Dr. Stephen R. Covey

Key Points of Principle-Centered Leadership

Recognized as one of Time magazine's 25 most influential Americans. An internationally respected leadership authority, family expert, teacher, organizational consultant, and best-selling author.

"If you focus on principles, you empower everyone who understands those principles

to act without constant monitoring, evaluating, correcting, or controlling."

– Stephen R. Covey

Leadership power comes from an honorable character – proactive influence.

“ability to recruit, train, compensate, team build, and

problem solve”Organizational

“how well leaders work with others”Managerial

“the ability to communicate and/or relate to others”Interpersonal

Personal “how a person views himself”

Levels of Principle-Centered Leadership

Without Trust There Can Be No Leadership

Trust Factor

8 Characteristics of Principle Centered

Leadership

Continue to learn

Service oriented

Radiate positive energy

Believe in other

peopleLead

balanced lives

Life is an adventure

Synergy

Self-Renewal

educated by their experiences; listen to others; ask questions “the more they know, the more they realize they don’t know”

Continue to learn

see life as a mission; nurturing; thinking of others; “yoke up” daily

Service oriented

Radiate positive energy

cheerful; optimistic; enthusiastic; hopeful; believing

Believe in other people

believe in unseen potential of all people; don’t overreact to negativity; patient; trust

Lead balanced

lives

keep up with current events; many interest; active socially; many friends; active physically; enjoy themselves

Life is an adventure

savor life; security lies in their initiative, resourcefulness, creativity, willpower, courage, stamina and native intelligence

Synergychange agents; work smart and hard; creative; innovative; build on strengths; “whole is more than the sum of the parts”

Self-Renewal physical; mental; emotional; and spiritual

Promotes a shared vision and trust by believing in people.

Promotes interdependency and shared purpose by radiating positive energy.

Promotes the emotional stability of the organization through self-renewal and living balanced lives.

Promotes servant leadership by seeing life as a mission instead of a career.

Promotes self-supervision by empowering people through seeing life as an adventure.

Promotes creativity and innovation through synergy.

Promotes personal mastery through continued learning.

How Theory Applies to School-based Administration

How Theory Promotes Technology Use in Teaching and Learning

Promotes knowledge in emerging technologies.

Leaders ensure technology professional development for staff.

Utilize e-learning to achieve personal mastery.

Showcase best technology practice of others.

Community and student access to computer lab after school for homework and training.

Collaborative technology projects for students that build trust and shared vision.

Leaders seek out ways to allocate technology resources that support effective technology integration.

Web presence to communicate positive attitude and vision.

Uses online collaboration tools to create personal learning networks.

Critique of TheoryDr. Stephen R. Covey’s premise is that leadership must be centered on a set of moral principles. He believes that these principles are interdependent and must be practiced together in leadership to be effective. Covey also suggests that leadership should focus on aiding individuals who need to be listened to, understood, and empowered.

The principles listed in Principle-Centered Leadership support the servant leadership model which believes that “effective leadership emerges from a desire to help others.” Although the characteristics of a principle-centered leader are definitely traits of some people in leadership roles, through the readings in this course, there does not appear to be any one trait that every effective leader falls into.

Fawn Brunson

Effective Leadership

Johns Hopkins Administration & Supervision

JHU-ISTE

July 23, 2010