When Things Go From Bad to Worse: The Impact of Relative Contextual Extremity on Benjamin Montgomery’s Positive Leadership and Psychological Capital

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Baur ◽  
Jeffrey J. Haynie ◽  
M. Ronald Buckley ◽  
Jennifer M. Palar ◽  
Milorad M. Novicevic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Risk And Uncertainty ◽  
Positive Organizational Behavior ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Positive Leadership ◽  
The Impact

Drawing from positive organizational behavior, psychological capital has been shown to be a beneficial resource allowing leaders to remain positive and future-oriented. While having hope, optimism, confidence, and resilience are particularly effective in periods of great risk and uncertainty, extreme environments likely affect leaders’ psychological capital, as evidenced by changes to these comprising factors. Answering several recent calls for historical and narrative-based approaches to leadership in extreme events, we use content analysis and historiometrics in the case of Benjamin Montgomery, the first African American plantation owner in the post–Civil War U.S. South, who faced a sequence of extreme events after purchasing the plantation on which he was formerly a slave. We triangulate our examination through the letters Montgomery penned to his former owner Joseph Davis—the older brother of Confederacy President Jefferson Davis, records on the focal actors, and historical documents from the period. We then reconstruct and examine the relative contextual severity and its impact on Montgomery’s psychological capital across a 6-year period directly following the Civil War (1865-1870). We find that while unfamiliar extreme episodes erode leader psychological capital, those resources are restored when such periods are overcome and experience is gained. We also reconsider psychological capital as a profile multidimensional construct and show underlying pairs of dimensions, which we label as overt positivity (optimism and resilience) and realistic positivity (hope and confidence), trend similarly yet remain distinct from the other pair. The implications of these findings and future directions are then discussed.

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF STRENGTHS USE IN THE WORKPLACE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL (PSYCAP)

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wahyu T Setyobudi
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Positive Organizational Behavior ◽  
Managerial Implication ◽  
Strengths Use ◽  
Managerial Level ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Positive Significant Correlation

The positive psychology and positive organizational behavior approach has grown rapidly in the last decade. This research was designed to find the relationship between strengths use and psychological capital (PsyCap). Survey questionnaires are administered to Indonesian employee, most of them in managerial level. After that, several simple regression procedures are performed. The main finding is that the strengths used among Indonesian manager is low. The low score can be attributable to the mindset dimension of strengths use. Other finding is that, although have a positive significant correlation coefficients with PsyCap, the strengths use in the workplace is a weak predictor of PsyCap. Some discussions about the findings and managerial implication is presented.

scholarly journals PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL OF INDIVIDUALS: WHAT CONTRIBUTIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONS?

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 417
Author(s):  
Hugo Manuel De Oliveira Lucas ◽  
Lisete Dos Santos Mendes Monico ◽  
Florencio Vicente Castro
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Physiological State ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
Positive Organizational Behavior ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Academic Qualifications ◽  
The Impact

Abstract.The research about positive psychology establishes a link between high levels of optimism and hope with the physiological state and psychological well-being of individuals. The present article analyses the Psychological Capital and its pertinence in the current contextualization of organizations. The following are considered POB (Positive Organizational Behaviour) states: hope, resilience, trust and optimism. The sample is composed by 301 employees from Portuguese organizations, aged between 18 and 67 and with diverse academic qualifications and organizational functions. We applied the PsyCap Questionnaire (Luthans, Youssef, & Avolio, 2007), comprising four factors: Hope, Resilience, Optimism, and Self efficiency. The results indicate that the highest score corresponds to Self-efficiency, followed by Hope, Resilience and, lastly, Optimism. The psychological capital is analyzed according to personal data (gender, age, and academic qualifications), information concerning professional status (professional situation, time of work in the organization, managerial duties performance, and liquid monthly salary), and the organizational variables (size of the organization). The results are discussed taking into account the contributions of positive psychological capital, and the impact of current crisis scenario in lower levels of optimism.Keywords: Psychological Capital; Organizations; EmployeesResumo.A investigação sobre psicologia positiva estabelece uma relação entre níveis elevados de otimismo e de esperança com estados fisiológicos e psicológicos de bem-estar dos indivíduos. O presenta artigo abordada o Capital Psicológico e a sua pertinência na contextualização atual das organizações. Consideram-se como estados POB (Positive Organizational Behavior) a esperança, a resiliência, a confiança e o otimismo. A amostra é composta por 301 colaboradores de organizações portuguesas, com idades compreendidas entre os 18 e os 67 anos e com diversas habilitações académicas e funções organizacionais. Aplicámos o PsyCap Questionnaire (Luthans, Youssef, & Avolio, 2007), composto por quatro fatores: Esperança, Resiliência, Otimismo e Autoeficácia. Os resultados indicam que a pontuação mais elevada corresponde à Autoeficácia, seguindo-se a Esperança, a Resiliência e, por último, o Otimismo. O capital psicológico é analisado em função de dados pessoais (género, idade e habilitações literárias), de informações referentes à condição profissional (situação profissional, tempo de trabalho na organização, desempenho de funções de chefia e vencimento líquido mensal) e a variáveis organizacionais (dimensão da organização). Os resultados são discutidos atendendo aos contributos do capital psicológico positivo e ao cenário de crise atual se repercutir em níveis menores de otimismo.Palavras-chave: Capital psicológico; Organizações; Trabalhadores

Positive Workplaces

2009 ◽  
pp. 578-588
Author(s):  
Fred Luthans ◽  
Carolyn M. Youssef
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Positive Organizational Behavior ◽  
Performance Impact ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Psychological Capacities

Over the years, both management practitioners and academics have generally assumed that positive workplaces lead to desired outcomes. Unlike psychology, considerable attention has also been devoted to the study of positive topics such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment. However, to place a scientifically based focus on the role that positivity may play in the development and performance of human resources, and largely stimulated by the positive psychology initiative, positive organizational behavior (POB) and psychological capital (PsyCap) have recently been introduced into the management literature. This chapter first provides an overview of both the historical and contemporary positive approaches to the workplace. Then, more specific attention is given to the meaning and domain of POB and PsyCap. Our definition of POB includes positive psychological capacities or resources that can be validly measured, developed, and have performance impact. The constructs that have been determined so far to best meet these criteria are efficacy, hope, optimism, and resiliency. When combined, they have been demonstrated to form the core construct of what we term psychological capital (PsyCap). A measure of PsyCap is being validated and this chapter references the increasing number of studies indicating that PsyCap can be developed and have performance impact. The chapter concludes with important future research directions that can help better understand and build positive workplaces to meet current and looming challenges.

scholarly journals Red tape and psychological capital: a counterbalancing act for professionals in street-level bureaucracies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Dudau ◽  
G Kominis ◽  
Y Brunetto
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Government Employees ◽  
Street Level ◽  
Red Tape ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Assuming that red tape is inevitable in institutions, and drawing on positive organizational behavior, we compare the impact of individual psychological capital on the ability of street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) with different professional backgrounds to work within the confines of red tape. The two SLB professions investigated here are nurses and local government employees; and the work outcomes of interest to this study are well-being and engagement. The findings show that red tape has a different impact on each professional group but, encouragingly, they also indicate that psychological capital has a compensatory effect. Implications include nurses requiring more psychological resources than local government employees to counteract the negative impact of red tape. A practical implication for managers is that, if perception of red tape in organizations is set to increase or to stay constant, enhancing the psychological capital of professionals in SLB roles, through specific interventions, may be beneficial to professionals and organizations alike.

Think Positive, Focus on Positive

2020 ◽  
pp. 43-59
Author(s):  
Eda Ozgul Katlav ◽  
Nilufer Sahin Percin
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Employee Attitudes ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Positive Organizational Behavior ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
Tourism Enterprises ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Positive Focus

The concept of psychological capital (PsyCap) has attracted a great deal of interest from both academics and practitioners and has been linked to employee attitudes, behavior, and performance at different levels of analysis. Since tourism enterprises are service-intensive enterprises, it is important for employees to recognize and develop their positive aspects. In this chapter, positive organizational behavior, psychological capital, dimensions, and studies on tourism enterprises are discussed. In addition, the importance of psychological capital in tourism sector is mentioned.

Empowering group leaders encourages knowledge sharing: integrating the social exchange theory and positive organizational behavior perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 474-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei-Li Wu ◽  
Yi-Chih Lee
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Work Group ◽  
Group Leaders ◽  
Empowering Leadership ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Leadership

Purpose Knowledge sharing usually happens in a work group context, but it is rarely know how group leaders influence their members’ knowledge-sharing performance. Based on social exchange theory (SET) and the perspective of positive organizational behavior (POB), this study aims to argue that a group leader’s positive leadership (e.g. empowering leadership) can help group members develop positive psychological capital which can increase their knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct a multilevel analysis to explore the interrelationship among empowering leadership, psychological capital and knowledge sharing. The sample includes 64 work groups consisting of 537 group members, and empirical testing is carried out by hierarchical linear modeling. Findings The results show that empowering leadership in a work group has a direct cross-level impact on members’ knowledge sharing and that psychological capital partially mediates the relationship between empowering leadership and knowledge sharing. As a result, this study shows that group leaders with positive leadership can help their members develop better positive psychological resources, which should lead to better knowledge sharing. Originality/value Based on the multilevel perspective and SET, this is the first study to explore how group leaders’ empowering leadership influences members’knowledge sharing. Depending on integrating the POB perspective into SET, this study is also the first one that connects two emerging and important research issues – POB and knowledge sharing.

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF WELL-BEING AT WORK AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL OVER THE TURNOVER INTENTION: A STUDY OF TEACHERS

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
ANGELO POLIZZI FILHO ◽  
JOSÉ A. C. S. CLARO
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Turnover Intention ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Moderating Role

ABSTRACT Purpose: To investigate a theoretical conceptual model for the intention of rotation, analyzing its relationship with well-being at work, psychological capital and intention of rotation. Originality/value: The study contributed to present unpublished aspects and an apparent gap in the theoretical revision of the national literature by the absence of research investigating the relations between psychological capital and intention of rotation. Design/methodology/approach: Research of empirical nature and quantitative approach. We tested four hypotheses regarding the interactions of the variables, using a self-completion questionnaire containing five validated and accurate Brazilian measures. Findings: The hypotheses were confirmed, indicating that teachers have a well-being at work composed of greater satisfactions with colleagues, managers and tasks, and minors with salaries and promotions, medium indexes of involvement with work and affective commitment to the university in which they worked, revealing a low intention of rotation. In the international literature, the concept of psychological capital arises, proposing us future investigations and creating a line of research in Brazil in the measurement of the moderating role of psychological capital in the relations between constructs of organizational behavior. It is essential that other professional categories be studied in the search for evidence about the use of psychological capital as a moderating variable in the relation between the objective dimensions of this study.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document