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TheSevenVirtuesofGroupWorkAsNarratedbySaintStephen(Covey)

By

BrookMcGinnis

Phototakenfromhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9607719/Stephen-Covey.html

Photoby:ELEANORBENTALL

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PerhapsbecauseofmyCatholicupbringing,whenIhearthenumbersevenin

referencetoalistofanything,IimmediatelythinkoftheSevenDeadlySinsandthe

SevenHeavenly/ContraryVirtues.Iimagineanyonewhochoosesthatnumberfora

listmustbeatleastawareofthesignificance,eveniftheconnectionwasnot

immediatelymade.StephenCovey’s7HabitsofHighlyEffectivePeopleplaysoffof

theSevenVirtueswell.Infact,Coveyclaimsthatheis“interestedinrestoringthe

poweroftheethic.”(Mizzoni,35)Ethicsandvirtuesaredearfriends.It’sreallynot

toofaraleaptoconnectthevirtuestoCovey’shabits.Thesetwophilosophical

systemsworkverywelltogether.TheSevenHeavenlyorContraryVirtueswere

meanttocountertheSevenDeadlySins.Humilityagainstpride.Abstinenceagainst

gluttonyandsoon.Covey’shabitsarealsomeanttowardoffnegativityand

destructivecontrarytraits.Thesameistrueformyinterpretationofthevirtuesas

theyapplytogroupcollaboration.Intheory,followingtheseprincipleswillwardoff

anybadbehaviororbadpractices.Afterall,beinganeffectivememberofateamor

agroupinmanyinstancesboilsdowntobeingagoodperson.Ihavealignedthe

SevenVirtueswithCovey’sSevenHabitsinanefforttocreateanoutlineofbest

practicesforgroupcollaboration.TheseguidingprinciplesblendCovey’s

contemporaryphilosophywiththemedievalconceptoftheHeavenly/Contrary

Virtues.

Diligenceisrequiredinanypursuit,whethersolitaryorcollaborative.Infact,

oneofthefactorsdrivinggroupformationis“theextentofself-determinationof

individuals.”(“GroupTypes”).DiligencealignswellwithCovey’sFirstHabit:Be

proactive.“Insteadofreactingtoorworryingaboutconditionsoverwhichthey

havelittleornocontrol,proactivepeoplefocustheirtimeandenergyonthingsthey

cancontrol.“(Covey,“7HabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople”)Proactivepeopleare

diligent.Whileitmaybeeasiertofocusonthosethingsthatareinourcontrol,it

isn’tourfirstinstinct.Diligenceisdefinedasacarefulandsteadfastworkoreffort,

whichcaneasilybeappliedtothecliché“worksmarter,notharder.”Carefulisthe

keywordhere.Ingroupworktherearemanyfactorsthatwillbeoutofone’s

control,mainly,theothermembersofthegroup.Thisisthetrulyfrighteningpartof

collaboration:lettinggoandtrustingthatitwillbedone.Adiligent,proactive

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personwillfocusonwhattheycanaccomplishandwhattheycancontributetothe

group.Adiligent,proactivepersonwillnotrunawayduringtheStormingStageof

groupformation,nomatterhowtempting.(Cain,“ExploringtheFiveStagesof

FormationsUsingAdventure-BasedActivities”)Diligencecounterssloth.Thisisthe

firststeptogroupsuccess.

Abstinence,forourpurposes,referstoself-disciplinewhichcoincidesnicely

withCovey’sSecondHabit:Beginwiththeendinmind.“Oneofthebestwaysto

incorporateHabit2inyourlifeistodevelopapersonalmissionstatement.It

focusesonwhatyouwanttobeanddo.”(Covey,“7HabitsofHighlyEffective

People”)Creatingamissionstatementwouldbeagreatpracticetoincorporateinto

groupcollaboration.Carryingoutsuchamissionstatementrequiresgreat

discipline.Theformationofsuchamissionstatementnotonlyservesasanicetrial

runforfuturecollaborationbutalsomakesthegroupfeelinvestedintheprojector

taskathand.“Peopletendtosupportthatwhichtheycreate.Everyoneinyour

groupshouldfeelliketheyhavemadeandimportantcontributiontothemission

statement.”(Ishoy,Swan11)Suchanactivitymightalsokeepsomeofthemore

unproductivegrouprolesasbay,suchastheaggressor,blocker,anddominator.The

aggressor“putsotherpeopledown,”whiletheblockeris“negative,stubborn,and

difficult.”Thedominator,oftenconfusedfortheleader,“triestotakeoverthe

group.”(Roberts,“HowIdentifyingtheDifferentRolesWePlayCanHelpGroups

WorkBetterTogether”)Identifyingtheserolesearlyingroupformationcanhelpto

encouragecollaborationearlyon.Ifallfeelinvestedintheformationofthemission

statement,thenallshouldhavetheendinmindand,hopeful,employthediscipline

necessarytomaketheendmanifest.

Thethirdvirtueishumility,orhumbleness,animportanttraitforworking

withothers.Inflatedself-vieworeventheappearanceofsuchcanimpede

collaboration.Humilitycounterspride,whichiswhythisparticularvirtueworks

wellwithCovey’sThirdHabit:Putfirstthingsfirst.“Toliveamorebalanced

existence,youhavetorecognizethatnotdoingeverythingthatcomesalongisokay.”

(Covey,“7HabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople”)Pride,whisperinginourears,often

enablesustotakeonmorethanweshould.Humilityletsusknowthatwecan’tdoit

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all.Oftenourbiggestdisappointmentsingroupcollaborationscomefrombroken

promises,promisesthataremadeinanefforttomaintainone’spride.Judgment,

honesty,courage,discretion,andegomanagementarealltraitsofagoodfollower.

(McCallum,"Followership:TheOtherSideofLeadership")Foragrouptoworkwell

together,thedistributionofworkshouldbebalancedaccordingtothegroup

members’talentsandcapabilities.Balancemaynotnecessarilybeliteral,though.

Amountofworkisoftenmorecloselycorrelatedtoamountoftimespent,andtime

isrelative.Iwouldmuchratherwritefortwohoursthantalkonthephoneforthirty

minutes.Ifcallingcustomers/patrons/volunteersispartoftheproject,please,give

thattasktosomeoneelse!Partofputtingfirstthingsfirstwithregardsthevirtuesof

groupwork,isputtingthegroupandtheprojectbeforeyourego.Ifyouknowyou’re

notespeciallygoodatatask,speakup.Justmakesureyoucounterwithanotherway

youcancontributetothegroupwhenyoudo.

ItmayseemstrangetolinkChastitywithCovey’sFourthHabit:Think

Win/Win.Formypurposes,Iconnectchastitywiththerelatedconceptsofhonor,

integrity,anddevotion.“Apersonororganizationthatapproachesconflictswitha

win/winattitudepossessesthreevitalcharactertraits:

1. Integrity:stickingwithyourtruefeelings,values,andcommitments

2. Maturity:expressingyourideasandfeelingswithcourageand

considerationfortheideasandfeelingsofothers

3. AbundanceMentality:believingthereisplentyforeveryone.”

(Covey,“7HabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople”)

Thesetraitsalignwiththeparallelconceptsassociatedwithchastityandtheyareall

traitsthatgroupmembersshouldstriveforiftheydesireasuccessfulcollaboration,

asthesetraitswillensureafruitfulexchangeofideas.Thisexchangeofideasiswhy

groupworkcanbesoproductive.“Socialpsychologicalresearchongroupdecision

makingassumesthatthediscussionandexchangeofuniqueinformationamong

groupmembersleadstoahigherqualitydiscussionthanonethatwouldhavebeen

madebyanindividual.”(Kerr,Tindale,“GroupPerformanceandDecisionMaking”)I

knowthistobetrueinmyexperience.Icallonmycolleaguesdailytodiscussideas

inanefforttomakebetterdecisions.Theyallhavedifferenttraining,education,and

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culturalbackgroundsandthatdiversityleadstoarichflowofideasandopinions

thatIwouldnototherwisehaveaccessto.Thissituationiswin/win.Mycolleagues

feelthattheyarepartofthedecision-makingprocessandIbenefitfromtheir

uniqueexperienceandwisdom.Despiteallofthebadgroupexperiencespeople

haveencountered,itisthepotentialforthiskindofexchangethatkeepsuscoming

backtogroupwork.

Seekfirsttounderstand,thentobeunderstood.Thissoundslikesomething

DavidCarradinewouldsayonKungFubutthisisCovey’sFifthHabit.Andreally,

couldn’twealllearnsomethingfromKungFu?ThevirtueIfeelthishabitmost

closelyalignswithispatiencebecausetounderstandanyone,includingyourself,

takesagreatdealofpatience.InCovey’suniverse,thishabitisaboutlisteningfirst

andlisteningtounderstand.“Mostpeoplelistenwiththeintenttoreply,notto

understand[and]becauseyoulistenautobiographically,youtendtorespondinone

offourways:

1. Evaluating:Youjudgeandtheneitheragreeordisagree

2. Probing:Youaskquestionsfromyourownframeofreference

3. Advising:Yougivecounsel,advice,andsolutionstoproblems

4. Interpreting:Youanalyzeothers’motivesandbehaviorsbasedonyour

ownexperience.”

(Covey,“7HabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople”)

Isthereatimeandplaceforautobiographicallistening?Ofcourse,butifwecouple

patiencewiththishabitandapplyitgroupcollaboration,weseethatlisteningwith

theintentofunderstandingfirstcanhelpusdeterminehowbesttorespond.

Sometimes,noresponseisnecessary.Patienceisanotherqualityofgoodleaders

andgoodfollowers.Aleaderwithpatiencecan“seethroughthelensofothers,

evaluatetensionpointsinanunbiasedway,listenandaskquestionswithapositive

attitude,andseekperspectivefromatrustedresource.”(Llopis,"5PowerfulWays

LeadersPracticePatience")Whenyouplacepeopleofdifferingskillsetsand

experienceinagroup,patienceismostdefinitelyavirtue.

Liberalityisthequalityofgivingorspendingfreely.Itrequiresthatonebe

opentonewideasandbefreefromprejudice.Covey’sSixthHabit,synergizing,buys

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intotheclichéthattwoheadsarebetterthanone.Thissentimentisonlytrueifthe

twoheadsareopentoeachother’sideasandiftheyarewillingtosharetheirideas

freely.Diversityisanotherdrivingtenetbehindthedesireforgroupcollaboration.

“Appointing…ateamisfrequentlytheonlywaytoassembletheknowledgeand

breadthrequiredtopulloffmanyofthecomplextasksbusinessesfacetoday.”

(Erickson,Gratton,“EightWaystoBuildCollaborativeTeams”)Withrespectto

beingopenandfreefromprejudice,successfulgroupsareoftendiverse.“Agroup

shouldbelargeenoughtopresentdiverseviewsbutsmallenoughtomake

provisionforallmemberstoparticipateinitsdeliberations.”(Mangal625)This

quotereferstoclassroomgroupsbutthisisveryapplicabletogroupsinmany

situations.Again,allofthisdiversityisonlyfruitfulifthegroupmembersareopen

toit.Synergyisachieved(ideally)intheNormingandPerformingStagesofgroup

formation.(Cain,“ExploringtheFiveStagesofFormationsUsingAdventure-Based

Activities”)Itisfromthissynergy,thisapplicationofliberality,thatthereal

progressinthecollaborativeprocessisachieved.

Thelastvirtueandtheone,thatinmyopinion,shouldguidemostactionsina

groupiskindness.Kindnessisnottobeconfusedwithweakness.Akindpersoncan

bestrong.Akindpersonispatientandopen.Wearenaturallydrawntogroup

formationand“kinshipis…themostpowerfulofcohesiveforcesbindingthehuman

grouptogether.”(“HumanGroupsinHistory”)Wewanttobelongtosomething.We

wanttobeapartofsomething.“Groupsareinevitableandubiquitous

(omnipresent).”(Mangal625)Kindnessisthebestwaytofosterthisalmost

involuntaryimpulse.Covey’sseventhandfinalhabitis:Sharpenthesaw.Covey

definesthisas“preservingandenhancingthegreatestassetyouhave---you.”

(Covey,“7HabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople”)Itisimportanttobekindtoyourselfas

well.Youcanbewrong.Youcanmakemistakes.Ownuptothem,apologize,and

moveon.Thisalsoappliestothegroup.Everyoneshouldtakethenecessarystepsto

preserveandenhancethegroupandthiscanbedonethroughkindness.Ifwelook

atalloftheothervirtuesandhabits,kindnessislacedthroughout.Burnoutisareal

threattogroupwork.Bekindandtakecareofeachother.

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Covey’sarrangedhishabitsintoadiagramthatillustrateshowthehabits

builduponeachotherandhowsymbiotictheyare.IhaveinsertedtheSeven

VirtueswhereIfeeltheyfitinthediagram,especiallyastheypertaintogroupwork

andcollaboration.Therearetwotiers.Thebottomtierseemstofocusonthe

individualandtheindividual’sstateofbeing.Theuppertierfocusesonthe

individualandhowtheyinteractwiththegroup.Togetherthesetiersareboundby

theSeventhVirtue,kindness,whichencirclestheentireprocess.Thisvisual

providesawaytoseehowthevirtuesbuildupononeanotherandcontributetothe

overallsuccessofthegroup.(Seebelow.)

Diligence.Abstinence.Humility.Chastity.Patience.Liberality.Kindness.

Theseguidelinesarebynomeansexhaustive.Everygroupisdifferentandthe

dynamicsvary.Itismybelief,though,thatthesevirtues,combinedwithCovey’s

habitsserveassolidfoundationforensuringsuccessfulgroupcollaboration.Ithink

SaintStephenwouldagree.

BasedonCovey’sDiagramfound:http://www.change-management-coach.com/stephen-covey.html

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WorksCitedCain,Jim."ExploringtheFiveStagesofGroupFormationUsingAdventure-BasedActivities."Http://www.teamworkandteamplay.com/resources/resource_5stages.pdf.TeamworkandTeamPlay.Web.14Oct.2015.Covey,StephenW."7HabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople."Www.stephencovey.com.FranklinCovey.Web.14Oct.2015.<https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits.php>.Erickson,TamaraJ.andLyndaGratton."EightWaystoBuildCollaborativeTeams."HarvardBusinessReview.HarvardBusinessPublishing,1Nov.2007.Web.1Oct.2015.<https://hbr.org/2007/11/eight-ways-to-build-collaborative-teams>."GroupTypes."GroupTypes.N.p.,n.d.Web.07Sept.2015.<http://changingminds.org/explanations/groups/group_types.htm>."HumanGroupsinHistory."HumanGroupsinHistory.StateUniversityofNewYork,Suffolk.Web.7Sept.2015.<http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/westn/humangroups.html>.Ishoy,KimberlyC.,andPaulD.Swan."CreatingaMissionStatementforYourWorkGroup:AGuideforManagersandSupervisors."PerformanceInstructionNonprofitManagementLeadership31.10(1992):11-15.Web.13Oct.2015.<http://th5yk4dg6v.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Creatingamissionstatementforyourwor>.Kerr,N.L.,&Tindale,R.S.(2004).Groupperformanceanddecisionmaking.AnnualReviewofPsychology,55,623–655.1474422910.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.1420092004-10385-022.http://libproxy.umflint.edu:2129/10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.142009.journalCitation,Database:PsycARTICLESReferencesLlopis,Glenn."5PowerfulWaysLeadersPracticePatience."Forbes.ForbesMagazine,3June2013.Web.14Oct.2015.<http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2013/06/03/5-powerful-ways-leaders-practice-patience/>.McCallum,John."Followership:TheOtherSideofLeadership."IveyBusinessJournal.IveyBusinessJournal,1Sept.2013.Web.19Sept.2015.Mizzoni,John."VirtueEthics."Ethics:TheBasics.Chichester,WestSussex,U.K.:Wiley-Blackwell,2010.35.Print.

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Roberts,Rachel."HowIdentifyingtheDifferentRolesWePlayCanHelpGroupsWorkBetterTogether."Eltresourceful.Eltresourceful,12Sept.2012.Web.19Sept.2015.<http://elt-resourceful.com/2012/09/12/how-identifying-the-different-roles-we-play-can-help-groups-work-better-together/>."StephenCovey:DiscoverThe7HabitsofHighlyEffectivePeople."ChangeManagementCoach.Web.14Oct.2015.<http://www.change-management-coach.com/stephen-covey.html>."StephenCovey:Obituary."TheTelegraph.TelegraphMediaGroup,14Oct.2012.Web.14Oct.2015.<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9607719/Stephen-Covey.html>.