The Synergy of Interdependency: Win-Win Stewardship Agreements

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Stephen Covey’s fourth generation approach to time management is unique and transformational compared to the first three time management approaches, which remind us to plan for, prepare for, prioritize and control the “things” in our lives. The fourth generation allows a person to “move beyond time management to life leadership…to paradigms that are based on creating quality-of-life results” (31). It puts “people ahead of schedules, compasses ahead of clocks…lead lives of meaning and contribution…live, love and leave a legacy with balance and joy” (73). It provides a “theory and tools that will empower us to use our endowments to fulfill our basic needs and capacities in a balanced, principle centered way” (73), and provides us the “ability to develop and use our own inner compass so that we can act with integrity in the moment of choice” (74). The fourth generation paradigm puts “people first, things second. It’s leadership first, management second. It’s effectiveness first, efficiency second. It’s purpose first, structure second. It’s vision first, method second” (206). In essence, it allows a person to place goals and roles as the controlling element of the system and favors importance over urgency. The fourth generation approach is truly transformational because it allows a person to use the four interdependent endowments (self-awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination) to “exercise effective, synergistic interdependence” which will “empower us to take time, energy and human creativity that’s typically wasted in Quadrant I crises and unimportant Quadrant III activities, and combine it in ways that create whole new dimensions of effectiveness” (210). The “Golden Rule” to creating a win-win philosophy is... ... middle of paper ... ...ses all stakeholders and the four human needs are essential to transform the quality of our lives. As the shared vision is built, we will become more aware of the “value of synergistic roles and goals” (222). The key to synergizing these roles and goals is in the creation of stewardship agreements. The key to an effective interdependent effort is what Covey refers to as “win-win stewardship agreements” (223). These agreements are built by collaborating on five elements: desired results, guidelines, resources, accountability and consequences. By clarifying how these elements affect teams roles, proper expectations can be set, which will go a long way to reduce frustrations and contribute to the quality of life for everyone involved. Works Cited Covey, Stephen R.; Roger A. Merrill and Rebecca R. Merrill. First Things First. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. Print

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