Stephen Covey’s 4th habit for highly effective people is “Think Win/Win.” In his 1990 book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey compared this habit to five other approaches for dealing with others – Win/Loose, Lose/Win, Lose/Lose, Win and Win/Win or No Deal. Thinking Win/Win may be difficult for college students to adopt, but those who do find it makes college a more rewarding experience.
Stephen Covey’s Book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Stephen Covey provided his readers with seven life lessons: 1) Be Proactive; 2) Begin with the End in Mind; 3) Put First Things First; 4) Think Win/Win; 5) Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood; 6) Synergize and 7) Sharpen the Saw.
The first three habits contribute to what Covey called the “Private Victory.” Think Win/Win is one of the next three habits which deal with the way people interact with others. They facilitate what Covey labeled the “Public Victory.”
Covey contrasted the Win/Win paradigm with five others, describing how each influences people. By applying these criteria to college students, the characteristics of what Covey might call a highly effective college student emerge.
The Win/Lose Paradigm
Covey stated, “Many people have been deeply scripted in the Win/Lose mentality since birth,” (pg. 207). Such people are authoritarian be nature. This approach has its place in sports and in low-trust situations, but it in other realms it creates an adversarial and competitive atmosphere. Win/Lose people don’t view their self-worth by what lies within, but by comparison to others.
For Win/Lose college students it is all about grades. When these students don’t get the grades they seek, they display a variety of negative behaviors. Win/Lose students may argue with their instructors, which almost always exacerbates matters. Others resort to plagiarism and cheating.
Some college instructors run their classes in a win/lose mode. They grade on a normal curve which means some students will get A’s at the expense of those who fail. Win/Lose instructors may ridicule students who do poorly. Unfortunately, these instructors reinforce the beliefs and behaviors of Win/Lose students.
The Lose/Win Paradigm
According to Covey, people programmed in the Lose/Win mode seek approval from others. They lack self-esteem and the courage to express their feelings and convictions. In negotiations they give in or simply give up.
Some college students model the Lose/Win paradigm. If a Lose/Win student does poorly on an exam, he may say to himself, “I am a loser. I can’t do math. You win. Go ahead and flunk me.”
The Lose/Lose Paradigm
Covey described the catalyst for a Lose/Lose situation by stating, “When two Win/Lose people get together – that is, when two determined, stubborn, ego-invested individuals interact – the result will be Lose/Lose,” (pg. 210).
In college, when a strong willed student confronts an equally strong willed instructor the situation becomes unpleasant for both of them. Instructors develop negative biases toward these students and may want them to fail. Lose/Lose students want their instructors to fail, so many of them complain about their instructors and give them bad evaluations.
The Win Paradigm
The Win paradigm is not about competition. It is not about the other person winning or losing. It is the mindset of people who are solely concerned with their own success. They don’t want other people to lose, but they don’t go out of their way to help others.
In the college setting, students who are driven by the Win mentality are less likely to befriend their classmates. With group work and team projects they are concerned about their own grade only. These students seldom offer assistance to classmates. They may try to monopolize class discussions and disrupt the attention their instructors who might otherwise give other students.
The Win/Win or No Deal Paradigm
One should note that there are situations in which a synergistic solution is not possible. Individuals may want to win, but not at the expense of others. They have the confidence to succeed but realize that elements outside their control will preclude their success.
In college, this mentality may prompt students to drop a course. It could also redirect students to change majors or, in an extreme cases, to drop out of college.
The Win/Win Paradigm
Stephen Covey explained that Win/Win people seek mutually beneficial relationships. He wrote, “Win/Win is based on the paradigm that there is plenty for everybody, that one person’s success is not achieved at the expense of exclusion of the success of others,” (pg. 207). On his website “the Community™, empowering your greatness,” he explained that Win/Win is not about being nice, but rather “a character-based code for human interaction and collaboration.”
Based on Covey’s postulates one can conclude that students who don’t think Win/Win are driven by one of the other paradigms. For example, these students may be overly competitive or lack confidence or display strong egos or instigate confrontations or lack respect and concern for others.
Characteristics of a Win/Win College Student
By contrasting the Win/Lose, Lose/Win, Lose/Lose and Win paradigms with Stephen Covey’s criteria for thinking Win/Win, the characteristics of a Win/Win college student emerge. This student will:
- focus on learning more than grade achievement
- adhere to a strong code of honesty and ethics
- display self-confidence
- take personal responsibility for his or her learning
- use failures as a source of motivation to work harder and do better
- never let ego undermine relationships with instructors
- confront instructors respectfully when problems arise
- display respect for fellow students
- be a team player and help other students whenever possible
- strive to make college to be a rewarding and beneficial experience for all
With reference to Dr. Covey’s website, thinking Win/Win “is not a quick-fix technique,” It is part of one’s character. For that reason, it may be the most difficult of his habits for college students to practice.
Reference
Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990.
Paul Hummel - My name is Paul Hummel, and learning has been a life-long pursuit of mine. I began post secondary quest in 1965, and it earned me three ...
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