PRESENTATION ON THE LEADER IN ME By STEPHEN R.COVEY

RECAP  THE 7 HABITS OF EFFECTIVE PEOPLE ARE ; BE PROACTIVE BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND (VISUALIZE AND DO) PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST (TIME MANAGEMENT) THINK WIN / WIN (HUMAN INTERACTION) SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND AND TO BE UNDERSTOOD (ART OF LISTENING) SYNERGISE (TEAM WORK) SHARPEN THE SAW ( ENHANCING PHYSICAL, SPIRITUAL, MENTAL AND SOCIAL FITNESS)

START THE 7 HABITS EARLY? The book on 7 habits of effective people was published on Since then the 7 habits are still thriving in boardrooms, government offices and universities around the globe. During 1999, while I was in a presentation, I was asked by an elementary school principal named MURIEL SUMMERS that whether the 7 habits could be taught to very young children - as young as 5 years old. I responded “ Why not?” That’s how this success story unfolds.

SUCCESS STORY OF A SCHOOL A school in North carolina, named A.B. Combs Elementary was treated as one of the best schools in that area with friendly and respectful students, high and sustained test scores, with minimal discipline issues. Students who had severe problems at other schools were progressing at this school. Teachers were happy. Are the descriptions of A.B. Combs sounding “too good to be true?”

SUCCESS STORY OF A SCHOOL At A.B.COMBS, they are teaching – basic leadership principles to young students – as young as five years old. – For getting along well with others – For managing time wisely i.e. the 7 habits They are providing opportunities for students to APPLY THEM in the class room, in the school. Michael Armstrong, Magnet Coordinator said “THIS IS NOT A SCHOOL THAT IS ABOUT MAKING 900 LITTLE BUSINESS LEADERS BUT CREATING A WELL ROUNDED STUDENT WHO KNOWS THEIR STRENGTH AND TO UNLEASH THEIR POTENTIAL TO INFLUENCE OTHER”

SUCCESS STORY OF A SCHOOL What made the A.B. COMBS, the school, an admiring & most wanted school among parents as well as business community of that area? Because they brought up the children what the parents and the business community (future employment providers) want the children to be, by teaching the life skills i.e. 7 habits.

WHAT THE PARENTS WANT?  Parents want their children’s education to be with an emphasis on four areas:  TECHNOLOGY  GLOBAL SKILLS (KNOWING HOW TO WORK WITH PEOPLE OF DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS)  ANALYTICAL AND LIFE SKILLS (BEYONG THE FACTUAL KNOWLEDGE BY GAINING STRONG ANALYTICAL, CREATIVITY AND TEAM SKILLS)  VALUES ( SUCH AS HONESTY, RESPECT AND CLOSE FAMILY TIES)

WHAT THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY WANT?  COMMUNICATION SKILLS (VERBAL AND WRITTEN)  HONESTY / INTEGRITY  TEAM WORK SKILLS  INTERPERSONAL SKILLS  SELF- MOTIVATION / INITIATIVE  STRONG WORK ETHIC  ANALYTICAL SKILLS  TECHNOLOGY SKILLS  ORGANISATIONAL SKILLS  CREATIVE MINDS

WHAT THE TEACHERS WANT?  Teachers want to teach core subjects such as maths, science, geography and language.  Also, they want to teach life skills necessary for 21 st century  They want to make a difference in students’ lives.

SUCCESS STORY OF SCHOOL  A.B.COMB’s primary focus was to give the input what the parents want, what the business community want and what the teachers want  That made the school a magnetic one among all other schools.

Mrs.Debbie Falkner was teaching about words that start with letter p – say PIZZA. She talked about various parts of PIZZA - crust, the sauce, the meat toppings and cheeses. She told the students that their classroom will be turned into a pizza factory for next 30 minutes. She created a situation that there is an order for purchase of some pizzas and the students had to prepare the same.

Then the students were divided into teams of four, with each student assigned a leadership role. One is in charge of the crust, one the sauce, one the pepperoni topping, and another the cheese. They started work creating the ingredients. Mrs.Falkner let them know that they must work as a team so that the order is not delayed. Mrs.Falkner occasionally asks what the end in mind was, what first things first were. She then introduced why working together i.e. what synergy means. When the exercise came to an end, she asked the students about the pros and cons of working as a team. Thus the students learned about the core subject as well as the 7 habits.

At the school, students saw displays, motivating reminders and inspiring quotes that elevate their mindset, everywhere they turn. Each student was asked to maintain a data notebook to record personal and academic goals and to chart their progress toward those goals. Ex: One elementary student noted her personal goal as “To learn to tie my shoes”. Since the data notebooks represent only a single student’s work, students use it only to compare themselves individually against their goals not someone else’s. (What demoralises students is when they are constantly compared to others) Also, teachers present stories and insights from past leaders such as ABRAHAM LINCOLN, MOHANDAS GANDHI AND MOTHER TERESA.

SUCCESS STORY OF SCHOOL To demonstrate the students leadership skills, to guests LEADERSHIP DAY was celebrated at AB COMBs twice a year. At that day, students teach guests what leadership means. they perform musical arrangements,give short speeches, teach the habits, guide tours and showcase other leadership talents. Over 400 student leaders participate in the event. At 2006, A.B.COMBS named no.1 school in U.S. After that many schools followed the AB COMBS i.e. using the 7 habits as foundation to their school children.

SUCCESS STORY OF ANOTHER SCHOOL Example from Rowlett Elementary, Florida: a new student arrived from ECAUDOR in the middle of 4 th grade. He spoke absolutely NO ENGLISH. So, the other students said “LET’S MAKE THIS AS WIN-WIN. WE WILL HELP HIM LEARN ENGLISH. HE CAN TEACH US ABOUT HIS COUNTRY AND HELP US WITH OUR SPANISH and WE WILL SYNERGISE AND DO THIS AS A TEAM” They practically made helping this boy learn english. The boy scored “above average” in reading in state exams. THIS IS AN EVIDENCE OF HOW THE 7 HABITS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

THE LEADER IN OUR CHILD (Bringing the 7 habits to our home) Every child has leadership within. The challenge is How to bring it out, how to nurture it? To enable the leadership in our child: 1.Remember the fundamental philosophy of AB COMBs: “If you treat all students as if they are gifted, and you always look at them through that lens of being gifted in atleast some aspect, they will rise to that level of expectation”. 2.Remember GOETHE’s statement: “Treat a man as he is and you make him worse than he is. Treat a man as he has the potential to become and you make him better than he is”.

THE LEADER IN OUR CHILD (Bringing the 7 habits to our home) 3.Remember the definition of leadership, I put forward: “LEADERSHIP IS COMMUNICATING PEOPLE’S WORTH AND POTENTIAL SO CLEARLY THAT THEY ARE INSPIRED TO SEE IT THEMSELVES”. So, we should develop SELF-LEADERSHIP i.e DOING RIGHT THINGS EVEN WHEN NO ONE IS LOOKING in our children with the 7 habits of effective people.

THE LEADER IN OUR CHILD (Bringing the 7 habits to our home)

THE LEADER IN ME