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Using signature strengths in pursuit of goals: Effects on goal progress, need satisfaction, and well-being, and implications for coaching psychologists
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Objective: In recent years there has been a growing interest in research related to the use of strengths. Although results from past research have consistently suggested that the use of strengths is associated with higher performance and greater well-being there is, as yet, no clear theory describing how using strengths might contribute to greater well-being or goal progress. The objective of the current research was to test a model of how strengths use may support performance and well-being through an extension of the self-concordance model of healthy goal attainment.
Design: We test a repeated measures cross-sectional model in which using signature strengths is associated with goal progress, which is in turn associated with the fulfilment of psychological needs, and in turn well-being.
Method: Participants were 240 college students who completed measures of psychological strengths, need satisfaction, well-being, goal progress and goal attainment at three time points over a three-month period.
Results: Our results demonstrate that strengths use is associated with better goal progress, which is in turn associated with psychological need fulfilment and enhanced well-being.
Conclusions: Strengths use provides a key support in the attainment of goals, and leads to greater need satisfaction and well-being, providing an extension of the self-concordance model of healthy goal attainment. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
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... As a result, self-efficacy is commonly paired with personality traits to predict academic achievement (Caprara, Vecchione, Alessandri, Gerbino, and Barbaranelli, 2011), health-behavior changes (Strecher, DeVellis, Becker, and Rosenstock, 1986), and academic-goal progress (Lent et al., 2005). Personality traits in addition to the big-five, such as Rotter's (1966) locus of control (Schunk, 1990), perfectionism (Powers, Koestner, and Topciu, 2005), and personality strengths, 24 distinct strengths that range from creativity to leadership to humor (Linley, Nielsen, Gillett, and Biswas-Diener, 2010), have also been used to predict behavior changes. Of these studies, only a very limited number have examined the impact of these traits on financial behaviors; of which, the majority focus on locus of control (Joo, Grable, and Bagwell, 2003) or self efficacy (Hilgert, Hogarth, and Beverly, 2003;Perry and Morris, 2005). ...
Although considerable evidence suggests that setting goals increases the odds of behavior changes that lead to goal attainment, less research has been conducted examining what underlying traits allow some to successfully attain their goals when others do not. This study, using the Theory of Planned Behavior, examines the affects of individual control beliefs on financial goal progress. Findings suggest that low control beliefs are significantly associated with less financial-goal progress; however, the receipt of expert financial advice can reduce this negative effect and result in higher levels of goal progress than that of individuals with high control beliefs.
... Other studies demonstrate that people who use their strengths more often show higher levels of self-esteem, self-efficacy, vitality, and well-being [4,5,6]. Moreover, people who use their strengths and strive to achieve their goals are more likely to achieve those goals and feel satisfied and fulfilled upon completion [7]. In the field of industrial/organizational psychology and coaching, previous studies have presented the relationship between the use of strengths and better performance, job satisfaction, work engagement [8], and so on. ...
This study aimed to develop a Japanese version of the strengthspotting scale and examine the relationship between strengthspotting and relationships with others, as well as factors that related to an interpersonal relationship. A Japanese version of strengthspotting scale was developed and administered with six other scales of interpersonal factors to 264 college students. The results indicate that the Japanese version of strengthspotting scale has sufficient reliability and validity. Furthermore, the results revealed a relationship between each of the five domains of strengthspotting and interpersonal factors: communication skills, affiliation motives, shyness, optimism and pessimism, and positive relationships with others. The study provides a basis for conducting further empirical research and practice on strengthspotting in Japan.
... The growing research in strengths across disciplines indicates strengths interventions are more beneficial than deficiency interventions (Meyers, van Woerkom, de Reuver, Bakk, & Oberski, 2015;Ruch, Niemiec, Mcgrath, Gander, & Proyer, 2020). Moreover, an increasing number of coaches are using strengths-based interventions with their clients (Elston & Boniwell, 2011;Linley, Nielsen, Wood, Gillett, & Biswas-Diener, 2010). This may be because they can help to counterbalance an individual's natural negativity bias making them useful for solution focused coaching conversations (Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Finkenauer, & Vohs, 2001; A. M. Grant & O'Connor, 2018). ...
This study aimed to understand how coachees experienced strengths-based coaching following the identification of their strengths with the VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS). The data was elicited from five semi-structured interviews and analysed with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The study revealed three themes: strengths becoming conscious, development of subjective self and consciously applying strengths. The study has illuminated how strengths-based coaching helped to uncover strengths blind spots and raise coachees' awareness. Strengths became more tangible for the coachees providing a framework in coaching and facilitating discussions. Coachees were then able to consciously apply their strengths outside of coaching, making them feel more equipped for future challenges.
Future orientation can serve as an internal protective factor that has been reported to influence academic achievement and self-regulated learning, but limited studies on this topic have been conducted with students who are at risk of continued low performance, or “academically at-risk” students. The objective of this study was to explore and compare the future orientation of academically at-risk students who developed moderate to high resilience (i.e., “resilient”) with that of their peers who developed a lower level of resilience (i.e., “less resilient”). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 resilient and 14 less resilient students. The results of the study suggest that resilient students tend to have clearer academic goals and career plans compared to their less resilient peers. Goal commitment and focused goals were also other features that distinguished academically resilient students from their less resilient counterparts. Furthermore, students who were found to develop a higher level of resilience indicated clearer mental models of their possible futures and more concrete strategies and plans on how to achieve their goals. A positive attitude toward failure or challenges was also associated with these students. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
This chapter focuses on what is known about the science of character strengths for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) and outlines a myriad of practices emerging in the field, stemming from the science. Seven core insights integrating character strengths and IDD help to foster an optimal strengths-based mindset. These involve character strengths as a language of inclusiveness, a focus on ability, an equalizer, a balancer of extremes, a growth mindset approach, a path for managing adversity, and facilitating belonging. There is an emerging science using character strengths for IDD, which includes a range of assessment approaches, examination of the character strengths of staff, the character strengths of the individuals themselves, and outcomes. This leads to practical strategies involving creative adaptations to assessing character strengths, interventions, strengths-spotting, and individualized planning involving character strengths-infused IEPs and ISPs (individualized strengths plans). These scientific and practical advancements in character strengths are part of a movement in the disability field we refer to as Strengths-Based: Phase 2 (where Strengths-Based: Phase 1 refers to focusing on individuals' interests, resources, skills, and abilities). These character strengths areas of Phase 2 are discussed along with multiple examples.KeywordsCharacter strengthsIntellectual/developmental disabilityAutismGrowth mindsetInclusionBelongingCharacter strengths interventionsStrengths-spottingIndividualized education plan (IEP)Individualized strengths plan (ISP)
This article describes coping imagery, an established visualisation technique. Coping imagery can reduce stress and increase confidence and performance before challenging situations.
Keywords: coping imagery, visualisation, stress reduction, enhanced performance.
A number of different approaches to coaching exist (e.g. Fournies, 2000; Whitmore, 1996). Our favoured form of coaching is derived from the principles and practice of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) (Beck, 1976; Ellis, 1994). Cognitive behavioural approaches emphasize that how we react to events is largely determined by our views of them, not by the events themselves.
Neenan, M. and Palmer, S. (2001). Cognitive Behavioural Coaching. Stress News, 13, 3, 15-18.
Dysfunctional personality characteristics can derail the career of an otherwise competent executive. Personality predicts both leadership effectiveness and derailment, and assessment of these characteristics is critical for effective coaching and leader development. This paper reviews the relationship between personality and leadership and offers a taxonomy of flawed interpersonal strategies that can degrade a leader’s capacity to build and maintain high-performing teams. Assessment of these dysfunctional dispositions facilitates the coach’s ability to build an effective coaching relationship, enhance the executive’s strategic self-awareness, and identify appropriate targets and strategies for intervention.
This paper describes a five-day intensive leadership coaching course that was recently introduced as an Advanced Topic in Management within the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program offered by The University of Western Australia (UWA) Business School. The unit was designed specifically for those students nearing the completion of their MBA studies and curious about coaching and its ability to bring about individual and organisational transformation. In addition to summarising the course outline, including learning outcomes, teaching and learning strategies, unit delivery and means of assessment, both qualitative and quantitative course evaluation feedback data from students enrolled in 2007 (N=40) and 2008 (N=40) are presented. Results indicated that leadership coaching students expressed a strengthened belief in their coaching skills in response to taking the unit.
Coaching focuses both on facilitating goal attainment and enhancing well-being. Yet there has been little work on developing models that integrate mental health/illness issues with goalstriving. This is important because many distinctions between coaching and therapy have been based on the supposed differing levels of psychopathology in clinical, counselling and coaching populations. However, research suggests that some coaching clients have high levels of depression, anxiety or stress, and there is recent evidence that coaching clients who voluntarily seek life coaching tend to have higher levels of psychopathology than individuals who undertake coaching as part of a workplace coaching program. These findings underscore the importance of coaches having a sophisticated understanding of the issues related to coaching and mental health. Drawing on recent languishing-flourishing work in the area of positive psychology this paper presents a new provisional model of goal striving and mental health/mental illness with two key dimensions: (i) mental health-illness; and (ii) intentional goal striving (high or low). The languishing section of the model represents individuals who are have low levels of psychological or subjective well-being but do not have elevated levels of depression, anxiety or stress. The acquiescent section is where individuals have good levels of mental health and but have low levels of intentional goal striving. The flourishing section is where individuals have high levels of mental health and are actively engaging in high levels of intentional goal striving. The model also delineates a distressed but functional client group who have high levels of intentional goal striving, but significant levels of psychopathology, and distinguishes those from clients with major psychopathology but very low levels of intentional goal striving, Recommendations are made for future coaching research and practice.
Positive psychology and coaching psychology share a number of common themes and fundamental assumptions. Blending positive psychology, strengths approaches and coaching psychology, our work in strengths coaching with leaders enhances both leadership and organisational capability. In this article, we explore the role of leaders as climate engineers and provide a brief history of strengths approaches, together with definitions of what we mean by strengths and strengths coaching, and how we use these in practice. We introduce the integrative Realise2 model of strengths and weaknesses which distinguishes between the six areas of realised strengths, unrealised strengths, regular learned behaviours, infrequent learned behaviours, exposed weaknesses, and unexposed weaknesses, before going on to demonstrate how leaders can make weaknesses irrelevant through role shaping, complementary partnering, strengths-based team-working or personal development. We examine the golden mean of strengths use, looking at strengths both overplayed and underplayed, before concluding with a view on the benefits of strengths coaching for both leadership and organisational capability. The Appendix provides 10 summary points in a strengths coaching checklist for leaders.
Adolescents' beliefs in their personal control affects their psychological well-being and the direction their lives take. Self-Efficacy in Changing Societies analyzes the diverse ways in which beliefs of personal efficacy operate within a network of sociocultural influences to shape life paths. The chapters, by internationally known experts, cover such concepts as infancy and personal agency, competency through the life span, the role of family, and cross-cultural factors.
Two studies used the self-concordance model of healthy goal striving (K. M. Sheldon & A. J. Elliot, 1999) to examine the motivational processes by which people can increase their level of well-being during a period of time and then maintain the gain or perhaps increase it even further during the next period of time. In Study I, entering freshmen with self-concordant motivation better attained their 1st-semester goals, which in turn predicted increased adjustment and greater self-concordance for the next semester's goals. Increased self-concordance in turn predicted even better goal attainment during the 2nd semester, which led to further increases in adjustment and to higher levels of ego development by the end of the year. Study 2 replicated the basic model in a 2-week study of short-term goals set in the laboratory. Limits of the model and implications for the question of how (and whether) happiness may be increased are discussed.