The Maturity Continuum

Covey talks about what he calls the ‘maturity continuum’ – the levels of dependency that demonstrate the relationship of the 7 habits. They are:

Dependency: needing others to get what you want. This is the lowest level where we all begin at birth.
Independency: Relying upon oneself to get what one wants and needs.
Interdependency: Relying upon cooperation with others to get what I want and help others get what they want.

The first three habits are all about independence, and really are about ones personal character. Character is like the 90% of an iceberg that lays below the water, and the remaining 10% is personality.

The second three habits are about interdependence. This is where the great victories in life are created. But without a foundation of personal character, the fruits of interdependence will be limited. Without self-mastery, one cannot work cooperatively with others. Covey notes that when he reflects on failures in his public life, he can usually trace them back to a private failure: hypocrisy, flakiness, irresponsibility, pride, etc.