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Summarize three of Covey’s habits in your own words and give examples of how these habits would apply to project management. Document your ideas in a short paper, and include at least two references
Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change,
Project managers can apply Covey’s seven habits to improve effectiveness on projects, as follows:
Be proactive. Covey, like Maslow, believes that people have the ability to be proactive and choose their responses to different situations. Project managers must be proactive in anticipating and planning for problems and inevitable changes on projects. They can also encourage their team members to be proactive in working on their project activities.
Begin with the end in mind. Covey suggests that people focus on their values, what they want to accomplish, and how they want to be remembered in their lives. He suggests writing a mission statement to help achieve this habit. Many organizations and projects have mission statements that help them focus on their main purpose.
Put first things first. Covey developed a time management system and matrix to help people prioritize their time. He suggests that most people need to spend more time doing things that are important, but not urgent. Such activities include planning, reading, and exercising. Project managers need to spend a lot of time working on important but not urgent activities, such as developing various project plans, building relationships with major project stakeholders, and mentoring project team members. They also need to avoid focusing only on important and urgent activities—putting out fires.
Think win/win. Covey presents several paradigms of interdependence; think win/win is the best choice in most situations. When you use a win/win paradigm, parties in potential conflict work together to develop new solutions that benefit all parties. Project managers should strive to use a win/win approach in making decisions, but in competitive situations they sometimes must use a win/lose paradigm.
Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Empathic listening is listening with the intent to understand. It is more powerful than active listening because you set aside your personal interests and focus on truly understanding the other person. When you practice empathic listening, you can begin two-way communication. This habit is critical for project managers so they can understand their stakeholders’ needs and expectations.
Synergize. A project team can synergize by creating collaborative products that are much better than a collection of individual efforts. Covey also emphasizes the importance of valuing differences in others to achieve synergy. Synergy is essential to many highly technical projects; in fact, several major breakthroughs in IT occurred because of synergy. For example, in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Soul of a New Machine, Tracy Kidder documented the synergistic efforts of a team of Data General researchers to create a new 32-bit superminicomputer during the 1970s.
Sharpen the saw. When you practice sharpening the saw, you take time to renew yourself physically, spiritually, mentally, and socially. The practice of self-renewal helps people avoid burnout. Project managers must make sure that they and their project teams have time to retrain, reenergize, and occasionally even relax to avoid burnout. A simple technique like encouraging people to stand up and walk around for a brief time every hour can improve physical health and mental performance.
2. Research different tools for assessing leadership styles. Summarize at least three tools and the styles they mention. Do you believe that it’s best for leaders to use different styles in different situations? Why or why not?
