The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

by | Jun 4, 2023 | General, Personal development | 0 comments

Many years ago, before COVID-19 turned me into a hermit, I met with a CEO to discuss his recruitment needs.

I had planned a 45-minute conversation to elicit the competency requirements for the job roles.

After discussing the broad job description, I enquired about behavioural competencies. That was when he said, ‘let them be proactive, that’s all.’ And, the meeting ended abruptly in 5 minutes.

I remember pausing to think about it. I mean, having designed a number of competency frameworks, I was very familiar with proactivity as a competence, but I just hadn’t thought it was that important.

Then I thought about what it meant to be a proactive person. Proactivity was about being responsible and taking initiative. I imagined myself being that person that colleagues regarded as a responsible team member. I imagined working with a colleague that was proactive or managing a team of people who were proactive. It made sense.

Yes, there are other good qualities that effective people possess, but I could clearly see how beneficial a proactive person would be to any team. They would make work easy… or at least easier.

It would be a few years later, while preparing for a client team building session, I dug into the Steven Covey,’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and interestingly, being proactive was number 1.

The 7 habits serve as a reminder on the things we must do consistently to achieve results in our lives. In summary, they are:

1. Be proactive: This is about being responsible, taking initiative and thinking ahead. It’s doing one’s tasks without waiting for instructions or reminders.

2. Begin with the end in mind: Simply means, starting with a vision of the results you want. This is the foundation for setting action plans to work towards goals.

3. First things first: Prioritise your tasks based on importance and urgency. Everything isn’t priority. Some activities should be done now, some planned, others delegated and some eliminated.

4. Think win-win: In relationships, respect and value the needs of others and focus on mutually beneficial solutions. Sustainable relationships are win-win. No one wants to stay with someone who constantly offers the shorter end of the stick.

5. Seek first to understand, then be understood: Be empathetic to others, put yourself in other people’s shoes. At work, seek to understand the perspective of colleagues, most especially your boss. Seek to understand them, rather than focussing on being understood.

6. Synergise: Not many things of significance in life are achieved alone. Business is a team sport. Together, everyone achieves more.

7. Sharpen the saw: Invest in continuous learning to sustain growth and progress in life. Aim to develop physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Keep evolving. Once learning stops, you are dead.

Which habit is your favourite and why?
What has worked for you?

Your thoughts?

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