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CEDAR FALLS — Sean Covey was raised in a “seven habitshome.”

His father, Stephen Covey, spent years researching the habits ofeffective people and used his own family as guinea pigs, theyounger Covey said. Eventually, Stephen Covey penned “The 7 Habitsof Highly Effective People.” his son, who first read the book incollege, was not impressed.

“My first impression was it was really boring,” Sean Covey toldthe group that gathered at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing ArtsCenter Monday night for the launch of the Leader Valley initiative.But, over time, he began to see the wisdom in his father’s wordsand eventually Sean authored his own bestseller, “The 7 Habits ofHighly Effective Teens.”

Fourteen years ago principal Muriel Summers used the elderCovey’s findings to develop a program — later dubbed Leader in Me— that would turn her failing school around.

“I don’t know what it is like in Iowa, but in North Carolina themessage we are sending our children is their worth and value is ascore on a piece of paper,” Summers said. “We need to stop themadness. what you have seen tonight, the kindness and support, thecreativity, nothing on any test measures what we are seeing. These are life skills that our children are learning that will helpnavigate them through life.”

Steve Dust, president of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance,helped bring Leader in Me to the community about two years agoalong with Bob Justis, Alliance vice president for communitydevelopment. Schools in Waterloo and Cedar Falls have adopted theLeader in Me program, which helps develop life skills students needin order to thrive, according to theleaderinme.org. more schoolsare expected to come on board in the coming years.

Now, the organization, along with the Greater Cedar ValleyChamber, is launching Leader Valley to work with educators on moreinitiatives that will facilitate working partnerships amongbusinesses, educators, administrators and the community.

“This is an amazing group of students that will hopefully havean impact on the economic growth of the Cedar Valley,” Dustsaid.

Several local students shared their experiences with the Leaderin Me and even more helped entertain the crowd with their versionof the University of Northern Iowa’s Interlude Dance — the CedarValley Leaderlude.

Mallorie Sckerl, a North Cedar Elementary School graduate,explained that each piece of the dance corresponded with one of theseven habits outlined in Covey’s book.

Chris Sink, a senior at Columbus High School, said the school’sfootball team has followed the habits for several years.

“The Covey training has showed us what we had to do on and offthe field,” Sink said. He told the crowd about a young boy at afootball camp who told Sink he regularly watched the Sailors playand would specifically look for Sink on the field.

“I know that during the game, if I’m not proactive, butreactive, (the boy) will see that and do the same during hisgames,” Sink said, using the common language laid out in theleadership program to show the crowd how he lived the habits everyday.

Summers, who shared several of her own Leader in Me successstories, applauded the students and the community for theircommitment to the program.

“We need to remember tonight, because it is quite historic thata community can come together to celebrate its children andcelebrate its future,” Summers said.

As would be expected from the title there are 7 habits that the author believes will make people highly effective in many areas of their lives.

1) there is the need to be proactive and always take the initiative before decisions are made on your behalf. Be prepared to take responsibility for the decisions that you make

2) everyone should begin with the end in mind and by this he means be very sure about what you want to get out of live. Picture yourself in the place you want to be and it will be the first step of the journey to get there.

3) Make sure that you know what each week’s priorities are and that first things are always put first. Jobs should be carried out depending on their importance and now how urgent they are.

These three habits are the steps needed to move to independence from dependence.

4) Think win win and by this he means make sure that any solution found to a problem will be acceptable to everyone involved. this not only means that all groups will be happy and also there is the fact that respect and concern is being shown to all when professional development is carried out correctly..

5) Seek first to understand and then be understood. Basically of you seem to be genuinely interested in someone and will take the time to hear what they have to say then they will more than likely do the same for you. Problems are solved in a friendly and non confrontational way.

6) Synergize – working together will produce a lot more than individuals working independently. this way everyone feels they have contributed and they will continue to give their best.

7) Sharpen the Saw – do what it takes to make sure that you are always ready to hit the floor running.

Covey believes that if the abundance mentality is set it is more than likely that people will share and not stockpile and this can be intellectually as well as physically. more than one person can be a winner. in this way the success of others can be celebrated and not envied or feared.

The upward spiral is a term Covey uses to explain how initial improvement will lead to further improvement. Whatever happens will have an impact on future decisions and the upward spiral is made up of the principles – learn, commit and do. Covey believes that education must be ongoing.

The area’s first Catholic youth rally sounded more like a mass football drill than a faith outreach, with young people screaming and slapping their knees in unison.

“No practice,” shouted Mike Patin, the nationally acclaimed youth speaker, to his young audience as they tried to keep up with his drills. It was as if to say they need not fear a youth rally steeped in doctrine, but they would see their faith in a fresh, new way.

“We hope everyone leaves here tonight — parents and students like — recommitted to being people of faith,” said the Rev. Robert M. Egan, C.S.V., president.

Teens came from Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Mount Prospect, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Elk Grove Village, Des Plaines and Niles. Nearly 400 in all attended the event held at the end of September at Saint Viator High School in Arlington Heights.

Saint Viator’s Praise Project band, led by senior percussionist D.J. Horstmann of Hoffman Estates, opened the rally with contemporary music.

Patin is a trained facilitator for Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and a winner of the National Catholic Youth Ministry Award, having addressed young audiences across the country and around the world.

Yet, it was his experience as an athlete and a college basketball coach that set the tone for his upbeat, rapid-fire delivery aimed around a message that worked to “affirm, challenge and encourage.”

“He spoke our language,” said junior Tim Ackerlund of Schaumburg.

Senior Lauren Falotico of Arlington Heights agreed, adding that Patin made his point with humorous stories that kept everyone laughing and engaged, even after they left the auditorium.

“He encouraged us to fit God into our lives.” Falotico added. “No matter how stressed out we get, God’s always there for us.”

Members of Saint Viator’s Campus Ministry department were thrilled with the first-time event, particularly with the number of their students who came back to hear Patin, after experiencing him first hand during an all-school assembly.

“Fr. Egan has always said that our students are our best ambassadors, and I couldn’t agree more,” said Tim Masterton, campus minister. “Having more than 50 Saint Viator students here to welcome our guests and lead us in song and prayer speaks volumes about their faith and convictions.”

Let me start with a little re cap. The 7 Habits, written by Stephen Covey provide the core of a principle centred life. it will guide us through three parts, each as challenging and rewarding as the other. The first part is all about Paradigms and Principles which can potentially change the entire way you think.

Parts two and three concern themselves with the concepts of Personal and Public Victories.

The Public victories come in the form of the first 3 chapters entitled.

- be Proactive
- begin With The End In Mind
- put first things First

The following chapters will arm us for the challenges with Public victories.

- Think Win/Win
- Seek first To Understand, then to be Understood
- Synergize
- Sharpen the Saw

Having looked at the first 3 chapters in earlier posts, today is all about an a way of thinking that can totally change the way we communicate.

Think Win/Win

Our ability and desire to conquer this habit is a critical key to living The 7 Habits.

The journey up to this point has been about moving from a state of dependence into independence which will ultimately lead to interdependence.

It matters very little what your title is because the moment you move from independence into the realm of interdependence you have assumed the role of a leader.

As a leader you are now in a position to influence people. The golden key to effective leadership lies in your ability to think win/win.

There are 6 ways or paradigms that are prevalent in human interaction.

Win/win

This is the frame of mind that seeks mutual benefits. The result is satisfying to both parties and proves that there doesn’t always have to be a winner and a loser.

Win/lose

A way of thinking that has been drummed into many people since the very early years. Comparisons have been a part of life but does it have to be that way?

Lose/win

Getting sand kicked in one face is nothing new here. They are the seekers of popularity not wishing to express their own feelings in fear of rocking the boat.

Lose/lose

Determined, stubborn people who are ego driven individuals will often prefer that both sides lose if what they are wanting doesn’t look like eventuating.

Win

The most common of approaches whereby the only thing that matters is getting what they want. this is the win mentality that worries little about the looser.

Win/win or no deal

If there is no solution to be found with both parties gaining a mutual benefit, the call is for a no deal. It’s possibly the second best result you could hope for.

Personal characteristics and the way we are guided by our values will determine which of the categories consume our negotiations.

Whilst win/win thinking holds the key, it’s not always the way to go with so don’t panic.

There are a lot of realistic scenarios discussed where alternative interactions may yield the best results.

However, the principle of win/win is a fundamental necessity in our interactions.

The chapter flows through five critical areas of life that we need to be aware of when looking to follow the win/win abundance mentality.

1. Character
2. Relationships
3. Agreements
4. Systems
5. Process

Win/win is really only achievable when your personal levels of integrity, maturity and abundance mentality have established enough trust for mutual benefits to become a reality.

Whether they are of a personal nature or business, think about all the negotiations we enter into every day.There are plenty

How many of those situations could actually result in win/win if you wanted them too?

In his book the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Stephen Covey talks about the correct way to delegate to other people. If you do delegation well, you will achieve a tremendous increase in your ability to deliver. If you adopt the wrong approach you will end up fighting fires created by other people. Ignore the fundamentals of good delegation at your peril

The most powerful way to leverage your time is through delegation. as an individual you only have 24 hours in any day to create the results you want. By delegating responsibility for tasks to other people, you can increase the number of man hours you control in each day.

Delegation, particularly for people who are learning to manage other people is often one of the most difficult things to do right. If managed poorly, rather than creating more time you will end up spending more time solving crises created by other people or using their time ineffectively and inefficiently.

Stephen Covey identifies two main styles of delegating, to which I will add a third. In today’s sophisticated work environment, only one of these styles will produce the desired result of multiplying your effectiveness.

Gofer delegation

In this style of delegation you give the person detailed instructions for every task they have to perform including when and how to do the tasks. you end up telling them go for this, go for that. hence the name You’ve probably come across someone like this – the micro manager who wants to know everything you’re doing and control every aspect of your work.

This style of delegation works up to a point. the micro manager can manage several people all of whom can be performing specific tasks which if suitably co-ordinated can lead to a greater result than any one person on their own.

However there are several limitations to this approach. the micro- manager can only manage as much as he can control during the space of one working day. His team have little room to contribute their own ideas and creative inputs. If properly managed these inputs could deliver a far greater result.

This is often the first style of delegation people adopt as they start supervising others. It is a simple extension of their approach to managing themselves.

Delegation by Abdication

I think name tells you that this is not a good approach. This is often adopted by people who lack self confidence, who have had a bad experience with a micro-manager, or don’t have a clear plan for what they want to achieve.

It is often mistaken for true delegation by stewardship that we will discuss below, but it differs in a number of critical ways.

In this style the manager tells his team roughly what he wants done and then leaves them to get on with it. Sounds ok? well, there are plenty of potential problems:

The team members may not know what to do and may end up doing their own thing.

Unless the people being delegated to are used to working in teams with each other for a long period of time, there is little chance that the activities will be co-ordinated and produce coherent results.

There are no expectations of results so no-one knows where they are going. They’ll get somewhere sometime, but there’s no guarantee they will produce anything that is useful or that they will do it in a reasonable timescale.

Essentially, the person delegating has abdicated their responsibility.

Delegation by Stewardship

Delegation by Stewardship, as advocated in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People takes the best of the two methods you’ve read about so far and fixes their weaknesses. It does not dictate the methods – those are left to the person, but it does focus on delivering specific results.

This process starts with a clear vision of what is to be achieved at the end of the process. This can be a project goal or it can be a clear set of metrics that describe the output of a particular task.

The manager shares the vision with the person who is going to be doing the work and they jointly develop a plan and identify the gaps in the persons knowledge. If the person doing the work does not have much experience, the manager may have to do a lot of this on their behalf.

The next step is to set up the ground rules for the work – when it has to be done, how you want progress to be reported, important things that should be avoided, any problems that you can foresee, what resources are available.

Finally the person should be given clear performance standards that have to be achieved and the consequences of both good and bad performance should be explained.

As the person carries out the work, you will encourage them to report progress and problems and also to ask for help where they need it. however, you will give them the latitude to carry out the task within the guidelines, provided that they meet the agreed objectives.

Stephen Covey advocates the method of delegation by stewardship in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This method empowers members of your team to achieve outstanding results while at the same time ensuring that they stay focussed on the big picture. It enables you to maximise the leverage that you can achieve from delegating to other people.