7 Habits--Interpersonal Leadership

In this chapter, Covey prepares the reader of the interpersonal principles.  He discusses the Emotional Bank account.  To have a healthy relationship with someone, you must 'make deposits' into the account in the form of trust and relationship building actions.  Relationship damaging actions are 'withdrawls.'  To have a healthy relationship, the deposits must outweigh withdrawls.  This is important in any aspect of life, but especially applied to the military.

To be a good leader, one cannot simply give orders.  A leader has to invest in his people, to assure them that they really matter.  If the leader does not work to build that trust, then your people will not function as effectively as they would working for a leader they both trust and like.  Personal connections make all the difference in an industry when people's lives depend on trusting each other.  A true military leader has both the skill to command and the compassion to motivate his men.