Book Review

Principle-centered leadership
Noor Fatima

Title: Principle-centered leadership

Author: Stephen covey

Book reviewer: Noor Fatima

Pages: 334

Subjects: Religion, Christian living, Professional growth

Introduction:

In his book "Principle-Centered Leadership", Stephen Covey provides readers with a comprehensive
framework for effective leadership based on timeless principles and values.

Covey is a highly respected author and speaker in the fields of leadership and personal development.
He is perhaps best known for his classic book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", which has
sold over 25 million copies worldwide. "Principle-Centered Leadership" builds on the concepts
introduced in "The 7 Habits", providing readers with a deeper understanding of how to become a truly
effective leader.

The book is organized into four parts, each of which deals with a different aspect of leadership. Covey
begins by discussing the concept of principles and how they can be used to guide leadership decisions.
He then explores the importance of personal mastery, interpersonal leadership, and organizational
leadership. Throughout the book, Covey emphasizes the importance of values and ethics in leadership,
and he provides readers with practical tips and strategies for developing these qualities.

"Principle-Centered Leadership" is a must-read for anyone interested in leadership and personal

development. It offers a comprehensive and practical framework for effective leadership, based on
timeless principles and values that can be applied to any situation. Whether you are a seasoned
executive, a new manager, or an aspiring leader, this book has something to offer.

1
Review
What makes a great leader? This is a question I have asked myself a lot. I have long been a huge
fan of Stephen Covey’s work and Principle Centered Leadership is by far my favorite book of his.
It provides the steps necessary to build a strong internal core of meaningful principles from which
to lead. This strong internal core creates the following behaviors:

• They are perpetual learners

• They are service oriented
• They radiate positive energy
• They believe in others
• They experience life as an adventure
• They exercise mentally and physically daily
In order to embody these behaviors leaders have become aware of the core beliefs and moral
compass that guides them.

What is principle centered leadership?

The most common types of leadership are scientific authoritarian, benevolent authoritarian and
human resource. While all of these have strengths and weaknesses principle-centered leadership
“embraces the principles of fairness and kindness and makes better use of the talents of people for
increased efficiency, but also leads to quantum leaps in personal and organizational effectiveness.”
The more common definition of leadership is someone who has followers. This would indicate that
they are influential, emotionally connected, have a positive view of the future, challenge other
people to grow and have integrity. It is important to realize that studying a list of leadership traits
will not make you a leader. The most important thing to do is believe in your purpose, which will
make you a leader.

Law of the farm

In our any and age it seems like everyone is looking for the magic bullet, the easy answer and they
only want to put in the minimum amount of work necessary to become millionaires. Covey explains
that you don’t need to overwork to be successful, but that you must follow the law of the harvest.

1
Like a farm or a garden there is a natural process through which relationships and leadership
develop. Your success in the future is dependent on the actions you take today. If you don’t plant
the seeds you will never reap the harvest. He says:

“The only thing that endures over time is the law of the farm: I must prepare the ground, put in the
seed, cultivate it, weed it, water it, and then gradually nurture growth and development to full
maturity. So also in a marriage or in helping a teenager through a difficult identity crisis – there is
no quick fix, where you can just move in and make everything right with a positive mental attitude
and a bunch of success formulas. The law of the harvest governs. Natural laws, principles, operate
regardless. So get these principles at the center of your life, at the center of your relationships, at
the center of your management contracts, at the center of your entire organization.”

Covey is the original Vitalistic leader. He is using vitalism in order to lead. Looking at the core
character and competency as the funnel that allows innate and universal intelligence to manifest in
the world. Manipulative strategies and tactics may work in the short term, but because they do not
adhere to the natural laws of vitalism they will never truly create the results we desire.

Covey, like one of my other favorite authors, Michael Masterson, encourages you to invest in
yourself for the long term. Masterson says to set 7 year goals and work backwards from them. Once
you have identified a goal that is important them you cannot waver. If you do it will crack your
foundation of commitment to yourself. People can sense your lack of commitment and they will not
follow you.

Emerging Leaders

This is the perfect book to read as you begin to step into a leadership role because it gives you a
system in order to develop leadership qualities over time. Here is the breakdown of the four levels
of leadership and the corresponding four key principles for each that you can begin to cultivate in
order to become an effective leader:

Personal level (leading self). You must be good at leading yourself first and foremost. At making
choices that support your long term goals. “Begin within,” In order to lead from a personal level the

1
principles that you must develop are trustworthiness. Can you trust yourself? Without
trustworthiness you will not be able to develop the character and competence necessary to lead
others. Develop a strategy to monitor your trustworthiness.

Interpersonal level (leading others). The interpersonal level is an extension of the personal level.
The same trust, character and competency you have developed with yourself is then utilized in your
relationships with others. In order to lead others they must trust you. It is the first two levels that
will help you achieve and maintain a wise and renewing balance between work and family.

Managerial level (short term with existing people and processes). Once you trust yourself, others
trust you and you trust them then you can lead on a managerial level. Without the foundation of
trust, no leadership can take place. Just like without the watering of seeds no garden can grow. The
principle you develop on this level is empowerment. Be a mentor, coach and guide to those you
wish to lead and they will supervise themselves in order to solve problems and seize opportunities.
The six conditions of empowerment are:

Character- you must hire people who are trustworthy and have character.
Skills- the person you hire must be a self-starter and have the skills to succeed.
Win-win agreement- the employment agreement must be a win-win for both parties. This is the
most often overlooked aspect of management. Win- win agreements are based on a clear
understanding of the employee’s purpose and goals so that the work they do is meaningful to them.
Self-supervision- the employee must be motivated by a common cause or mission in order and have
the flexibility to make decisions that will solve problems and seize opportunities.
Structure and systems- of the organization are there to support the employee in being successful and
moving them towards where their purpose intersects with the organizations purpose.
Accountability- there must be a feedback system in place that helps employees learn from their
mistakes and celebrate their successes.
Organizational level (developing the organization by recruiting people, training them, building
teams, solving problems, compensating them, creating strategy and developing systems). When
relationships are based on trust and management works to empower others then the ground is fertile
for leadership at the organizational level. The principle of alignment is what creates an effective
organization. When there is trust then every level of the organization finds productive ways to align

1
themselves with the values, strategy, style, structure and systems of the organization. Alignment
towards a common cause is the most powerful form of leadership.

Common pitfalls

By knowing the common enemies to leadership we are able to see them coming. They are:

• Wealth without work

• Pleasure without conscience
• Knowledge without character
• Business without ethics
All of these violate the law of the harvest. The law of the harvest allows us to do the necessary work
to influence others. There are three primary ways we can influence others. – To model by example,
to build caring relationships and to mentor by instructions. In order to influence others in this way
we need to develop the skills and character to achieve that allow them to trust us. The most critical
skills in this regard are communication, planning and organization, and synergistic problem solving.
When you develop these skills you are able to influence others and that leads to organizational
effectiveness. It is impossible to gain the trust of others if you don’t have a certain level of self-
discipline. That is why Covey recommends that you recite three resolutions daily and work towards
their enactment.

Resolve to exercise self-discipline. This will help you overcome the appetites and passions that are
leading to behaviors that do not engender trust and subvert your ability to lead.
Resolve to work on character and competence. As you start to lead more you may feel pride and
pretension which will take away from your long term ability to lead.
Resolve to dedicate your talents and resources to noble purposes and provide service for others.
Unbridled ambition and aspiration for oneself will ostracize you from others and will restrain you
from becoming a principle centered leader.

Principle Centered Personal Life

1
As our strength as a leader is dependent on your personal life and the core character we have
cultivated over time it can be helpful to focus on the principles that guide us. Covey identifies these
as:

• Security- This represents the sense of worth, identity, emotional anchorage, self esteem and
personal strength the person has.
• Guidance- this is the compass that directs the person’s thoughts, behaviors and actions
within standards that they have deemed acceptable. Covey calls this conscience.
• Wisdom- arises from observation, comprehension and judgement and creates the
knowledge of the interdependence of all things. Without wisdom we base our actions on
distorted or short-sighted principles that don’t take into account the interconnectivity of
things. When wisdom is high we have a high commitment to our ideal self and we manage
things based on that perspective.
• Power- is where the rubber meets the road and it gives us the strength and courage to
accomplish great things.
These four elements work in harmony with one another and as you cultivate each of them leadership
qualities will naturally develop within you. Principle centered leadership is all about focusing on
why you are doing something not what you are doing. The behaviors you may take with different
why’s could be identical, but the underlying motivation is very different. Sometimes we forget that
who we are is more important than what we do and this is the essence of the principle centered
leader who has built their character from within. You will know that you have become a principle
centered leader when you are “a light, not a judge; a model, not a critic."

Since character is so important let’s look at how Covey defines it. The three components of character
are integrity, maturity and abundance mentality. The way to cultivate integrity is to keep meaningful
promises and commitments. This applies to yourself and others. In order to do this every thought
and action must be organized and executed around priorities that maintain your commitments and
are in harmony with our core values. The next component is maturity which is defined as the balance
between courage and consideration. This allows us to understand and respond to others and to be
able to express our own feelings. The last component is abundance mentality which is to break out
of the old model of competition and to cooperate with those closest to us in order to stay focused
on true wealth.

1
A powerful personal life is the foundation of powerful organizations

He calls us to create organizations that are different than the ones we have inherited. To throw out
industrial age thinking and innovate to create something better. His goal was to change the world
by teaching critical thinking skills and other leadership principles. To create a quiet revolution and
leave a lasting legacy. What Covey was best known for is his refusal to criticize others. He would
say “I don’t want to criticize, because I never know if I’ll have a chance to influence them. I don’t
want to be a hypocrite if they ever needs my help.” By working with the whole person and teaching
them fairness, kindness, efficiency, and effectiveness he breaks the trend of treating people as assets
and instead spiritual beings who want meaning, a sense of doing something that matters. Meaning
becomes the fundamental component of management and motivation is part of every dimension of
the person. Create a cause that has meaning and that lifts a person up and enobles them so that they
can bring their highest selves. That is the essence of principle centered leadership. It is a a system
that taps into meaningfulness instead of management by control. People are more creative,
resourceful and express more initiative when their goals are in alignment with the organizations.

than most of their jobs require right now. People are spending their creativity and energy on their
own goals and dreams—and much of this is lost to the organization. But if you can align what you
need from the employee for the sake of organizational performance with the goals and initiatives
he naturally wants to pursue, then you will tap into this energy that is lost to the organization—and
amplify the employees effectiveness in achieving his own goals as well. This is how the power
shifts from the elite to the grassroots individuals who can truly fuel an organization.

The last question to ask yourself is what is your leadership paradigm? How do you look at, and
thinking about your role as a leader. “What principles guide you? What do you believe your key
roles as a leader are? If you have trouble answering these questions then consider the following.

Behave as if you work for your employees, not the other way around. Although you may think of
yourself as playing a support role it is your most important role as a leader. Focus on ensuring that
employees have the tools, resources, and information they need to do their jobs well. Do this by

1
being a mentor and providing the advice and feedback that will help the individual grow to their
fullest capacity.
Be a sounding board not a problem solver. When employees have challenges that they can’t
overcome do not provide answers. Instead train yourself to listen to the description of the problem
and just concentrate on what the person is saying. Ask questions that challenge assumptions, ask
for information, and looks at problems from different angles. This will help the person develop their
own problem solving skills.
Instead of motivation focus on removing undermining conditions. Many workplaces suffer from
conditions that dampen people’s enthusiasm. You will gain more by removing these conditions than
can ever be gained from incentives, bonuses and perks.
Your credibility is your most valuable commodity. Never be coercive, instead be direct, open and
honest and do not shy away from addressing performance problems or resolving conflicts. Or from
receiving bad news in a thoughtful and calm way.
Make sure you have all the information before taking an action. Ensure that you understand the
other person as if you are an investigative reporter. Human interaction and behavior is the leading
cause of tension and conflict and by understanding others you can reduce miscommunication.
Develop friendships with the people you work with. This means have a healthy dose of interest in
people you work with.