The 7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens

Life for teens today is no longer a playground. It’s a jungle out there, with tough choices, peer pressure, personal insecurities, and anxiety about what others think. Then consider feelings of depression, inferiority, and jealousy of others’ successes, plus self-destructive behaviors such as pornography, vandalism, and gangs. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens® workshop from FranklinCovey, based on the best-selling book of the same name by Sean Covey and the No. 1 best-selling business book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, gives young people a set of proven tools to deal successfully with real life. The training is a means for educators, administrators, and superintendents to help improve student performance; reduce conflicts, disciplinary problems, and truancy; and enhance cooperation and teamwork among parents, teens, and teachers.

What Is the One-Day Workshop All About?

Using Sean Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, students are given a powerful overview of the 7 Habits® in their language. In the one-day workshop, students will learn the time-tested principles of the 7 Habits and how to apply them to the tough issues and life-changing decisions they face. Utilizing full student participation plus humor, anecdotes, videos, real-life scenarios, and relevant interactive exercises, students will laugh while they learn with a newfound belief in their own abilities. In addition to the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, each participant will also receive the Success Guide workbook (36 pages). Included for facilitators is a PowerPoint® presentation, overhead transparencies, and cool videos designed just for teens. This workshop can also be adapted to teach the use of an agenda or a planner. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens are essentially seven characteristics that happy and successful teens the world over have in common. Habits 1, 2, and 3 deal with self-mastery called the “Private Victory®.” Habits 4, 5, and 6 deal with relationships and teamwork, or the “Public Victory®.” The last habit, Habit 7, is the habit of renewal. It feeds all of the other six habits. The training provides students with a step-by-step framework for boosting self-image, building friendships, resisting peer pressure, achieving goals, improving communication and relationships with parents, and much more. The habits build upon each other and foster behavioral change and improvement from the inside out.

Habit 1: Be Proactive®
Take responsibility for your life.

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind®
Define your mission and goals in life.Habit 3: Put First Things First®
Prioritize and do the most important things first.Habit 4: Think Win-Win®
Have an “everyone-can-win” attitude.Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood®
Listen to people sincerely.Habit 6: Synergize®
Work together to achieve more.Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw®
Renew yourself regularly.

What Is the In-Depth Course?

The in-depth course allows teens to delve deeper into each of the habits and truly apply them to their lives. Each teen participant will receive the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens as well as the Ultimate Activity Guide workbook (276 pages), which contains more than 200 individual and group activities focused around the major themes and applications of the 7 Habits.The materials for this in-depth course were designed to provide optimum flexibility for facilitators and educators. They can be used to teach a semester-long course, direct a self-paced learning course, supplement existing lessons plans, and reinforce current-event topics in the format of a retreat or workshop.

What Impact Does the Workshop Have on Teens and Students?

The 7 Habits have a profound effect on students’ attitudes and belief about themselves and others in a relatively short amount of time. Although the results of exposure to such powerful principles cannot be fully measured over the span of an entire lifetime, one school was able to track the attitudes during the course of a regular semester term.The self-concept students had made the most dramatic improvement of all the survey items. Increased perception of personal self-control over one’s life and one’s choices is one of the keys to personal health and well-being.The next highest increase occurred in students’ willingness and openness to work with others on projects. Collaboration and interdependence are skills highly sought after in today’s workplace.At the end of a semester’s study of the 7 Habits, Joliet Township High School asked a few more questions of their students. The remarkable results are below.

Ninety percent of students surveyed either agreed or strongly agreed with these statements:

  • I know what I believe about myself, so it has become easier to be less attached to the praise or criticism of others.
  • I try to see things from other points of view.
  • I think about my goals for the future.
  • I try to make sure I have the courage to stand up for my needs.
  • I try to listen to others without offering advice right away.

Eighty percent of students surveyed either agreed or strongly agreed with these statements:

  • I know that the feedback (compliments or criticism) I receive is not necessarily a true reflection of who I am.
  • I try to get as much information as possible to make informed decisions.
  • I don’t blame others for my choices or problems.
  • I think about the kind of person I want to be.
  • I visualize the outcome before I begin.
  • I make an effort to listen better.
  • I try to listen without asking too many questions right away.
  • I try to listen with the goal of understanding the other person’s point of view, rather than just waiting for my turn to talk.
  • My relationships in general have improved.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens workshop can help youth:

  • Gain greater control of their lives.
  • Improve relationships with family and friends.
  • Increase self-confidence and self-esteem.
  • Make smarter decisions.
  • Overcome addiction.
  • Define their values and what matters most to them.
  • Get more done in less time.
  • Be happy.
  • Find balance between school, work, friends, and everything else.

What resources are available to help teens write their own mission statement?

The best way to know where you want to end up is to write a personal mission statement. A mission statement is like a personal credo or motto that states what your life is all about. It’s like a tree with deep roots, stable, and isn’t going anywhere, but alive to continually grow. It will open your eyes to what’s really important to you and help you make decisions accordingly. It will also help you discover what you do really well.The Great Discovery is a fun activity designed to help you get in touch with your deeper self as you prepare to write a mission statement. As you look at the activity, answer the questions honestly. When you are finished, we think you’ll have a better idea of what inspires you, what you enjoy doing, whom you admire and where you want to take your life. Ready…set…now…go for it!Click here to download a copy of The Great Discovery.