7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Being effective is learning to do 'that which produces the desired result'. If you want to be extremely successful in business or very happy in life or achieve some large goal, then being effective is consistently doing the things that will bring about the results you are after. Perhaps the best overall prescription for becoming effective is contained within Stephen Covey's best-selling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Published by Simon & Schuster, this book provides a useful, sequential framework for understanding much about the process of Personal Development. Covey does not claim to have invented the 7 habits, but rather to have discovered them and to have found a simple language for articulating them. In fact, he says that these basic principles of effectiveness may be found in all world religions; and it can be not ed that many highly successful people seem to have naturally developed them.

Habit 1 - Be Proactive
Be Proactive Begin With The End in Mind Understand Synergize Put First Things First Think Win-Win Sharpen The Saw The 8th Habit Seek First To

It is perhaps a great compliment to Stephen Covey that today, the substance of this first habit is deeply embedded into the management psyche. We are told, in business, that we should be proactive; and broadly what is meant by that is to focus our efforts and attention on the long-term and to think in terms of the long-term consequences of our actions. Covey contrasts being proactive or having a proactive mentality with being reactive. Reactive people, he says, are those who are resigned to the truth that whatever they do in the present can have no effect on their circumstances. And interestingly, for reactive people, it really is a truth, for whatever we believe in our heart affects our thoughts, words and actions. If we really believe that we can do nothing about our unreason able boss or the daily events in our lives, then we simply do not make the effort. Proactive people, on the other hand, simply will not accept that there is nothing that can be done about the unreasonable boss or the events of daily life - they will point out that there are always choices. It is by the decisions we make, our responses to people, events and circumstances that proactive people can and do affect the future. We may have no control over what life throws at us but we always have a choice about ho w we are to respond. Now this notion that having a particular attitude of mind (which is really where this habit begins) can make such a huge and positive difference to almost everything we experience in life is foreign to those who have already internalised the opposite habit as a part of their personalities. For some people, the glass is always half-empty and the feeling of melancholy is a pleasant reminder that something is indeed missing. For such people, this habit represents a bitter pill to swallow - but, says Covey, it is also completely liberating. When we are finally prepared to accept full responsibility for the effects that are manifest in our lives; when we have the strength of character to admit it when we make mistakes (even big ones); when we are completely free to exercise the options available to us in every situation; then it can be said that we have finally internalised this habit. The other six of the habits require that we first work on our basic character by becoming proactiveand thereby transforming ourselves into men and women of integrity.

Habit 2 - Begin with the End in Mind

Be Proactive Begin With The End in Mind Understand Synergize Put First Things First Think Win-Win Sharpen The Saw The 8th Habit Seek First To

Many people in the west identify with the frustration of success. Being successful at their chosen career and committed to its progress they come to realise that it does not, in the final analysis, bring any sense of real satisfaction. The reason for this ultimate dissatisfaction is that they did not begin with the end in mind. For many people, it is not just that they did not begin with the end in mind; it goes a bit deeper - they did not ever get around to defining the end itself and so they simply could not begin with the end in mind. So what does all this mean? The end represents the purpose of your life. Until you can say what that purpose is, with assurance, then you just cannot direct your life in the manner that would bring you the greatest satisfaction. There are no short-cuts here. To engage in this habit, you need to have a dream, define your own vision and get into the practice of setting goals which will allow you to make measurable progress toward the dream. If you practice a faith, then you will want to consider how this affects your purpose in life; if you do not, you wil l still need to get involved in deep self-examination to find out exactly what it is that will bring you fulfilment. To help you with this, you may wish to obtain my E -Book The Deepest Desire of Your Heart; available from this site. The book contains some excellent self-reflection exercises you can use to focus your mind on what is most important to you in life. Until you have defined your vision - the big dream to which you will be working - you will be unable to move on to habit 3 which provides a basic framework for you to re -align your efforts so that you will ultimately achieve your heart's desire.

Habit 3 - First Things First

Be Proactive Begin With The End in Mind Understand Synergize Put First Things First Think Win-Win Sharpen The Saw The 8th Habit Seek First To

Following the amazing popularity of his work on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,Stephen Covey published a second book that deals with the 7 Habits; and the title of that book is also First Things First. Both the book and this habit deal with subject of managing your time effectively. Consider the simple 2 x 2 matrix shown below. It plots the concepts of urgency andimportance against each other; and represents where you are spending your time. To really understand and apply this habit, you need to have first done habit 2 - that is, you should already have defined what is important to you. Without first doing this, habit 3 has no power because you simply cannot separate what is important from what is not important. This representation shows four categories of demand which may be made on your time. Quadrant 1 consists of activities which are both urgent and important - in other words, things to which you absolutely must attend. Why must you do these things? Because they are important - meaning that they contribute to your mission; and they are urgent meaning that they have some sort of deadline associated with them. Choices about where to invest your time really are made in the other categories; and most people - driven by the concept of urgency - get drawn into Quadrant 3; doing things that consume their time but do not contribute to their goals. Highly Effective People (yes they all fit together you see) understand that the high leverage activities are

all Quadrant 2 -important but not urgent. Planning, preparation, prevention, relationship-building, reading, improving your professional knowledge and exercise are all examples of Quadrant 2 activity - not an exhaustive list, by any means. We all intuitively know that Quadrant 2 activities are the key to getting results; but you need to have internalised the first two habits before you can benefit from the high leverage this habit brings. In other words, you first need to have developed the strength of character (proactivity) which allows you to be able to say no to demands on your time that fall into Quadrants 2 and 3; and you also need to have defined what importance means for you - otherwise the Quadrants do not exist. Put habits 1,2 and 3 together and you have the ultimate success formula. Stated simply - get your mind right; define what is important; then organise your life to maximise yourQuadrant 2 efforts. By spending appropriate time on Quadrant 2 activities, you will gain control over the circumstances of your life; Quadrant 1 will actually get smal ler because you will have anticipated and prepared for much Quadrant 1 activity. Concentrating on Quadrant 2 is absolutely fundamental to achieving success. You might like to take a look at the 4tm Spreadsheet, available from this site, which can help you to make this key adjustment in the use of your time.

Habit 4 - Think Win Win

Be Proactive Begin With The End in Mind Understand Synergize Put First Things First Think Win-Win Sharpen The Saw The 8th Habit Seek First To

The next of the 7 Habits is - Think Win-Win. This habit is again an attitude of mind. It concerns fostering an attitude that is committed to always finding solutions that will truly benefit both sides of a dispute. Solutions do not, of course, exist in themselves ; they must be created. And, even if we cannot see the solution to a particular problem, it does not mean that no such solution exists. The win -win idea is not based upon compromise that is where most disputes naturally end. But compromise is the result of not properly perceiving the possible synergy of the situation.

The more you practice this habit, the more committed you will become as you find solutions which truly do benefit both parties, where originally it looked as if no such agreement might be reached. Covey has amended the wording of this habit slightly in recent years to read: Think Win-Win or No Deal. This attitude works well because it liberates the individuals concerned from the effort of trying to persuade the opposite party to shift ground or compromise. The effort is instead spend on trying to understand, which is where habit 5 comes in - you see, they are also sequential.

Habit 5 - Seek First to Understand

then be Understood
Be Proactive Begin With The End in Mind Understand Synergize Put First Things First Think Win-Win Sharpen The Saw The 8th Habit Seek First To

The fifth habit is - Seek First to Understand. What most people do, naturally, when involved in some type of discussion, meeting or dialogue is exactly the reverse - they seek first to be understood. And, as Stephen Covey says, when both parties are trying to be understood, neither party is really listening; he calls such an interaction, 'the dialogue of the deaf'. This habit is an important key to inter -personal relationships and it seems to be almost magical in its ability to transform the course of discussions. Why? Because by making the investment of time and effort required to understand the other party, the dynamics of the interchange are subtly affected. This habit is not just about letting the other person speak first; it concerns actually making the effort to understand what is being said. It is about understanding that our natural habit of mind is to misunderstand. When we are engaged in conversation, error is always present.NLP tells us that we simply make our own meaning based on our own experiences and understanding of life; and frequently we make the wrong meaning. You might like to take a look at the answers given by school-children on history exams which illustrates this principle - we are no different! If however, we are prepared to invest the time and effort to really understand the other person's position; and to get into the habit of spending the first part of the discussion doing so; then, when it is felt by the other person that you do indeed unders tand, the dynamic changes. People become more open, more teachable, more interested in what you may have to say and with the mutual understanding that flows from this habit, you are ready to practice habit 6; which concerns finding creative solutions.

Habit 6 - Synergize (Synergise)

Be Proactive Begin With The End in Mind Understand Synergize Put First Things First Think Win-Win Sharpen The Saw The 8th Habit Seek First To

The sixth of the habits is - Synergize. This habit involves you putting your head together with the other party or parties in order to creatively brainstorm a synergistic solution to aproblem i.e. to find a solution which contains win-win benefits. It can only be done successfully if you have first practiced habits 4 and 5. The well-known definition of synergy is as follows: Synergy - When the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Finding a synergistic solution means finding a solution which is better than either party might first propose. Such a solution can only be found if both parties truly understand the other parties position - the fruit of habits 4 and 5. There have been many books

written on successful brainstorming techniques; my own favourite techniques are those proposed byEdward DeBono - professor of thinking and perhaps most famous fo r Lateral Thinking. Putting habit 4, 5 and 6 together, you have a perfect model for human interaction. Put simply: first be mentally committed to the idea that a solution that will benefit all parties may be constructed; next invest the necessary time and effort to really understand the other party and do that first; finally creatively brainstorm a synergistic solution - a natural product of mutual understanding and respect.

Habit 7 - Sharpen the Saw

Be Proactive Begin With The End in Mind Understand Synergize Put First Things First Think Win-Win Sharpen The Saw The 8th Habit Seek First To

The last habit of the 7 Habits is - Sharpen the Saw. In this habit, you are the saw; and toSharpen the Saw is to become better, keener and more effective. Highly Effective Peoplealways take time to Sharpen the Saw. What is meant by Sharpening the Saw is to regularly engage in the exercise of the three dimensions which make up the human condition: body, mind and spiri t. Covey also adds a fourth dimension - the interpersonal.

Spiritual Exercise
Let us begin by considering Spiritual Exercise - this is the area which is perhaps the most misunderstood. I believe that, in the west, we have become spiritually blind. The progress of our science, education and technology has lead us to construct a view of the world and the universe that excludes the agency of God. Freud famously said that it was man that made God 'in the image of his father'. It is, of course, a very clever statement and not one I wish to here challenge - whether this statement or the reverse is true is for you to decide. However, as the west has, by and large, abandoned faith in the creator God, so it has simultaneously abandoned the idea that life has any meaning or purpose; and it ispurpose and direction in life that this habit refers to as Spiritual Exercise. Of course, if you are a religious person, then there will be a tie-up here with your personal faith; however, if you are not religious, don't also abandon the idea that life holds a special purpose for you. To exercise spiritually, I recommend that you consider engaging in some form of meditation. Meditation involves regularly sitting in a relaxed position and thinking about nothing for a period of about 10 or 15 minutes. Why this practice should bring about any material benefits is an interesting question. You might consider that you relax your mind quite enough when you sleep, but it turns out that we don't really relax our minds when we sleep. The brain is active during sleep - during REM sleep, the brain appears to be processing information. Though it is not yet known exactly what it is doing, the brain is certainly not passive and so the mind is not relaxed during sleep. Meditation is the practice of disciplining the mind, It is difficult to do at first, but if you stick with it , positive health benefits will follow. Making use of Jack Black's House on the Right Bank is an excellent tool for combining what is really guided meditation with the practice of regularly reviewing your mission, your roles and your goals; and that is what Stephen Covey means when he talks about spiritual exercise - the regular, review and preview of the things that are most important to you in life. These are the first things that you must define in habit 2 - Begin with the End in Mind.

Physical Exercise
Regular aerobic, physical exercise is essential for health, energy and a feeling of wellbeing. Naturally, you should always consult your doctor or physician before you embark upon any course of physical exercise; and it should be obvious that such profess ional advice as may be given, should always be taken into account. To practice this part of Habit 7 requires that you commit to at least three sessions of at least twenty minutes per week. If you are not already engaged in this sort of exercise, you will find that after a period of about six weeks, you will feel much better, much healthier and indeed your body will become more efficient at processing oxygen - which is the key to energy.

Mental Exercise
Ask yourself these questions. What am I doing to sharpen my mind? Am I engaged in a programme of education or learning of some kind? What am I doing to improve my professional knowledge? How you should go about this part of the habit is, of course, for you to decide, but you should ensure that you are reading regularly. What should you read? Naturally you want to put in the good stuff - so it's not a case of reading for its own sake; it is reading carefully selected material which allows you to broaden and deepen your understanding. You will naturally be paying particular attention to the important areas you defined in habit 2, but you should also consider reading all the great works of literature and also ancient wisdom literature which includes books like The Psalms and Proverbs..

Interpersonal
This part is not really a discipline, as are the other three parts, it is really a commitment; and for me, I make the commitment during the spiritual part of the habit, that is, during a meditation. It is simply to commit to approaching inter -personal relationships by making use of habits 4, 5 and 6. Even if people approach me making use of language, actions, or behaviour which I personally believe to be inappropriate, my commitment is to not react, but to use myproactive capacity to engage in the exercise of habits 4, 5 and 6 which I believe will lead to the best possible outcome in such circumstances

The 8th Habit

Some time ago, someone commented to me that I ought to write a book called The 8th Habit. The person was basically saying to me that the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Peoplebook by Stephen Covey was not complete because he did not really address the matter of how you go about developing a habit. At the time, my response was that the 7 Habits framework was a complete paradigm and so I thought the idea was a non -starter. Then - what do you know - along comes Stephen Covey with his latest book, which i s entitled The 8th Habit. So, if the 7 Habits framework is indeed complete, why do we need an 8th habit? Well it turns out that the 8th habit is not another habit that was missed out of the 7 habits

book: the 7 habits of Highly Effective People was all about effectiveness. The 8th Habit is about moving from being effective to being great.

Find Your Voice & Inspire Others to Find Theirs

The 8th habits is: Find your Voice & Inspire Others to find Theirs . The essence of this habit is that you will find your voice when you can say that you are 100% involved in what you are doing with your life. By 100% involvement, what is meant is that your body, mind, heart and spirit are all engaged in the adventure - whatever that is for you. The idea is very simple. Whatever you are doing right now with your life, ask yourself these questions. Is it serving my body, mind heart and spirit? In other words, is it serving your bodily needs: does it allow you to make a good living; does it more -than pay the bills; does it feed and clothe you and your family and provide you with a lovely home? Secondly, is it serving your need for mental stimulation: do you find it truly stimulating, engaging and challenging? Thirdly, is it serving your emotional needs: do you just love it and are you passionate about it? Finally, does it serve your spiritual needs: do you believe it is the right thing for you to be doing with your life? If you can answer those four questions relating to body, mind, heart and spirit with a resounding 'yes', then i t can be said that you have 'found your voice'. Covey says that the reality in business today is that there are very many people who have not found their voices or perhaps they have lost their voices. The result of this cane be seen everywhere. People may go to work just to earn money i.e. to serve their bodily needs but do not really put their creativity, talent and intelligence into the job. Perhaps the job is serving more than your bodily needs: perhaps it is also mentally stimulating you but, if you won the lottery, you might immediately resign because it is not really what you want to be spending your time doing if monetary considerations were not present. Perhaps, most difficult to imagine is having a job that provides the money, is indeed stimulating and you love doing it, but it is still not the right thing for you to be doing. The cost to business of employing people who don't really understand or even care about the Vision and Mission of the company is a loss of the 'voice' of the organization. To find your voice, you need to examine your natural talent - you are good at something! Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. You have a unique talent; or 'a unique expression of a talent' in the words of Deepak Chopra. You must find out what that is. Isn't it interesting that you may actually be carrying a talent that is presently unknown to you! (I don't often use an exclamation mark, but that point is I believe worth the punctuation.) You must find out what you absolutely love to do. You must find out what really interests you. And you must listen to the confirming inn er voice of your conscience that tells you what is the right thing for you. When you have found your voice, you can begin inspiring others to do the same thing that is the second part of the habit. I always remember Jack Black saying that following his seminars, at certain leading British companies, some people actually resign from their jobs. That is because they have been inspired to give up the process of making a buck and really go for what excites them in life. I might add that not everyone resigns because some of them are indeed in the right place.

Great leaders have always inspired us to 'find' ourselves - to find our own 'voices' and to find the 'voice' of the organisation - that is the essence of greatness. People and organizations who have truly found their 'voices' go on to become great. I hope that you will invest the time to discover your own greatness.

Stephen R Covey Biography

Dr Stephen R Covey was born in 1932. He lives with his wife, Sandra, and their family in Utah; in the Rocky Mountains. Covey achieved international acclaim, and is perhaps best known, for his self-help book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. which was first published by Simon & Schuster in 1989 and has sold around 12 million copies word wide. Covey has a Harvard MBA and has spent most of his career at Brigham Young University, where he was professor of organisational behaviour and business management. In addition to his MBA, he also has a doctorate which he completed whilst at Brigham Young University. Dr. Stephen R Covey has received the Thomas More College Medallion for continuing service to humanity and has additionally been awarded four honorary doctorate degrees. Stephen is also a co-founder of the Franklin-Covey organization, which specialises in the application of Covey's principle-centred approach to leadership and management. He is widely acknowledged as one of the world's leading authorities on the subject of time management. Thousands of organizations across the world, including many of the Fortune 500 companies, have adopted his innovative techniques on leadership, teamwork, and customer-focused service. His best-selling book on timemanagement, First Things First, co-authored with A. Roger & Rebecca R. Merrill, according to Simon & Schuster is the best -selling time management book ever. The seven principles he presents in the 7 Habits are not original thoughts - he does not claim to have originated the ideas but simply to have found a framework and a language for articulating the time-less principles embedded into the seven habits. The 7 habits are to be found, he says, in all the major world religions. He believes the principles themselves to be 'self-evident', that is, 'you cannot really argue against them'. His view is that all highly effective people, and enduringly effective organizations, have utilised the 7 habits, to a greater or lesser extent, to sustain their success. Covey says that the 7 habits are 'common knowledge' but, he adds, are not necessarily 'common practice'. In fact, it could be argued that the habits actually run counter to basic human nature. By our nature, we are reactive creatures and we are inclined to act mainly out of self-interest. But we are also as human beings capable of much higher thoughts and actions and by working hard to inter nalize the 7 habits we are able to develop a proactive attitude. By so doing, we can take charge of our own destinies and we are capable of exerting influence on other people for the collective good.

Quotations by Stephen Covey

Actually I did not invent the seven habits, they are universal principles and most of what I wrote about is just common sense. I am embarrassed when people talk about the Covey Habits, and dislike the idea of being some sort of guru.

Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline,

carrying it out.

Every human has four endowments- self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom... The power to choose, to respond, to change.

I am personally convinced that one person can be a change catalyst, a "transformer" in any situation, any organization. Such an individual is yeast that can leaven an entir e loaf. It requires vision, initiative, patience, respect, persistence, courage, and faith to be a transforming leader.

In the last analysis, what we are communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do.

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.

Most people struggle with life balance simply because they haven't paid the price to decide what is really important to them.

Our character is basically a composite of our habits. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.

The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.

There are three constants in life... change, choice and principles.

We are not animals. We are not a product of what has happened to us in our past. We have the power of choice.

We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.

First Things First - Time Management

Learning how to Put First Things First - the essence of good time management - can be a real challenge for many people. This principle is actually Habit 3 from Stephen Covey's best-selling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People . Covey's excellent book had a real impact on my life. In fact, I always recommend it to people who attend my Personal Development workshops. There is no doubt that the principles outlined in the book are fundamental truths, indeed they were even known to Aristotle. He said that there are three basic steps that you must take to get what you want out of life ... y Understand that you Can achieve Success

y y

Define what Success represents, for You Organise your life around its Achievement

... and he was absolutely right. Don't under -estimate the value of these simple steps because here you have the ultimate success formula. It is the secret that everyone who has ever been successful, in any field of endeavour, has used. It is the real secret of self motivation. You see, we are all truly self motivated people because the motivation to achieve comes from within; and you are already motivated to achieve the things you want - the things that are most important.

Urgency
Introduction Urgency Importance Time Management The 7 Habits Summary

In his follow-up book, First Things First - the definitive work on Time Management Stephen Covey explains that most people are driven by the concept of urgency. But to really effect positive change in our lives, we need to reorganise the way we spend our time; based on the concept of importance - not urgency. Study the following matrix of time demands and you will come to realise that for most people, the problem is that we are continually doing the urgent stuff, at the expense of the important.

We have no real choice when it comes to Quadrant 1 activity because Quadrant 1 operates on us; that is, activity which falls into this category must be done. The real choice is when it comes to Quadrant 2. We can choose to spend time here or not but Quadrant 2 is the key to getting things under control.

The results of properly dedicating ourselves to Quadrant 2 activity are that we will gain control over what is happening in our lives: we will thereby reduce the time we spend in Quadrant 1. Time for Quadrant 2 activity, of course, must come from Quadrants 3 and 4; minimise or eliminate the time you spend here.

Importance
Introduction Urgency Importance Time Management The 7 Habits Summary

In my workshops, I have been privileged to be able to teach these important principles and I have been encouraged see people re-define their lives as a consequence, and go for what they really want. In order to bring this information to a wider audience via the internet, I have developed two extremely useful resources. My comprehensive eBook, The Deepest Desire of Your Heart contains information and practical exercises for transforming your life. And the 4tm Spreadsheet provides an instant analysis of where your time is being spent in relation to your mission and goals an extremely useful aid to instantly see if you are spending enough time on your important priorities and whether or not you are getting better at the process of realigning your effort to achieve your purpose. Take a quick peek at the 4tm Spreadsheet ...

Get the 4tm Spreadsheet free of charge! Click the link below for full details.

Click Here to Get the Complete 4tm System Using the 4tm Spreadsheet is very simple. It takes no more that one or two minutes at the end of each day to enter an approximation of where you have spent your time that day. It then produces two important graphical representations. Immediately, you can see where you have been spending your time; you can tell whether or not you are getting better at managing your time based on the 7 Habits principles. Not only that, but it also produces a helpful break-down of your most important priorities. This spreadsheet enables you to get from theory to the practice. It will help you to ensure you focus your efforts on your most important priorities so that you will absolutely get what you want out of life.

How to Develop Great Leadership Qualities and Your Self Confidence

In the last article we looked at various attributes for leadership and self confidence. These were the first five and now we look at the next five. Particular in business, leadership is a necessary skill on the path to success and self confidence. 1. Set the example. The best way to be a leader is to show how it can be done. To prove that you have the skills necessary will really gain the respect of your team. Yes, if the team is particularly large you will most likely not have the skills required in every department, but you should certainly have enough wherewithal to demonstrate to the people immediately beneath you. There has been recently a programme on British television where the owners or Managing Directors of organisations go back to the shop floor to tackle and see for themselves the tasks undertaken by the productive staff. This exercise usually demonstrates their lack of abilities in this field, but being involved and showing a wi llingness to understand the needs of there workers nearly always gains them respect. It also helps build their self confidence in order to run the business more effectively. 2. Display commitment to integrity. By doing the right thing and having pride in your team, confidence in you as a leader will be built in your team at every level. Upon you, all the hopes and desires of your team will be on your shoulders. As a leader you must show a hundred percent commitment to honesty and truthfulness. By being hon est and true you know that everything you do and every decision you make is entirely for the right reasons and does wonders for your self confidence in the process. A leader must seriously consider making this his/hers number one priority. 3. Excellence in everything. There is no place for inferior workmanship or performance from a leader. Your attitude to appearance and courtesy plus a total dedication to excellence will mark you down for success or failure. Your team will only look up to you if this attitude is at a level above theirs. If you can only mark yourself as an 8 in this area, only the people whose attitude is 7 or below will look up to you as a leader. By striving for a perfect 10 not only gives you the respect of all your team members it creates the desire to do everything to the best of your ability and enhances your self confidence in the process. 4. A commitment to personal growth. Self confidence is a part of personal growth. But so is the need to understand your business and constantly keep on top of new developments within your industry. The University of Life teaches us something new every day and if we are not prepared to learn the lessons, how can you expect your team to. The business, like your knowledge, will fail to grow. It is so necessary to grow personally as nobody likes to be around a leader who is just prepared to stand still. That would be a sure fire way of loosing some valuable members of your crew. Be positive and be prepared to learn and you, along with your self confidence will grow enormously.

5. Develop the highest level of persistence and determination. At times you may very well feel like giving up. You may wonder if you are on the right road to success. But this is where your self confidence, your vision and your dreams that should be greater than your team's, come to the fore. It happens so very few times that success comes overnight. A baby doesn't walk straight after it is born. As a parent you give that child as long as it takes to learn, and succeed it will, eventually. You must set the goals and the standards, but if these aren't met, re-align them and start again; keep on trying until the finishing line is in sight. For some, the qualities of self confidence and leadership come naturally. To others they have to be developed and enhanced. But you can have the self confidence of a leader and achieve the success you crave by looking at and practicing these attributes as mentioned over these last two articles. Terry Norrington

Leadership Exposed
Much has been written about leadership: rules, pointers, styles, and biographies of inspiring leaders throughout world history. But there are certain leadership ideas that we ourselves fail to recognize and realize in the course of reading books. Here is a short list of things you thought you knew about leadership. 1. Leaders come in different flavors. There are different types of leaders and you will probably encounter more than one type in your lifetime. Formal leaders are those we elect into positions or offices such as the senators, congressmen, and presidents of the local clubs. Informal leaders or those we look up to by virtue of their wisdom and experience such as in the case of the elders of a tribe, or our grandparents; or by virtue of their expertise and contribution on a given field such as Albert Einstein in the field of Theoretical Physics and Leonardo da Vinci in the field of the Arts. Both formal and informal leaders practice a combination of leadership styles. Lewin's three basic leadership styles - authoritative, participative, and delegative Likert's four leadership styles - exploitive authoritative, benevolent authoritative, consultative, and participative Goleman's six emotional leadership styles - visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and commanding. 2. Leadership is a process of becoming. Although certain people seem to be born with innate leadership qualities, without the right environment and exposure, they may fail to develop their full potential. So like learning how to ride a bicycle, you can also learn how to become a leader and hone your leadership abilities. Knowledge on leadership theories and skills may be formally gained by enrolling in leadership seminars, workshops, and conferences. Daily interactions with people provide the opportunity to observe and practice leadership theories. Together, formal and informal learning will help you gain leadership attitudes, gain leadership insights, and thus furthering the cycle of learning. You do not become a leader in one day and just stop. Life-long learning is important in becoming a good leader for each day brings new experiences that put your knowledge, skills, and attitude to a test.

3. Leadership starts with you. The best way to develop leadership qualities is to apply it to your own life. As an adage goes "action speaks louder than words." Leaders are always in the limelight. Keep in mi nd that your credibility as a leader depends much on your actions: your interaction with your family, friends, and co-workers; your way of managing your personal and organizational responsibilities; and even the way you talk with the newspaper vendor across the street. Repeated actions become habits. Habits in turn form a person's character. Steven Covey's book entitled 7 Habits of Highly Effective People provides good insights on how you can achieve personal leadership. 4. Leadership is shared. Leadership is not the sole responsibility of one person, but rather a shared responsibility among members of an emerging team. A leader belongs to a group. Each member has responsibilities to fulfill. Formal leadership positions are merely added responsibilities asid e from their responsibilities as members of the team. Effective leadership requires members to do their share of work. Starting as a mere group of individuals, members and leaders work towards the formation of an effective team. In this light, social interaction plays a major role in leadership. To learn how to work together requires a great deal of trust between and among leaders and members of an emerging team. Trust is built upon actions and not merely on words. When mutual respect exists, trust is fostered and confidence is built. 5. Leadership styles depend on the situation. How come dictatorship works for Singapore but not in the United States of America? Aside from culture, beliefs, value system, and form of government, the current situation of a nati on also affects the leadership styles used by its formal leaders. There is no rule that only one style can be used. Most of the time, leaders employ a combination of leadership styles depending on the situation. In emergency situations such as periods of war and calamity, decision-making is a matter of life and death. Thus, a nation's leader cannot afford to consult with all departments to arrive at crucial decisions. The case is of course different in times of peace and order---different sectors and other branches of government can freely interact and participate in governance. Another case in point is in leading organizations. When the staffs are highly motivated and competent, a combination of high delegative and moderate participative styles of leadership is most appropriate. But if the staffs have low competence and low commitment, a combination of high coaching, high supporting, and high directing behavior from organizational leaders is required. Now that you are reminded of these things, keep in mind that there are always ideas that we think we already know; concepts we take for granted, but are actually the most useful insights on leadership.