Choose to lead, Covey says

PROVO — As a professor of business at Brigham Young University in the 1970s, Stephen R. Covey made time to teach one religion class per semester.

In those classes, Covey regularly would ask students to take out a blank piece of paper and list down the left side of the page the way they believe others see them.

That's called the "social mirror," he said.

Covey would then ask them to write down the right side of the page the way they feel God sees them, what he calls the "divine mirror."

Then at the bottom of the page, Covey would ask the students to write how they see themselves.

"It's very interesting because usually about two-thirds of the people got their concept of themselves through the social mirror," he said.

That means only one-third of those people are on the path to becoming a leader, the best-selling author and motivational speaker told an audience of more than 1,000 packing the auditorium of the Joseph Smith Building at BYU on Monday.

"Most people get their value system and even their sense of identity from the social mirror — that is, from other people's opinions of them," Covey said.

In order to become a true leader, a person must recognize that he or she is not the product of the social mirror but of the divine mirror, he said.

"You can make a huge difference in your lives," Covey said. "Leadership is a choice. You can make that choice."

Covey calls those who make that choice "trim-tabbers." A trim tab, he explained, is a sailing term for the adjustable section of a rudder that allows the rudder to be corrected.

"It's small rudder that turns the big rudder that turns the entire ship," he said. "It has nothing to do with position. It has everything to do with the power of choice."

And even small choices, Covey said, can bring about big changes.

"Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs," he said.

Covey is the author of the international best-seller "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," which has sold more than 15 million copies in 38 languages.

His other best-selling works include his most recent release, "The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness," as well as "First Things First," "Principle-Centered Leadership" and "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families."

Covey's visit to BYU was sponsored by the Marriott School's Business Strategy Club and the Marriott Undergraduate Student Association.

"I thought it was incredible," said Adam Benton, a BYU senior and president of the Business Strategy Club.

Covey is co-founder and vice chairman of FranklinCovey, a leading global professional services firm with offices in 123 countries. He was honored in 1996 as one of Time magazine's 25 most influential Americans.

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