We are 4 down and 3 to go in our exploration of Stephen R. Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, with regard to effective Agile Transformation. Our focus this time is Habit 5 – Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood. Quite frankly, Habit 5 is the answer to Habit 4 – Think Win/Win or rather, seeking first to understand makes Win/Win possible.
Habit 5 centers around the highest form of listening, what is referred to as “empathic listening.” With this Habit, Covey challenges us to develop the powerful skill of empathetic listening to first diagnose, seek to deeply understand, before prescribing a fix to the problem.
READ ON
About Stephanie Davis
I’m currently VP of Innovation & Delivery Enablement at NMI, where I get to work at the intersection of strategy, delivery, and transformation. I lead an incredible team responsible for portfolio, program, and project management—and we’re also driving some of the most exciting shifts in how we work through AI, Agile Ops, and automation.
At the core, I’m passionate about making things work better—whether that’s helping teams deliver with more clarity and confidence, modernizing how we operate, or scaling new ways of working across the business. I love connecting big-picture vision with practical execution, and I take pride in creating the conditions for people and ideas to thrive.
I believe transformation isn’t just about process or tech—it’s about mindset. And the most powerful results come when we combine innovation with intentionality, and execution with joy.
View all posts by Stephanie Davis
i.am.agile 
Leave a comment