covey paper

Covey: A New Paradigm 1

Running head: COVEY: A NEW PARADIGM FOR LEADERSHIP

Covey: A New Paradigm For Leadership

Leadership & Management Pre-Assignment

Cohort XI

Michael Parent

Seton Hall University

Executive Ed.D Program


Covey: A New Paradigm For Leadership Leadership & Management Pre-Assignment

Principle Centered Leadership is divided into two sections. In section one,

Covey discusses personal and interpersonal effectiveness. Section two delves into

managerial and organizational development. In both portions of the book, Covey outlines

for readers a model of leadership that could prove beneficial for both leaders and

employees.

Section One: Personal and Interpersonal Effectiveness

According to Covey (1990), principle-centered leadership is practiced on four

levels: Personal, Interpersonal, Managerial, and Organizational. Each of these levels is

connected; one can develop principle-centered leadership if each of these levels works in

concert with each other. It is important to note that each of these levels is developed

from within the leader, not from outside influences.

Covey expands on principle-centered leadership by discussing the characteristics

common in these types of leaders. Namely, principle-centered leaders are continually

learning, are service-oriented, exert positive energy, believe in other people, lead

balanced lives, see life as an adventure and also see the whole as more than the sum of

the parts. Finally, they regularly exercise the four dimensions of the human personality:

physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Covey (1990) goes on to outline the three character traits that are essential to

Greatness: Integrity, Maturity, and Abundance Mentality. With these character traits

come three types of power. Coercive Power is derived from getting followers to follow

out of fear; they are compelled to accomplish tasks through fear of what might happen to


them if they do not. Utility Power is attained when followers follow because of the

potential benefits (personal or political) that may be gained if they do. Principle-Centered

Power is Covey’s theory. This type of power is the most desirable. It is power that some

people have with others because others tend to believe in them and in what they are

trying to accomplish. Followers follow because they believe in their leader and their

cause.

Section Two: Managerial and Organizational Development

Covey believes that there are seven chronic problems within modern

organizations. These seven problems (lack of vision, lack of direction, poor alignment,

unhealthy management philosophies, poor management skills, lack of trust, and a

shortage of integrity) compound to make employees unhappy, discontented, and disloyal.

Much of these current problems with management can be traced back to management

paradigms that have fallen out of favor with Covey. The scientific management

paradigm and the human relations paradigm have served society well during the

Industrial Age and the post World War II era. But they now fail to meet the needs of the

modern employee. In contrast, the human resource paradigm has recognized that people

want to make meaningful contributions to society and to a company or system. Covey

explains that principle-centered leadership can serve as the new model of management.

This paradigm suggests that they want meaning, a sense of doing something that matters.

Unfortunately, I have worked with many teachers and administrators who lack a

principle-centered approach to teaching and leading. Many of my former and current

colleagues seem to lack a purpose. This is especially true in my dealings with

Superintendents and principals.


Two of my former superiors come immediately to mind when I think of leaders

who lack principle-centered power. Coercive and utility powers have been the driving

force in their method of management. Many teachers approach their duties and

responsibilities with a sense of doing what needs to be done not because it is the right

thing to do, but rather because it is what will keep them in their jobs. In short, coercive

power seems to be the power of choice for many of the superintendents I have worked

with.

Applying Covey’s theory of principle-centered leadership seems natural to me.

As a devout Catholic I have made it a point to approach my career as a mission. Through

education I aim to reach those who are in most need, feel rejected by the system, turned

off to learning, or in danger of abandoning the pursuit of knowledge and education

altogether. Thus I have keen sense of purpose and see my career as a service to society,

not as a means to merely earn a salary.

In my office I have placed on my desk a simple card that reads “God Is The

Beginning And The End”. It is there to remind me that I am not the keeper of truth or the

authority on matters of the heart and mind. It is a simple reminder, but one that assist me

in keeping my purpose clear and my mission alive: to treat everyone as I would treat

Christ. For me, that paradigm has mirrored the power of Covey’s. In a sense, the

principles espoused by Christ and my faith have lead me closer to developing a style of

leadership that can only be beneficial to those I serve.

References

Covey, S. R. (1990). Principle centered leadership. New York, NY: Free Press.


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