The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child At a Time

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Product Description

The world has entered an era of the most profound and challenging change in human history. Most of our children are not prepared, and we know it.

Parents around the world see the change and know that the traditional three R's -- reading, writing, and arithmetic -- are necessary, but not enough. Their children need to become far more responsible, creative, and tolerant of differences. They need to increase their ability to think for themselves, take initiative, get along with others, and solve problems.

Business leaders are not finding people whose skills and character match the demands of today's global economy, including strong communication, teamwork, analytical, technology, and organizational skills. They need young people who are self-motivated, creative, and have a strong work ethic.

How will we bridge this ever-widening gap? The Leader in Me is the story of the extraordinary schools, parents, and business leaders around the world who are preparing the next generation to meet the great challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century.

In 1999, the A.B. Combs Elementary School in North Carolina was on the verge of being cut as a magnet school and needed to find new ways to educate its students. Teachers and administrators began teaching practical, principle-based leadership skills -- with remarkable results. In a short time, the number of students passing end-of-grade tests vaulted from 84 to 97 percent. Simultaneously, the school began reporting significant increases in students' self-confidence, dramatic drops in discipline problems, and striking increases in teacher and administrator job satisfaction. Parents, meanwhile, reported equivalent improvements in their children's attitudes and behavior at home. As news of the school's success spread, schools around the world began adopting the mantra to "develop leaders, one child at a time." Business and civic leaders started partnering with schools in their communities to sponsor teacher training and student resources. Each school and family approached the principles differently, but the results were the same -- attentive, energized young people engaging in the world around them.

The best way to prepare the next generation for the future is to emphasize the value of communication, cooperation, initiative, and unique, individual talent -- for nothing undermines confidence more than comparison. Whether in the classroom or at home, it is never too early to start applying leadership skills to everyday life. Drawing on the many techniques and examples that have already seen incredible success around the world, The Leader in Me shows how easy it is to incorporate these skills into daily life. It is a timely answer to many of the challenges facing today's young people, businesses, parents, and educators -- one that is perfectly matched to the global demands of the twenty-first century.

About the Author

Stephen R. Covey is a renowned authority on leadership, a family expert, teacher, organizational consultant, and vice chairman of FranklinCovey Co. The author of several acclaimed books, he has also received numerous honors and awards, including being named one of Time magazine's twenty-five most influential Americans. Covey lives with his wife, Sandra, and their family in the Rocky Mountains of Utah.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (November 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439103267
• ISBN-13: 978-1439103265
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #136,925 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book of Covey in Years Since First Things First, November 25, 2008

By	Sam Hui "Fan" "SamFan" (HK) - See all my reviews

This is a great book about institutionalizing 7 Habits in Kindergartens and Primary schools. It is far better written than Living the 7 Habits, the 8Th Habit, and the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, since this is a real case book on how the 7 Habits paradigm was applied in teaching leadership to kids. The book is well written because it is written in plain English and less pretentious than Covey's the 8Th habit (which is poorly written and filled with theoretical jargons).

Covey shows a lot of passion in educating future kids with correct principles that ignite their "primary greatness" like integrity, honesty, and responsibility. Many schools these days focus on developing kids' competence in many academic subjects, but not necessarily developing their character.

This book is not only a good read for parents, teachers, and educators, but also for 7 habits lovers. Looking forward to reading more books written by Covey on 7 Habits real case histories and applications in the real world, especially in the business setting. Many of his previous books are too theoretical and focusing purely on principles (Living the 7 Habits is more like a "customer testimonials" book which is too much of a PR exercise!). This book certainly helps Covey break new ground in his book authoring approach.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting overview of new education approach, January 25, 2009

By	M. Lang (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This book caught my eye because I have been looking at how education will change to deal with the increasing need for more creativity and innovation within all employees in the future. This book provides a good overview of some changes tried by a number of primarily elementary schools that I did not know about, so it fulfills my need. However, it is primarily an overview. One looking for more of a how to do it will be disappointed.

Basically, the book tells the story of how, in particular, A.C. Combs Elementary School has adopted the seven habits as a kind of value set underlying the traditional curriculum across the school. Other schools are also cited, but with much less detail. Students have done very well, even on the standardized exams that are so important to schools today. In my experience this emphasis on underlying values is one key to a new generation of education, so this material validated what I have been seeing and provided other reinforcing models. (The idea of values is not "being good" but rather a way of life that brings success.) The seven habits do provide a good basis for leadership, and I am now considering how they can add to the initiatives I am doing. However, our focus on creativity and innovation means we use other values that reach beyond the seven habits, primarily think-team-trust. This does not detract from the value of the stories told here to stimulate more thinking about the ideal next generation of education for the 21st Century.

Note that Covey's company apparently now has a large business in providing materials and training for education activities such as those cited in the book. One could perceive this book as a sales pitch. However, I found the writing more an attempt to honestly spread the word rather than sell a given program. I guess the value, then, depends on whether you are in a position to build on the ideas, or you just want to try to copy what is described. In the later case you may have little option but to turn to Franklin Covey for the detail that is missing in the book. I, however, found the overview provided good food for thought for an unrelated activity that is already well underway, and thus a valuable contribution.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Mother's Perspective, January 21, 2009

By	Alana (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

If you, as a parent, teacher, or mentor, are interested in fostering your child's growth in every aspect, then this book is incredibly helpful in doing so. The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child At a Time has real-life examples of case studies, such as the focus on A.B. Combs Elementary with over 800 students who represent 58 countries and 27 languages. With the strategy of "Developing Leaders One Child at a Time" they based their principles in both the 7 Habits and the Baldrige Program (see: http://www.baldrige.nist.gov/). In this book there are implementable ideas for not only teachers and programs of involvement and leadership for children, but ways as a parent you could come up with similar practices at home and with the family doing outreach and community projects.

In the "Aligning for Success" chapter, you find practices taught to the children and many acronyms for education. If you read Malcolm Gladwell's most recent book Outliers: The Story of Success some of these things will sound familiar to you already. In the "Unleashing a Culture of Leadership" chapter, you'll see some ideas of traditions to incorporate, like: Leadership Day, Inaugural Ball, International Festival, Silver-Tray Luncheon, Service Projects and Celebrate Success Day. There are, of course, a lot of evidence from other schools who incorporate the 7 Habits into their curriculum and the stats provided, and a lot of talk about the 7 Habits.

If you are interested in the 7 Habits, I'd highly recommend the Unabridged CD series to listen to in your car- Covey relates many stories and applications as both a parent and professional. It is easy to implement and honestly, it changed my perspective and practices personally. Here it is: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Unabridged Audio Program). As a parent, it is easily relatable, moreso than the book from that direction. I'd ask you to think about purchasing the CDs before even reading the book- the book can get a bit technical and lose people who flip through it the first time- whereas the CDs have interesting stories, elaborated details on each Habit, and are orated by Covey himself.

In chapter 8, "Making It Happen, One Step at a Time", covers The 4 Imperatives of Leadership: Inspire Trust, Clarify Purpose, Align Systems, and Unleash Talent. In the last chapter, "Bringing it Home", you will find a treasure trove on the 2 pages (216, 217) of the 7 Habits and bulletpoints of how to implement them into your life. The Leader in Me is truly a great resource for parents, in addition to teachers, school administration, mentors, parent helpers and Sunday Schools/church children's ministries. Covey does a phenomenal job of laying out the foundation and ideals, in addition to providing many applicable ways to do start right away.