Leader in Me teaches the leadership and social emotional skills that are critical to building resilience, managing change, and supporting success in the virtual learning environment for educators, students, and families. 

Our friends at Edexcel, a UK based subsidiary of the Pearson Group, released research findings that span 24 countries and over 2,000 participants. “The most striking finding,” they noted, was the commonality of the responses across countries in terms of what employers want from employees. 

Their list includes problem solving, positive thinking, creativity/innovation, trust, multitasking, initiative, accepting responsibility, team working, sustainability, empathy, communication, professional manners, and cultural sensitivity—much the same as what the A.B. Combs parents and business leaders were requesting ten years ago. Many educators will recognize these globally in-demand skills and attributes as being important aspects of educating a “whole child.” 

Whole-child approaches are those that stretch beyond basic academic skills to include physical health, social development, character, and other nonacademic subjects. I join other business leaders in applauding such efforts. 

So, what do the 7 Habits have to do with this? 

There are two words that I believe add definition to what is meant by educating the whole child and that also encompass most of what parents and business leaders are requesting. The two words are independence and interdependence. In short, parents and business leaders want students to come out of school properly educated to responsibly lead their own lives (independence) and to work well within teams and with people of all types and cultures (interdependence).

--Stephen R. Covey