By Angela Rose
Stephen R. Covey?s seven habits may make you effective, but he thinks his eighth will make you great.
Covey, author of ?7 Habits of Highly Effective People,? discussed ?The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness,? at the 10th annual BYU Management Conference Friday.
?If we affirm people?s worth and potential, they will come to see it in themselves,? Covey said. ?Help them find their voice.?
Covey said the way to greatness is to ?find your voice and inspire others to find theirs.?
His definition of voice is a unique strength or talent. The way to accomplish this is to determine a clear goal, teach doctrine over behavior, take action and listen, Covey said.
?So often we are unclear what our goals actually are,? Covey said. ?We need to be clear on goals. Imagine what can be accomplished when everyone knows what to do.?
Covey explained that people need to have a clear goal in mind. When someone determines a goal and feels passionate about it, they will take action to accomplish their goal.
People should also seek to help others find and meet their goals, Covey said. The way to help people become better is to teach them doctrine, not behavior. People should not try to change others. Instead, they should support and love them, which will facilitate change.
?All behavior follows out of doctrine,? Covey said. ?The best way to improve your marriage is to make your partner happy, not better. If we could see the vision God has of us, we would rise up and live true to that vision.?
After determining a goal, people must take action. Covey gave some execution gaps: lack of clarity, lack of communication and lack of accountability. Action is necessary for growth.
People also need to listen. Covey explained that when people listen they find win-win situations. As a team they can accomplish more than they ever could have alone.
Covey also outlined the four needs people have: to live, to love, to learn and to leave a legacy. Each connects to the mind, spirit, body or heart. In addition to this, the way to lead a balanced, integrated, powerful life is to meet these four needs with vision, conscience, passion and discipline.
Covey closed with four challenges: rebuild one relationship you care a lot about, write a personal mission statement and start working on it, get anonymous feedback from people you live and work around and work out a win/win agreement with one other person.
?Stephen Covey changed the question from ?why me?, to ?what can I learn from this situation,?? said Ned Hill, dean of the BYU Marriott School.
