Learning from conflicts? The relations between task and relationship conflicts, team learning and team performance

Item does not contain fulltext01 oktober 200924 p

Strengthening personal growth:The effects of a strengths intervention on personal growth initiative

Personal growth is not only a central individual need but also a key requirement for organizational success. Nevertheless, workplace interventions aimed at stimulating the personal growth of employees are still scarce. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of an intervention that aimed at the identification, development, and use of employee strengths in stimulating personal growth initiative. We conducted a field experiment with a sample of 84 educational professionals who were either assigned to a strengths intervention or a wait-list control group. In a 1-month follow-up study, we found that the intervention had a direct effect on general self-efficacy (GSE) and an indirect effect on personal growth initiative. Moreover, in line with plasticity theory we found that the intervention was especially effective for participants with low to medium initial levels of GSE. We conclude that a strengths intervention may provide a brief and effective tool for organizations that aim for self-directed learning among their staff, in particular when offered to employees who lack confidence in their own abilities. Practitioner points In a 1 month follow-up study, we found that a strengths intervention had a positive direct effect on general self-efficacy and an indirect effect on personal growth initiative. In line with plasticity theory, we found that the strengths intervention was especially effective for participants with low to medium initial levels of general self-efficacy

Improving quality and safety of care in nursing homes by team support for strengths use: A survey study

Growing evidence suggests that workload has an adverse effect on quality of care and patient safety in nursing homes. A novel job resource that may improve quality of care and patient safety and alleviate the negative effect of workload in nursing homes is team support for strengths use. This refers to team members’ beliefs concerning the extent to which the team they work in actively supports them in applying their individual strengths at work. The objective was to investigate the relationships between workload, team support for strengths use, quality of care, and patient safety in nursing homes. We collected (cross-sectional) survey data from 497 caregivers from 74 teams in seven different nursing homes. The survey included measures on perceived workload, team support for strengths use, caregivers’ perception of the quality of care provided by the team and four safety incidents (i.e. fall incidents, medication errors, pressure ulcers, incidents of aggression). After controlling for age, team size, team tenure, organizational tenure, and nursing home, multilevel regression analyses (i.e. individual and team level) showed that perceived workload was not significantly related to perceived team-based quality of care and the frequency of safety incidents. Team support for strengths use was positively related to perceived team-based quality of care, negatively related to medication errors, but not significantly related to fall incidents, pressure ulcers, and aggression incidents. Finally, we found that perceived workload had a negative effect on perceived team-based quality of care when team support for strengths use is low and no significant effect on perceived team-based quality of care when team support for strengths use is high. This study provides promising evidence for a novel avenue for promoting team-based quality of care in nursing homes

Teachers’ goal orientation profiles and participation in professional development activities

Participation in professional development activities is important for teachers to continuously improve their knowledge and skills. However, teachers differ in their attitude towards learning activities. This paper examined how different goal orientation profiles are related to participation in professional development activities (acquiring information and asking feedback). To this end, we conducted latent profile analysis based on a sample of 984 teachers in vocational education. Five profiles were identified: diffuse (50.1%), moderate learning (12.3%), high avoidance (10.9%), performance oriented (15.9%) and success oriented (10.7%). Furthermore, means of acquiring information and asking feedback from teachers were compared across the profiles. Teachers with a success-oriented profile (high learning and performance approach goals) scored significantly higher while teachers with a high-avoidance profile scored significantly lower on asking for feedback and acquiring information. Exploration of background characteristics indicated that age, gender and work experience outside education were related to the goal orientation profiles. Our findings show that goal orientation profiles can be used to explain individual differences in teachers’ propensity to engage in professional development activities

Investigating the impact of a combined approach of perceived organisational support for strengths use and deficit correction on employee outcomes

Orientation: The positive psychology paradigm suggests a balanced focus on employee strengths and deficits. However, an overemphasis on strengths has raised questions regarding the value of a focus on strengths use, deficit improvement or a combined approach with a balanced focus on both. Research purpose: The primary objective was to examine whether perceived organisational support (POS) for strengths use, POS for deficit improvement or a combined approach would be the strongest predictor of work engagement, learning, job satisfaction and turnover intention. Motivation for the study: In the literature, there is little empirical evidence to support an approach where both employees’ strengths are used and their deficits improved. Research design, approach and method: This study was conducted among 266 teachers from four public schools in the Western Cape. A cross-sectional survey design was used. Main findings: The results suggest that both strengths use and deficit improvement are important predictors of work engagement, learning, job satisfaction and turnover intention. Learning was higher and turnover intention lower for individuals experiencing a combined approach compared to those believing that their school did not support them in either using their strengths or improving their deficits. Furthermore, a combined approach was associated with higher job satisfaction than a strengths-based approach, and a deficit-based approach was shown to be associated with higher levels of work engagement and lower turnover intentions compared to an environment where neither employees’ strengths nor deficits were addressed. Practical or managerial implications: The results urge organisations to invest an equal amount of resources in their employees’ strengths and deficits, as opposed to neglecting either one. Such a combined approach may be associated with increased work engagement, learning and job satisfaction and lower turnover intention. Contribution: This study provides empirical evidence that supports a combined approach where both employees’ strengths are used and their deficits developed

Mindfulness as substitute for transformational leadership

Purpose Transformational leaders spark the intrinsic motivation of employees, thereby stimulating their extra-role performance. However, not all employees are lucky enough to have a transformational leader. The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent mindfulness can function as a substitute for transformational leadership. By being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present, mindfulness provides employees with a source of intrinsic motivation that lies within the person, thereby possibly making employees less dependent on transformational leadership. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was used to collect data of 382 employees working in diverse sectors in the Netherlands. Findings Moderated mediation analyses indicated that mindfulness partly compensates for a low levels of transformational leadership in fostering intrinsic motivation and in turn extra-role performance, thereby providing evidence for the substitutes for leadership theory. Moreover, the findings extend previous research on the contribution of mindfulness to in-role performance by showing its additional value for intrinsic motivation and extra-role performance. Research limitations/implications Despite the use of validated measures and the presence of an interaction effect, common-source bias cannot be out ruled completely. Practical implications - Since mindfulness can be developed, the results suggest a training intervention to make employees less dependent on their leaders for their motivation. Originality/value This paper is the first to show that mindful people are more resilient against the absence of transformational leadership. Given the frequent changes in management layers in organizations, knowledge about resources for individual resilience and self-management is sorely needed

Stability and change in teachers' goal orientation profiles over time:Managerial coaching behavior as a predictor of profile change

Goal orientation is an important predictor of motivation at work. This study introduces goal orientation profiles in the work domain, evaluates their stability over time and assesses the impact of managerial coaching behavior on change in employees' goal orientation profiles. We hypothesize that coaching managers inspire, facilitate, and guide employees to change towards profiles with relatively high levels of learning goal orientation and performance approach goals, and relatively low levels of performance avoidance goals. We conducted a two-wave study with a one-year time interval among teachers (N = 521) working in Vocational Education and Training institutions in the Netherlands. Latent transition analysis and multinomial regression analyses were applied. Four distinct profiles were identified: success-oriented, diffuse, low-performance, and high-avoidance. Although the majority of the teachers remained in the same goal orientation profile over time (91.2%) a small percentage of the teachers shifted towards the success-oriented goal orientation profile. Facilitative managerial coaching was positively associated with belonging to the success-oriented goal orientation profile while guidance was negatively associated with belonging to the success-oriented goal orientation profile. Moreover, facilitative managerial coaching supported change to the success-oriented profile while guidance and inspirational managerial coaching did not support this transition

Bouwen op unieke kwaliteiten

Waarom bestaan banen al voordat we de kwaliteiten kennen van de mensen die deze banen gaan vervullen? Waarom hebben veel organisaties slechts oog voor de talenten van 5-10% van hun medewerkers? En waarom managen zij de competenties van hun medewerkers vooral door naar de negatieve afwijkingen van de gouden standaard te kijken? Dit zijn de vragen die centraal staan in deze rede, die ingaat op hoe organisaties de kwaliteiten van hun medewerkers beter kunnen benutten door banen aan te passen aan de mens, in plaats van andersom. Mensen zijn voorgeprogrammeerd om meer aandacht te besteden aan negatieve informatie dan aan positieve informatie. Hoewel dit vaak heel nuttig is, betekent dit ook dat we hiermee kansen laten liggen om ons welbevinden te verhogen. Door ons welbevinden tijdens het werk een tijdje systematisch bij te houden, kunnen we erachter komen wat hierin de positieve uitzonderingen zijn. Door juist deze positieve uitzonderingen te analyseren, kunnen we onze sterke punten op het spoor komen. Uit onderzoek blijkt dat mensen die hun sterke punten kunnen toepassen in hun werk beter met werkdruk om kunnen omgaan. Hierdoor verzuimen zij minder vaak en leveren zij beter werk af. Ook blijken zij meer initiatieven te nemen in hun eigen ontwikkeling. Doordat organisaties en banen tegenwoordig snel veranderen, zijn organisaties steeds meer afhankelijk van deze zelfgestuurde leeractiviteiten van medewerkers. Organisaties kunnen hun medewerkers ondersteunen bij het ontdekken, gebruiken en ontwikkelen van hun sterke punten. Zo is het bij de werving van nieuw personeel nuttig om te analyseren welke kwaliteiten nog in het team ontbreken. Inwerkprogramma’s voor nieuwe medewerkers moeten er daarnaast niet alleen op gericht zijn dat nieuwe medewerker zich gaan aanpassen aan de organisatie, maar moeten nieuwkomers juist stimuleren om hun unieke kwaliteiten aan collega’s te laten zien. Daarnaast kunnen leidinggevenden in functioneringsgesprekken samen met hun medewerkers analyseren op welke momenten zij optimaal presteren. Organisaties kunnen ook stimuleren dat medewerkers zelf hun functie beter vormgeven, zodat het werk beter aansluit op persoonlijke behoefte