{"id":64446,"date":"2022-04-13T17:55:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-13T21:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=64446"},"modified":"2022-04-17T18:33:11","modified_gmt":"2022-04-17T22:33:11","slug":"8th-habit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/8th-habit\/","title":{"rendered":"The 8th Habit by Stephen Covey: Book Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is The 8th Habit<\/em> by Stephen Covey about? What does Covey’s eighth habit entail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness, <\/em>Stephen Covey adds the eighth habit to the original seven described in his bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People<\/em><\/a>. Covey\u2019s 8th habit is the habit of leadership, and it determines your unique contribution and helps others do the same. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to get an overview of Covey’s The 8th Habit<\/em>, split into three parts: The Individual, the Organization, and the Leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What is the 8th Habit?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Covey, the 8th habit ensures that great leaders work on themselves first, making sure they\u2019re balanced, well-rounded human beings before they try to influence others<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 8th Habit<\/em>, published in 2004, marked a shift in Covey\u2019s focus from the individual level to the bigger picture of organizations and leadership. Covey argues that to meet the needs of modern staff in contemporary workplaces, leaders need to revolutionize the way they lead. Instead of focusing primarily on processes and products, the<\/strong> best leaders of the future will focus on individual people, and on helping them fulfill their potential<\/strong> by identifying their \u201cvoice\u201d\u2014their unique contributions\u2014and sharing them with the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Covey\u2019s concept of \u201cvoice\u201d encompasses all parts of the human being (body, mind, heart, and spirit)<\/strong>. He examines how to identify this unique contribution at several levels: as individuals (Part 1); organizations (Part 2); and leaders, who serve as the bridge between individuals and organizations (Part 3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Does Covey Mean by \u201cVoice\u201d?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your voice, according to Covey, is<\/strong> your unique personal contribution.<\/strong> It\u2019s the point where your gifts, your passion, and your moral compass overlap. Identifying and sharing this contribution is your chance to move from treading water to swimming strongly in your personal and professional life. Moving forward, we\u2019ll refer to Covey\u2019s idea of \u201cvoice\u201d as \u201ccontribution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Covey\u2019s concept of \u201cvoice\u201d echoes the Japanese concept of ikigai<\/em><\/a>. Your ikigai<\/em>, or life purpose<\/a>, sits at the intersection of your talents, your passions, what the world needs, and what you can be paid to do.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Covey comments that children contribute freely and confidently\u2014they do what they love, they work together and share with others, and they speak up when they don\u2019t like something. As we grow, however, oppressive or <\/strong>overly competitive systems at school (and later at work) squelch our individuality and stifle our expression<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part 1: The Individual<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Covey first explores how to apply the 8th habit on an individual level. He suggests that we replace old work paradigms with a \u201cwhole-person paradigm.\u201d<\/strong> Under this paradigm, people aren\u2019t only bodies (as in the Industrial Age) or only minds (as in the Information Age<\/a>). Instead, they\u2019re complete individuals with physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Covey sees individuals as made up of four parts. Healthy people consciously develop the capacities of all four parts, and their contribution springs from the unique way in which they combine and express them.  Each of the parts corresponds with a basic human need, as well as with a specific type of intelligence<\/a>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n