"Unleashing the potential of this age will require a fundamental break from the control paradigm. It will require leaders to embrace a whole person paradigm, accepting people as four-dimensional - with a body, mind, heart and spirit," said Stephen Covey, who spoke at IESE on Oct. 23.

Covey, author of the enduring bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, was guest speaker at a Continuous Education session on the school's Barcelona campus. He was presented by IESE Prof. Santiago Álvarez de Mon and Carlos Viladrich, director of human resources at Adecco.

"The industrial age mindset is one of controlling people," said Covey. "The knowledge worker is one of release, managing autonomy. Leadership is not about control, it is about unleashing a whole person toward compelling, inspiring and worthwhile goals," he said.

Covey highlighted seismic societal shifts such as the globalization of markets and technologies, the democratization of information access (driving social expectations and hence political will), universal connectivity (eroding industry and business demarcations) and the exponential increase in competition. He also emphasized the movement of wealth creation - away from a focus on money to people.

The resulting change, from the industrial age to the "knowledge worker" era, requires completely different mind, tool and skill sets, he said. It means viewing employees as people, who have multiple dimensions.

His almost two-hour address, titled "How to Exceed Expectations through Character and Commitment," spanned topics such as:

• Why employees should be accounted for as assets, not liabilities
• How to discover your own "voice" (where your passion meets a human need) and help others find theirs
• Why measuring the execution quotient of your organization - its ability to execute its most important goals - is crucial
• The unbeatable communication power of the Indian talking stick - it is not passed on to allow the next person to speak until the holder feels what they said was understood

Covey, who turned 76 the day after his presentation at IESE, still tours extensively and has a range of new books in the pipeline.

Coming titles include Live Life in Crescendo; Blessed Are the Peacemakers; Partnering to Prevent Crime and Terrorism; and The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time.

Yet he still finds plenty of time for his only hobby and highest priority: his wife, nine children and 50 grandchildren. Covey said one of his secrets was being strict with his schedule. He avoids the "urgency addiction" and spends the bulk of his work day on tasks that are important yet not urgent - "quadrant two" in his well-known time management tool.

"Watch how fun it is to turn smilingly, cheerfully to the person next to you and simply say 'no'," he told his audience.

Stephen R Covey Website