Stephen Covey’s ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’

A look at author Stephen Covey’s “habits” through the prism of seven successful leaders.

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The seven habits

Washington Post leadership blogger Jena McGregor walks through Stephen Covey's famous work "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," using real-world leaders as illustrations.

Ric Feld / Associated Press

1. Be proactive

Covey's first habit is one you could apply to almost any successful leader. But the people who practice it have also been explained as those who "recognize that they are 'response-able.' " Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was one of those leaders. In an interview with Katie Couric during the waning days of his tenure, he said the most difficult thing about his job was that "everything that I've wanted to do to try and help the men and women in the field I've had to do outside the normal Pentagon bureaucracy."

Tech Sgt Jerry Morrison / AP

2. Begin with the end in mind

Covey's second habit "is based on imagination," his Web site says, "or the ability to envision in your mind what you cannot at present see with your eyes." Steve Jobs' ability to imagine great, world-changing products — and then see every detail through to the end — made him one of the world’s most effective innovators.

Paul Sakuma / AP

3. Put first things first

The third habit reminds leaders that "to live a more balanced existence, you have to recognize that not doing everything that comes along is okay." It's about not only time management, but life management and setting priorities about the day to day and the long term. Sheryl Sandberg may have helped bring bottom-line focus to Facebook's "hacker way," but she's also unafraid to say that she leaves the office each day at 5:30 p.m.

Spencer Platt / GETTY IMAGES

4. Think win-win

The phrase "win-win" may be ubiquitous today, but its likely popularity came from Covey's fourth habit, which "means agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial and satisfying." Most skilled negotiators and successful diplomats are good practitioners of the "win-win" habit, the most recent of whom is Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. As Susan Glasser, the editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy who wrote the definitive recent profile of Clinton, told NPR, the message she sends is that "not only is America back in the world, but we're willing to be partners. This is not unilateral cowboy diplomacy anymore."

Oded Balilty / Associated Press

5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood

Covey's fifth habit encourages good listening, which requires the intent to understand, not just respond. Former Procter & Gamble chief executive A.G. Lafley turned the consumer products giant into a listening machine, observing customers in their homes, championing the design process and bringing in external ideas to help make more consumer-focused products.

Al Behrman / AP

6. Synergize

Covey may have called the sixth habit "synergize," but he could have just said effective people are good at bringing together groups of people and celebrating their diverse ideas. Whatever one may think of Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, he's been able to build winning teams of all-stars at both the college and Olympic level, no matter what egos are involved.

Mike Segar / Reuters

7. Sharpen the saw

The final thing highly effective people do, Covey says, is to preserve and enhance "the greatest asset you have — you" and find ways "for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual." In other words, they're well-rounded, balanced leaders. The manager of the world's biggest bond fund, PIMCO's Bill Gross, regularly finds ways to disconnect from communication and practices yoga on a daily basis. ("Some of my best ideas literally come from standing on my head," he told Fortune in 2006.)

Tim Boyle / Bloomberg

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