The Seven Habits Profile indicates the level of competence in each of the areas of Stephen Covey’s model of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey writes that “Our character, basically, is a composite of our habits.” (Covey, 1989, 2004) Habits can be conscious or unconscious patterns of thought or actions. Covey defines a habit as the intersection of three things: knowledge (what to do), skill (how to do it) and desire (want to do). Through years of research, he identified three markers on the maturity continuum to achieving effectiveness – dependence, independence and interdependence. The first three habits (reflected in the profile in categories 3-5) focus on character development and self-mastery. The next three (categories …show more content…
My score in this area was outstanding; I was not surprised by this. I make a conscious effort to spend my energy on things that are within my sphere of influence rather than to worry about the many items that are in the wider circle of concern which I have no ability to change. This practice has been very helpful to me as a leader especially when faced with a challenge. Last summer, I was on a global task team to develop leadership training for our company in anticipation of a new Vice President of Talent Development coming on board. We were under a lot of pressure and asked to begin the process in parallel with him joining the company. Unfortunately he decided to leave our company on his second day. When our Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) told us the very disappointing news on a conference call, the whole group began a discussion of how horrible the news was and that we had no chance to meet our objectives without a functional leader. I explained to the group and our CHRO how we had done quite a bit of research, had the right players on the team and that I felt we were well prepared to move forward while they continued a search for a new V.P. The team rallied and we not only were able to continue our project, we delivered before they announced a successor. The CHRO sent me (cc’d my manager) an email thanking me for my leadership and the positive example I set for the