Session 2 Introduction to The 8 Habits and Habit 1
Total Session Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
 Distinguish between production and production capability; reactive and proactive; and circles of
influence and concern.
 Explain the emotional bank account and make a calculation of their own.
 Assess their own strengths and weaknesses in relation to each habit.
 Choose a situation where they wish to be more proactive and plan for it.
Session Overview
Step
Time
Activity/
Method
1
Presentation,
45 minutes Discussion,
Covey
2
30 minutes Presentation
3
30 minutes Presentation
Resources
Needed
LCD or
Overhead
Introduction to The 8 Habits of
Projector,
Highly Successful People (Slides 1-5)
Covey
Workbook
LCD or
Habit 1: Be Proactive (Slides 6-11)
Overhead
Projector,
LCD or
Circles of Influence and Concern
Overhead
(Slides 12-15)
Projector,
Content
Resources Needed




Flip Chart, paper, and markers
LCD or Overhead Projector
Slides
Stephen Covey’s Personal Workbook
Leaders in Health Namibia Facilitator Guide
Session 2: Introduction to the 8 Habits and Habit 1
43
Advance Preparation

Review the entire session prior to facilitating, to familiarize yourself
with the slides, speaker’s notes, learning activities, and supporting
materials.
Sources/Bibliography:
Refer to these materials for additional background reading, as needed.


Covey, S.R. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Covey, S.R. (2003). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Personal Workbook. New York: Simon and
Schuster.
Leaders in Health Namibia Facilitator Guide
Session 2: Introduction to the 8 Habits and Habit 1
44
Beginning the Session
Trainer Instructions: Step 1 (45 minutes)
Slide 1
Present Slides 1-5 using trainer notes and The Covey Workbook to guide the presentation.
Leaders in Health Namibia Facilitator Guide
Session 2: Introduction to the 8 Habits and Habit 1
45
Slide 2
EXPLAIN to participants that we will be using these
books to guide our discussion of leadership and
management skills. Covey’s 8 Habits are habits of
effectiveness in life – both personal and
professional. We believe that learning these habits
will make each of us here more effective leaders in
our lives and in our work.
EXPLAIN that The 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People is a self-help book written by Stephen R.
Covey first published in 1989. It has been a very
successful book with over 20 million copies sold in
th
almost 40 different languages. The 8 Habit, a
sequel to The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People,
was published in 2004.
ASK participants why we are talking about habits.
EXPLAIN that habits:
Leaders in Health Namibia Facilitator Guide
Session 2: Introduction to the 8 Habits and Habit 1
•
Drive many of our actions
•
Can be learned and unlearned
•
Contribute to our character. Leaders must
have a solid strong character to inspire
others to follow them.
•
Talking about our habits is the first step to
progress. First we must become aware of
our habits and then we can change them.
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Slide 3
ASK participants what they need to produce their
work.
ASK participants what production capability is.
EXPLAIN that production capability is what you do
to get the product.
PRESENT the slide using the following information:
P and PC refer to the balance between production
and production capability and applies to physical,
financial, and human assets.
Here is an example: In an organization there is a person in charge of a particular machine. There is
pressure from his supervisors to increase production so the employee runs the machine 24-hours a
day, and skips the scheduled maintenance. The immediate result is increased output, lower costs
and higher profit.
However, the increased immediate “production” (P) comes at the expense of the “production
capacity” (PC) and of future production. The machine quickly wears out its parts, and breaks
down. Production stops, costs increase, and there is greater expense to fix or get a new machine.
ASK participants “What is the moral of the story? How does it relate to leading and managing
people?
At any organization, you have physical assets: vehicles, photocopying machines… but our most
important assets are human. If supervisors demand of employees, or if we demand of ourselves,
in the same way the employee who ran the machine in the example I just gave, we too will break
down more quickly, be out of commission for a longer time, and be more expensive to repair or
replace than had we taken care of ourselves, or our employees, all along.
This P/PC balance is the very essence of effectiveness upon which Dr. Covey’s Seven Habits are
based.
Source: Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon and
Schuster. 1989.
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Session 2: Introduction to the 8 Habits and Habit 1
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Slide 4
EXPLAIN that “The Emotional Bank Account” is
another key point in Stephen Covey’s book. It
compares all our interpersonal interactions to
deposits and withdrawals. Examples of deposits
include understanding the other person, keeping
commitments, helping, providing constructive
feedback and apologizing. These are relationship
building activities.
If I make deposits into an emotional bank account
with you through courtesy, kindness, honesty and
keeping commitments I build up a reserve. When I
have a positive balance, I can make occasional withdrawals (e.g. have a bad day). If I have a
negative balance, people will not want to work or even be with me. If we want our relationships at
work and work in general to run smoothly we must make far more deposits than withdrawals.
ASK participants to think of some examples of withdrawals.
ASK for a volunteer to play a short role play with you (the facilitator).
TELL the volunteer that you would like them to play the role of your staff in the following
scenarios. The audience is to identify if you are making a deposit or withdrawal.
ASK participants to identify if you are making a deposit or withdrawal in the following scenarios. If
it’s a withdrawal, ask them to identify how you could turn the withdrawal into a deposit.
ROLE PLAY the following scenarios:
•
You are busy and instead of allowing the subordinate to help you write the report you tell
them to forget it, you’ll do it yourself.
Note to facilitator: this is a withdrawal because you are undermining the capability/capacity of
others. Instead you should ask what you can do to help the employee get the task done.
•
You apologize for not giving the subordinate much time but you need them to have a
report finished for you by next Monday. You offer to help the employee prioritize their
tasks and ask if they can fit this task in with the work they currently have and ask what
resources they need to get this task done.
•
You notice that a subordinate has been struggling to get his/her work done and you offer
her help to get the job done.
•
You tell the subordinate that they did a terrible job and only offer negative feedback.
•
You express gratitude for your subordinate’s hard work.
EXPLAIN that as a busy manager you may turn away from a project, trusting that it is getting done,
while an employee is struggling to keep up. The whole time the employee is struggling, you
are making withdrawals. People need more help to succeed usually than we have time for.
Check in with your employees, reassure them that you know they can do the work but you
want to make sure they can succeed. You get what you put into a project.
ASK participants to complete pg 85 of the Covey Workbook in class or for homework.
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Session 2: Introduction to the 8 Habits and Habit 1
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Slide 5
EXPLAIN that Steven Covey has developed and
organized 8 habits that increase our effectiveness
in our personal lives and at work. We will look at
each of these habits and examine how they can
help us as leaders and managers.
INTRODUCE the habits using the following
information:
•
st
The 1 habit is be proactive, take control of
your life.
nd
• The 2 habit is to begin with the end in
mind, know what you want to accomplish in life.
rd
•
The 3 habit is put first things first, organize and execute your work around priorities.
•
The 4 habit is to think win/win or seek out agreements that are mutually beneficial.
•
The 5 habit is to seek first to understand, then be understood. Listen empathically,
diagnose before you treat.
•
The 6 habit is synergize. Seek out creative cooperation.
•
The 7 habit is sharpen the saw. Take time out to renew yourself.
•
Covey’s new book discusses at length the 8 habit, find your voice and inspire others to
find theirs.
th
th
th
th
th
INSTRUCT participants to complete the Self-scoring 7 Habits Assessment on page 15 of the Covey
Workbook.
Slide 6
ALLOW participants 10 minutes to complete activity.
INSTRUCT participants to stand up and pick:
•
Pineapples
•
Bananas
•
Pears
•
Apples
•
Grapes
Source: Celine Usiku, MOHSS, Director of PP & HRD.
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Session 2: Introduction to the 8 Habits and Habit 1
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Trainer Instructions: Step 2 (30 minutes)
Slide 7
Present Slides 6-11 using trainer notes to guide the presentation.
EXPLAIN that Habit 1 is to be proactive.
ASK participants: “What are some words or phrases
that come to mind when you hear the word
proactive?’”
Slide 8
WAIT for participants to respond.
Leaders in Health Namibia Facilitator Guide
Session 2: Introduction to the 8 Habits and Habit 1
READ the definitions out loud.
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Slide 9
EXPLAIN that for Stephen Covey:
•
Being proactive means taking responsibility
for your life. Do whatever is in your power
to improve your situation.
•
This habit is the base for all other habits
and a cornerstone of success.
•
Proactive people recognize that they are
responsible. They take control of their lives,
focus on things they can change, and take
responsibility for their moods.
ASK participants: “What is the opposite of proactive?”
WAIT for participants to respond.
SUMMARIZE participant responses and ADD in the following information:
A person who is not proactive is reactive. A reactive person is controlled by their emotions, moods,
and/or the situation or environment he or she is in. Reactive people do not take responsibility for
their lives and blame others.
ASK participants: ” Why is it important to be proactive?”
SUMMARIZE participant responses and INFORM: as Covey says, “Act or you will be acted upon.”
Source: Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon and
Schuster. 1989. p.78.
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Session 2: Introduction to the 8 Habits and Habit 1
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Slide 10
EXPLAIN that reactive people blame someone else,
this is my boss’s fault, or my grandmother was this
way etc. Proactive people recognize that they are
“Response –Able” they don’t blame genetics,
circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their
behavior. Our behavior is a function of our
decisions, not our conditions. Proactive people are
agents of change. They choose not to be victims, to
be reactive or to blame others.
EXPLAIN that someone who is reactive might say
things like:
•
“That’s me. That’s just the way I am.” –this really means I am determined and there’s
nothing I can do about it.
•
“He makes me so mad!” –this means I let someone else control my emotions.
•
“I can’t do that. I don’t have the time.” –this means something outside me—limited time—
is controlling me.
•
“I have to do it.” Circumstances or other people are forcing me to do what I do. I’m not
free to choose my own actions.
READ aloud the list of things a proactive person might say.
ASK participants: “Which category do you fall under?”
EXPLAIN that Covey suggests that being conscious of our language is a good way to become “selfaware”. This is the first step to self-development.
Source: Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon and
Schuster. 1989. p.78.
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Slide 11
EXPLAIN that Covey asserts that the habit of
proactivity is based on a fundamental principle that
between stimulus and response, or what happens
to you and how you react to it, man has the
freedom to choose. You have the opportunity to
use your free will and hard work to change yourself
and your circumstances. You have the freedom to
choose your reaction to any situation, regardless of
the condition, conditioning, or circumstance.
There are four basic human endowments/faculties that give people the freedom to choose how
they react to any given situation or circumstance:
Self-awareness: knowing who they are, they are aware of their self limitations, strengths
Imagination: the ability to create what is beyond their current conditions
Conscience: Values, a deep inner awareness of right and wrong; values that govern human
behavior (morals)
Independent will: the ability to act and respond to a situation without external influence.
GIVE an example of a situation where you could use each of these (self-awareness, conscience,
and independent will) to change how your react to a situation.
Self-awareness: I am overreacting to this situation because of something that happened to me in
the past or because of a problem at home.
Imagination: I can envision a better future; I will seek out an alternative.
Conscience: I choose to respond with integrity. I treat others with respect because it is the right
thing to do.
Independent will: I can overcome this situation.
Source: Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon and
Schuster. 1989.
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Trainer Instructions: Step 3 (30 minutes)
Slide 13
Slide 12
Present Slides 12-15 using trainer notes to guide the presentation.
Leaders in Health Namibia Facilitator Guide
Session 2: Introduction to the 8 Habits and Habit 1
PRESENT the slide using the following information:
•
An excellent way to become more selfaware regarding our own degree of
proactivity is to reflect on where we focus
our time and energy. Do we focus more on
things we cannot influence or things we can
control?
•
Each individual has a scope of concerns that
can range from problems at home to world
poverty. Covey suggests that individuals gain
more influence on all of their concerns by
focusing on influencing and changing things
they have more direct control over first.
•
He illustrates this concept using concentric
circles called “Circles of Concern” and
“Circles of Influence.”
DIVIDE participants into groups of 5.
INSTRUCT each group to draw a circle on a flip
chart and create a list of as many concerns as they
have inside the circle in 2 minutes.
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Slide 14
INSTRUCT participants to draw three concentric
circles and transfer the concerns they cannot
influence to the outer circle.
INSTRUCT participants to transfer the concerns they
can influence into the middle circle and the things
they can control into the center circle.
ASK participants to return to the large the group.
EXPLAIN that in this model, the inner circle
represents the problems, challenges and
opportunities that we have direct control of.
ASK participants for an example.
SUMMARIZE participant answers with the following information:
Problems we have control over involve our own behavior, our actions, and our attitudes.
EXPLAIN that the middle circle represents things we have indirect control or influence over.
ASK participants for an example.
SUMMARIZE participant answers with the following information:
We can influence our neighborhood, our church, our work environment, friends, colleagues, and
family. We can influence them but we cannot control them.
EXPLAIN that the outer circle represents things we have no control over.
ASK participants for an example.
SUMMARIZE participant answers with the following information:
Things we have no control over include: natural phenomena such as earthquakes or weather,
politics and policies that fall far outside our personal reach, and the behavior of people we have no
contact with.
ASK participants in which circle they spend most of their mental energies and which circle is the
source of many of their worries and conversations.
EXPLAIN that by determining which of these circles is the focus of most of our time and energy, we
can discover much about the degree of our proactivity.
Source: Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon and
Schuster. 1989.
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Session 2: Introduction to the 8 Habits and Habit 1
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Slide 15
PRESENT the slide by using the following
information:
•
Reactive people focus their efforts in the
circle of concern.
•
They focus on the weaknesses of other
people and circumstances over which they
have no control.
•
Their focus results in blaming and accusing
attitudes, reactive language, and increased
feelings of victimization.
•
The negative energy generated by that
focus, combined with neglect in areas they
could do something about, causes their
Circle of Influence to shrink.
•
Proactive people focus their efforts in the
Circle of Influence. Their positive energy can
cause this circle to increase.
•
They work on the things they can do
something about.
•
Covey asserts that by diverting your
attention to the circle of influence, you
indirectly affect the circle of concern.
ASK participants if they have any questions.
WRAP-UP session by summarizing key points.
Source: Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits of
Highly Effective People. New York: Simon and
Schuster. 1989.
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