Leadership as a Choice: Stephen R. Covey’s Enduring Philosophy
Stephen R. Covey, born in 1932 in Salt Lake City, Utah, would become one of the most influential leadership theorists of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, yet his journey to prominence was far from inevitable. Before he became a household name in business circles and corporate training programs worldwide, Covey worked as a university professor, consultant, and ordained member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a faith that would profoundly shape his worldview and philosophical approach to human development. His early career was relatively quiet, spent teaching at Brigham Young University and developing his ideas about principle-centered leadership. The turning point came with the 1989 publication of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” a book that would sell over 40 million copies worldwide and fundamentally change how millions of people thought about productivity, relationships, and personal development.
The quote “Leadership is a choice, not a position” emerged from Covey’s broader philosophical framework, which emphasized that leadership was not confined to those with formal titles or organizational authority. This idea was revolutionary for its time because it directly challenged the prevailing business paradigm of the 1980s and 1990s, which often treated leadership as a privilege bestowed upon those who climbed the corporate ladder. Covey likely articulated this sentiment throughout the 1990s and 2000s, during speaking engagements, seminars, and his subsequent books, particularly as he expanded his thinking beyond personal effectiveness to organizational leadership. The context was crucial: this was an era when companies were beginning to flatten their organizational structures, when the internet was democratizing information, and when traditional hierarchies were being questioned. Covey’s assertion that leadership was fundamentally about choice—not title—resonated powerfully with this shifting landscape.
Understanding Covey’s life and philosophy is essential to appreciating why he would make such a declaration. Born to a distinguished family with deep religious roots—his father was a lawyer and businessman, his mother a concert pianist—Covey was instilled with values of integrity, service, and continuous self-improvement from childhood. He served as a missionary for his church in England from 1960 to 1962, an experience that deeply influenced his empathy and understanding of human nature. He later earned a graduate degree at Harvard Law School, where he studied organizational behavior alongside traditional legal education, giving him a unique perspective that bridged law, psychology, and organizational development. His academic background was not limited to business; he studied widely in philosophy, history, and religious texts, allowing him to ground his leadership philosophy in broader humanistic principles rather than mere business tactics.
One fascinating and lesser-known aspect of Covey’s life was his recovery from a serious stroke in 1997 at the age of 65. Many expected him to retire, but Covey saw this health crisis not as a defeat but as an opportunity to deepen his understanding of human resilience and interdependence. He worked extensively with therapists to regain his abilities while continuing to write and speak, and this experience directly informed his later work on collaboration and interdependence. Few people realize that much of his thinking about vulnerability and the interconnectedness of human beings was forged in the difficult months of his rehabilitation. Additionally, Covey was extraordinarily prolific—he authored or co-authored over 30 books and countless articles—yet he remained relatively humble about his contributions, viewing himself primarily as a teacher rather than a guru, despite his celebrity status.
The specific assertion that “leadership is a choice, not a position” represented a democratization of leadership that had profound cultural implications. When Covey made this statement, he was directly challenging the notion that only CEOs, presidents, and managers could be leaders. Instead, he suggested that anyone—a parent, a teacher, a custodian, a student—could exhibit leadership by choosing to take responsibility, to be proactive, to seek to understand others before demanding to be understood, and to pursue what he called “win-win” relationships. This idea was liberating for many people who had never considered themselves leaders because they lacked formal authority. The quote essentially reframed leadership from a positional concept based on external validation to an internal capacity based on personal choice and character. It suggested that leadership was less about what you were given and more about what you decided to do.
The quote’s impact on organizational culture and business practice has been substantial and enduring. Corporate trainers have used this statement for decades to encourage employees at all levels to take ownership of their work, to initiate positive change, and to influence their colleagues through their character and competence rather than through authority. The idea resonated particularly strongly with younger generations entering the workforce, who were more likely to question traditional hierarchies and seek meaning and leadership opportunities at all levels of their careers. Companies like FedEx, Ford, and numerous Fortune 500 corporations built leadership development programs around Covey’s principles, recognizing that the most effective organizations were those where leadership was distributed throughout the system rather than concentrated at the top. His framework has been cited in leadership training programs, MBA curricula, and corporate team-building exercises around the world.
What makes this quote particularly meaningful for everyday life is that it places power directly in the hands of individuals. Rather than waiting to be promoted or given authority, Covey’s philosophy suggests that anyone can exercise leadership starting today by choosing their responses to circumstances, by taking initiative, and by treating others with respect and integrity. A person in a junior position can lead through their reliability and positive attitude. A parent can lead through conscious