The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey is an incredible book and I enjoyed reading it several years ago. When this assignment was presented I thought that I may have a slight advantage as I knew what the Seven Habits Profile was about. The profile is segmented into categories that assist a person in identifying what they do outstanding in and what they need to improve on. In general term’s I felt like I did well as I have applied the practices of self-improvement and leadership books over the past 10 years. As with anyone I could use a refresher and a nudge in the right direction every now and then. I will discuss the different categories and my results of the profile.
Category three is being proactive and conscious …show more content…
I scored myself as a 16 in this category. As I just mentioned it was not easy doing any of those things that I dealt with the last few years but with determination and being proactive on my thoughts and how I managed my emotions, led me to successfully completing everything that stood in my way. Far too often my wife and I were asked “how do you do handle everything at once and how are you managing all of the tasks at hand.” My response was simple. You just do it with the end in mind. Yes, it was very difficult and often very trying on our mind and body. Yes, most nights we slept five hours or less. Yes, there were many times that I didn’t know if we could succeed but through all the trying times we always knew that the end would be incredible and worth it. Having the end in mind is critical to success and without it those challenging times will stop a person from achieving their goals. Even now people ask why I would be perusing my Masters of Business Administration so soon after graduating with my Bachelors. My answer is simple. I see where I can be if I do it now and work on providing a better living and life for my family. I can see where I will be when I graduate and this is more important than the sacrifices that will need to be made to achieve my goal. Transformational leaders have this same vision as they can see what it could be if they can complete their transformation. Without a strong commitment to the vision of where …show more content…
I scored relatively low in this category in comparison to the others. There were two questions that I scored low on. Each of those were associated with not letting daily activities get in the way of what is truly important. My interpretation was when I let work get in the way of what is truly important to me which is my family. My family does come first to me, however on the same note I must make a living for them and do so in a way that would provide opportunities that they would not otherwise have. There are times when I place my duties at work above the needs of my family and this is something I am not proud of. I have evening conference calls that must occur in the evening because I work for a global company and that is the only time those on the call are awake at the same time. I would associate this category and my less than stellar result to being a transactional leader. Transactional leaders often stress the impersonal aspects of performance, such as plans, schedules, and budgets (Daft 2014). I do often look at these activities outside of business hours as a way to keep schedules and allow the plans to move forward. There is only so much that can be communicated by email and I do sacrifice some of my evenings to keep everything moving
Category three is being proactive and conscious …show more content…
I scored myself as a 16 in this category. As I just mentioned it was not easy doing any of those things that I dealt with the last few years but with determination and being proactive on my thoughts and how I managed my emotions, led me to successfully completing everything that stood in my way. Far too often my wife and I were asked “how do you do handle everything at once and how are you managing all of the tasks at hand.” My response was simple. You just do it with the end in mind. Yes, it was very difficult and often very trying on our mind and body. Yes, most nights we slept five hours or less. Yes, there were many times that I didn’t know if we could succeed but through all the trying times we always knew that the end would be incredible and worth it. Having the end in mind is critical to success and without it those challenging times will stop a person from achieving their goals. Even now people ask why I would be perusing my Masters of Business Administration so soon after graduating with my Bachelors. My answer is simple. I see where I can be if I do it now and work on providing a better living and life for my family. I can see where I will be when I graduate and this is more important than the sacrifices that will need to be made to achieve my goal. Transformational leaders have this same vision as they can see what it could be if they can complete their transformation. Without a strong commitment to the vision of where …show more content…
I scored relatively low in this category in comparison to the others. There were two questions that I scored low on. Each of those were associated with not letting daily activities get in the way of what is truly important. My interpretation was when I let work get in the way of what is truly important to me which is my family. My family does come first to me, however on the same note I must make a living for them and do so in a way that would provide opportunities that they would not otherwise have. There are times when I place my duties at work above the needs of my family and this is something I am not proud of. I have evening conference calls that must occur in the evening because I work for a global company and that is the only time those on the call are awake at the same time. I would associate this category and my less than stellar result to being a transactional leader. Transactional leaders often stress the impersonal aspects of performance, such as plans, schedules, and budgets (Daft 2014). I do often look at these activities outside of business hours as a way to keep schedules and allow the plans to move forward. There is only so much that can be communicated by email and I do sacrifice some of my evenings to keep everything moving