How to achieving greatness in a turbulent world<\/p>\n
Jakob Oetama, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Dr. Stephen R. Covey has established his public persona as a
\nleadership guru, a family expert, teacher, author and
\norganizational consultant. This article welcomes to him a
\nnational seminar to be held at the Jakarta Convention Center on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
The world has come to know Covey through his international
\nbestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Many people
\nsee Covey as a living manifestation of the seven habits. Millions
\nof people around the world, both personally and professionally,
\nhave learned to become more effective people by incorporating
\nthese habits into their lives.<\/p>\n
The seven habits are:<\/p>\n
1. Be Proactive. Don't wait or be reactive -- take the
\ninitiative.<\/p>\n
2. Begin with the End in Mind. Don't be distracted by small
\nmatters and forget the big picture.<\/p>\n
3. Put First Things First. Don't be reactive and always be
\nacting to \"put out fires\". Define your plans, prioritize
\nimportant things and give them your time and energy. Covey also
\nwrote a book First Things First.<\/p>\n
4. Think Win-Win. To maintain long-term cooperation and
\nsuccess, all forms of relations should be based on the principle
\nof mutual benefit.<\/p>\n
5. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood. The gist
\nis to listen with empathy in order to leave subjectivity and act
\nobjectively. In communication, it means identifying, being
\ncritical of and discarding one's personal prejudices.<\/p>\n
6. Synergize. Instead of being antagonistic, relations should
\nbe cooperative in nature, as a team, where one plus one can equal
\nfour, 10, or 100.<\/p>\n
7. Sharpen the Saw. To learn continuously, make time to read
\nand reflect, be open to all kinds of new developments.<\/p>\n
The world keeps changing, and all sorts of new challenges
\ncontinue to emerge. Being effective is increasingly considered a
\nbasic requirement for modern life. However, it turns out that
\nbeing effective alone is not enough. Humans have a greater
\ncalling. And to achieve this, Covey has published his newest
\nbook, The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. He urges us
\nto start paying attention to the needs of the people around us,
\nto go beyond effectiveness and achieve greatness.<\/p>\n
The key words in answering these new challenges are: To find
\nand work out our calling, then to inspire others to find and work
\nout theirs. Or, in Covey's words, to find our \"Voice\" and inspire
\nothers to find theirs.<\/p>\n
Based on his premise that we have the freedom to choose, Covey
\nasserts that leadership is a choice. Whether holding a structural
\nposition or not, we can choose to be a leader, by utilizing our
\ncompetence to choose matters and manners that are in accord with
\nuniversal principles.<\/p>\n
To that end, the call to \"inspire others to find their voice\"
\ncan be accomplished by performing the four roles of leadership.<\/p>\n
The first role is \"Modeling\". Anyone who has successfully
\ninternalized the seven habits of highly effective people can be a
\ngreat role model.<\/p>\n
The second role is \"Pathfinding\", in the sense of creating a
\nvision that directs the course of one's life. It begins with an
\nindividual but spreads to helping others find their callings.<\/p>\n
The third role is \"Aligning\" and this role is vital in an
\norganizational context. Coordination is needed to harmonize
\norganizational systems and structures with the vision. This role
\ncan be actualized starting from oneself either in a formal or
\ninformal environment, since it not only applies in the
\nprofessional context but also in families and communities.<\/p>\n
The fourth role is \"Empowering\", that is assisting others to
\nachieve their potential.<\/p>\n
In the context of Indonesia with its present turbulence, these
\nfour roles of leadership are highly relevant. At the state
\nmanagement level, we have a national leader who has been directly
\nvoted in by the people. Bapak President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
\nhas powerful charisma and legitimacy. But there is a pragmatic
\ndilemma as well: How to fill the formal leadership structure with
\nconscientious professionals who can assert their integrity and
\nembody the four roles -- Modeling, Pathfinding, Aligning,
\nEmpowering -- effective.<\/p>\n
In managing organizations as well as states, charisma needs
\nstructures and systems that can translate visions. A charismatic
\nleader usually can, with ease, mobilize visions, but he or she
\nneeds structures and systems to harmonize affairs at the
\nimplementation level.<\/p>\n
Continuing on matters of the state, an important role can also
\nbe taken by a business world that is more committed to social
\ncorporate responsibility.<\/p>\n
Its basic value is a philosophy that has been taught by every
\ngreat religion and tradition -- that is, by its nature, private
\nproperty has a social dimension.<\/p>\n
On a smaller scale, the four roles start from our own \"circle
\nof influence\". In a nutshell, this is done by actualizing our
\ncalling and inspiring others to achieve theirs.<\/p>\n
We all have the resources for that. Covey states the various
\ngifts given to us at birth. They are:<\/p>\n
o Freedom to Choose<\/p>\n
o Universal Natural Laws or Principles<\/p>\n
o Four Intelligences: Physical\/PQ, Mental\/IQ, Emotional\/EQ,
\nSpiritual\/SQ<\/p>\n
Our effectiveness, success and greatness depend on the
\nutilization of these inborn gifts. In the process, if we
\nsubjugate the first three intelligences to the last one, which is
\noften called \"conscience\", we will live meaningfully and in
\ngreatness.<\/p>\n
In these turbulent times, Covey gives us the great hope that
\nwe can stand tall and strong amid all kinds of environmental
\ninfluences. He tells us not to be carried away by the existing
\nnegatives. With his ideas, we can rise as a great nation if we go
\ndeep inside ourselves and utilize the potential we have had since
\nbirth.<\/p>\n
The writer is the chairman of Kompas-Gramedia Group.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/how-to-achieving-greatness-in-a-turbulent-world-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }