FranklinCovey Middle East
  • All Solutions
    • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
    • The 4 Essential Roles of Leadership
    • The 4 Disciplines of Execution
    • The 6 Critical Practices For Leading a Team
    • Unconscious Bias
    • Current Issues
    • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - 30th Anniversary Edition
    • Online Learning
    • Multipliers
    • Leadership Development
      • - The 4 Essential Roles of Leadership
      • - The 6 Critical Practices For Leading a Team
      • - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
      • - The 7 Habits For Managers
      • - The 7 Habits Leader Implementation
      • - The 7 Habits: Foundations
      • - Building Business Acumen
      • - Find Out Why
      • - Leadership Series
    • Execution
      • - The 4 Disciplines of Execution
    • Increasing Productivity
      • - The 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity
      • - Project Management Essentials
      • - Presentation Advantage
      • - Time Management Essentials
    • Building Trust
      • - Leading At The Speed Of Trust
      • - The Speed of Trust Foundations
    • Customer Loyalty
      • - Leading Customer Loyalty
    • Sales Performance
      • - Sales Leadership Base Camp
      • - Helping Clients Succeed: Filling Your Pipeline
      • - Helping Clients Succeed: Qualifying Opportunities
      • - Helping Clients Succeed: Closing the Sale
    • Education
      • - Leader In Me
      • - Higher Education
  • Engage With Us
  • Competency Mapper
  • Events
  • Resources
  • Contact

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood®


Habit 5
CONTACT
CONTACT

 

 

"Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply."

DR. STEPHEN R. COVEY

HABIT 5: SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD®
Communicate effectively at all levels of the organization.

Communication is the most important skill in life. You spend years learning how to read and write, and years learning how to speak. But what about listening? What training have you had that enables you to listen so you really, deeply understand another human being? Probably none, right?

 

"If I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: Seek first to understand, then to be understood."
DR. STEPHEN R. COVEY

If you're like most people, you probably seek first to be understood; you want to get your point across. And in doing so, you may ignore the other person completely, pretend that you're listening, selectively hear only certain parts of the conversation or attentively focus on only the words being said, but miss the meaning entirely. So why does this happen? Because most people listen with the intent to reply, not to understand. You listen to yourself as you prepare in your mind what you are going to say, the questions you are going to ask, etc. You filter everything you hear through your life experiences, your frame of reference. You check what you hear against your autobiography and see how it measures up. And consequently, you decide prematurely what the other person means before he/she finishes communicating. Do any of the following sound familiar?

 

SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND

Because you so often listen autobiographically, you tend to respond in one of four ways:

 

Evaluating: You judge and then either agree or disagree.

Probing: You ask questions from your own frame of reference.

Advising: You give counsel, advice, and solutions to problems.

Interpreting: You analyze others' motives and behaviors based on your own experiences.

https://franklincoveyme.com/web/content/dam/fcdc/the-7-habits/seek-2.jpg

You might be saying, "Hey, now wait a minute. I'm just trying to relate to the person by drawing on my own experiences. Is that so bad?" In some situations, autobiographical responses may be appropriate, such as when another person specifically asks for help from your point of view or when there is already a very high level of trust in the relationship.

 

Habit 4: Think Win-Win®
Habit 6: Synergize®
DOWNLOAD FREE GUIDE
Make The Mental Leap to Leader
A SIX-STEP GUIDE FOR FIRST-LEVEL LEADERS
This free and impactful guide will walk your first-level leaders through proven solutions to some of the most common issues leaders face. Share it with your first-level leaders to help them build their confidence and skills, and to drive your organizational results.
DOWNLOAD YOUR GUIDE
SOLUTIONS THAT FOCUS ON SEEKING TO UNDERSTAND FIRST
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Sets the foundation for professional effectiveness - increasing productivity, restoring balance, and developing greater maturity and responsibility.

 

LEARN MORE

 

Leading at The Speed of Trust

Helps your leaders identify and close trust gaps that exist in your organization. As a result of attending this work session, participants will be able to better manage change and lead high performing teams that are agile, collaborative, innovative, and engaged.

 

LEARN MORE

 

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By continuing to use this site you agree to our use of cookies.
Learn more
en
UAE
Company Info
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Privacy
Learn More
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
FOLLOW US
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Youtube

 

 

 

FranklinCovey Middle East. All rights reserved. © Copyright 2021

FranklinCovey Middle East Logo