

When you create the feeling of deeply understood, then there is a strong possibility to have an emotional link to them. 2 - Reinforce Our Own CharacterĬharacter strength means becoming aware of your own wishes and favorites so that you can avoid them and be on the receiving end. If you listen to people with pure aspiration, then you will be completely astonished to see how instantly they open up because they know that you are giving them complete attention. Covey addresses this issue by recommending three critical things: 1 - Develop the Pure Desire to Understand “You can’t understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.”ĭr. So, let’s talk about the first part, which is how to understand others the right way. Or, maybe we want to understand, but we lack the necessary skills required to comprehend how differently other people use to think. Generally, when we listen, we try to think about what we want to say during the entire listening process because we presume that the other person ponders the way we do. The main philosophy behind habit 5, seek first to understand them, to be understood by Stephen Covey revolves around it because it helps the decision-making process.

Listening provides the platform to understand what other people want rather than focusing only on what we want. People normally spend too much time reading and writing but don’t give much attention to listening, which is undoubtedly the key factor. In this habit, he gives the concept of empathic listening because it helps to understand the viewpoint of others effectively.Įffective communication plays a major role in the success of any organization. He discusses that people spend time reading and writing but don’t pay attention to listening, which happens to be quite important when it comes to teamwork. According to him, people usually listen with the intent to reply, not to understand, which is an inappropriate way of communication.

Covey describes the significance of being understanding, then to be understood as Habit 5.
