from you, stop it immediately. Negativity is like a weed in your garden. It multiplies exponentially. The simplest solution is to tell yourself, "Stop, I won't listen to this anymore."

As world-renowned author and my dear friend, Wayne Dyer says, "Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at will change."

Tip #3: The Blame Game

Blame is another way of saying I have no control. You throw your hands up in the air claiming you don't know why he/she/you did this. Blaming others creates victims. You're a leader, not a victim.

Tool: Be On the Look Out for Blame.

Practice: Instead of blaming, acknowledge a mistake was made. When you refuse to blame yourself or anyone, you gain back control. It is a powerful action. We're all human beings prone to making mistakes - sometimes the mistakes are huge. Blame won't grant you an opportunity to learn from the mistake. The beauty of a mistake is that as humans we can learn and grow from it.

Tip #4: Should-have's

I should have done it differently. He should have known better. Should-haves create guilt and doubt in us. They promote negative thinking. After a mistake, a poor decision or an action was taken, can you go back and do it differently? Not usually. Should-haves cloud your reality in the present moment because they live in the past. They bring down your energy level and chip away at your confidence and positive personal power.

Tool: Become aware of the should-haves.

Practice: Next time you hear yourself say, I should have...STOP. Remember, you can't go back in time, only forward. When you stop the should-haves, you'll remove the chains of guilt and blame.

Remember: Only after you acknowledge that you have this incredible tool called thinking, and recognize the power it has over you, can you then work with it, mold it, and shift it when it gets off course. With time and practice, you'll find that you get off course less often.

Happy Thinking!

Nanci Raphael is a powerhouse in the field of executive development and a consummate model for successful coaching results. Her intuitive insights, proven technology, and ability to connect with people transports personal power, limitless potential, and the production of significantly advanced results.

Nanci's robust experience and background gives way to her keen focus on impacting an organization's bottom line. As an executive coach for leaders who are responsible for driving business and accountable for results, she has combined her own experience as a successful entrepreneur, founder and CEO of companies, with the practice of coaching thousands of business leaders. Merge that with her knowledge and passion for executive growth and development, and you will quickly understand why she has been labeled a foremost authority in leadership development and executive coaching.

Nanci has created innovative technology for progressive programs involving intensive coaching integrated to quickly assess the barriers blocking potential and from there to partner in the undertaking of growth for the executive's performance. The basis of this theory is that unlocking human potential allows for individuals to reach results never produced before, therefore, assisting them to grow their businesses exponentially.

Nanci's coaching engagements have included public and private enterprises, Fortune 500 companies to entrepreneurial organizations, where she coaches: C-level executives, senior management, entrepreneurs, and newly hired and emerging leaders.

A nationally recognized leader and published author in leadership development, Nanci Raphael's articles appear in such publications as Wall Street Journal's Careerjournal.com and The Philadelphia Inquirer and she has been featured in The Philadelphia Business Journal, Woman's World Magazine, and Main Line Life. She is currently writing a book to be published next year on entrepreneurs and leadership.

106.7 KPOV, BENDS COMMUNITY RADIO STATION is looking for energetic volunteers to do everything from database entry to tending Booth at summer events. Contact: 541-322-0863 or info@kpov. org.AARP TAX-AIDE needs volunteers in Central Oregon to provide free basic services to seniors and low Leadership Organization residents. Free training will be provided in January. Contact: Doug King, 541-388-1772.