Abstract
There is growing evidence that psychological capital, that is, an individual’s positive psychological state achieved by a combination of hope, (self) efficacy, resilience and optimism, is linked to wellbeing, work performance and job satisfaction. Furthermore, research suggests there is a strong correlation between work and life satisfaction, indicating that people who have a sense of achievement and success in their work have more fulfilling lives and vice versa. Numerous studies also show that workers who develop positive attitudes and behaviours are more adaptable and willing to face change, and change is essential in our fast-paced and VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world. If developing psychological capital to support change is, as it should be, the aim of organisations, transformational coaching, as opposed to performance coaching, is the process that can make it possible. Starting from the premise that organisations don’t change if people don’t change, this chapter will review the concept of psychological capital and discuss how it can be developed both in individuals and organisations using coaching to support change. It will be argued that specific coaching approaches can better accomplish this purpose, and the theory and practice of those approaches will be explored.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alarcon, G., Bowling, N., & Khazon, S. (2013). Great expectations: A meta-analytic examination of optimism and hope. Personality and Individual Differences, 54(7), 821–827.
Allevato, E. (2020). Organizational culture change: Growth mindset, positive psychology, and empowerment. In J. Marques & S. Dhiman (Eds.), Social entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility (pp. 439–454). Springer.
Avey, J. B., Luthans, F., Smith, R. M., & Palmer, N. F. (2010). Impact of positive psychological capital on employee well-being over time. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 15(1), 17–28.
Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. S. Ramachaudran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behaviour (Vol. 4, pp. 71–81). Academic Press. (Reprinted in H. Friedman [Ed.], Encyclopedia of mental health. 1998). Retrieved from https://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Bandura/Bandura1994EHB.pdf
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Freeman.
Boniwell, I., & Tunariu, A. (2019). Positive psychology: Theory, research and practice. Open University Press.
Carver, C., & Sheier, M. (2014). Dispositional optimism. Trends in Cognitive Science, 18(6), 293–299.
Chen, G., Gully, S., & Eden, D. (2001). Validation of a new general self-efficacy scale. Organisational Research Methods, 4(1), 62–83.
Cook, A. & Moore, M. (2020). Invest in psychological capital. Institute for Coaching. IOC Research Dose. Retrieved from https://instituteofcoaching.org/resources/invest-psychological-capital
Culberson, S., Fullagar, C., & Mills, M. (2010). Feeling good and doing great: The relationship between psychological capital and Well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 15(4), 421–433.
Evers, W. J. G., Brouwers, A., & Tomic, W. (2006). A quasi-experimental study on management coaching effectiveness. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 58, 174–182.
Gallup (2020). CliftonStrengths. Gallup. Retrieved from https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/strengthsfinder.aspx
Garcia-Dia, M. J., DiNapoli, J. M., Garcia-Ona, L., Jakubowski, R., & O’Flaherty, D. (2013). Concept analysis: Resilience. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 27, 264–270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2013.07.003.
Half, R. (2019). What is staff turnover really costing you? Robert Half. Retrieved from https://www.roberthalf.com.au/blog/employers/what-staff-turnover-really-costing-you
Jackson, D., Firtko, A., & Edenborough, M. (2007). Personal resilience as a strategy for surviving and thriving in the face of workplace adversity: A literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 60(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04412.x.
Kaplan, S., et al. (2014). A test of two positive psychology interventions to increase employee well-being. Journal of Business and Psychology, 29(3), 367–380.
Kauffman, C. (2006). Positive psychology; the science at the heart of coaching. In D. Stober & A. M. Grant (Eds.), Evidence based coaching handbook (pp. 219–253). Wiley.
Kelsey, O., & Carol, G. (2019). Longer, more optimistic, livers: Historic optimism and life expectancy in the United States. Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organisation, 168, 374–392.
Locke, E. A., et al. (1984). Effect of self-efficacy, goals, and tasks strategies on task performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69(2), 241–251. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.69.2.241.
Lopez, S. J., et al. (2004). Strategies for accentuating hope. In P. A. Linley & S. Joseph (Eds.), Positive psychology in practice (pp. 388–404). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Luthans, F., & Jensen, S. M. (2002). Hope: A new positive strength for human resource development. Human resource development review, 1(3), 304–322.
Luthans, F., Luthans, K., & Luthans, F. (2004). Positive psychological capital: Beyond human and social capital. Business Horizons, 47(1), 45–50.
Luthans, F., Avolio, B. J., Avey, J. B., & Norman, S. M. (2007a). Positive psychological capital: Measurement and relationship with performance and satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 60, 541–572.
Luthans, F., Avolio, B. & Avey, J. (2007b). Psychological capital questionnaire. Retrieved from https://www.mindgarden.com/136-psychological-capital-questionnaire#horizontalTab2
Luthans, F., Youssef, C. M., & Avolio, B. J. (2007c). Psychological capital: Developing the human competitive edge. Oxford University Press.
Martinez-Marti, M., & Ruch, W. (2016). Character strengths predict resilience over and above positive affect, self-efficacy, optimism, social support, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 12(2), 110–119.
Niemiec, R. M. (2014). Mindfulness and character strengths: A practical guide to flourishing. Hogrefe.
Nwazy, C. L., & Babadola, S. S. (2019). Examining psychological capital of optimism, self-efficacy and self-monitoring as predictors of attitude towards organisational change. International Journal of Engineering Business Management, 11, 1–12.
Okun, O. (2020). The positive face of human capital, psychological capital, and well-being. In S. Hai-Shew (Ed.), Maintaining social well-being and meaningful work in a highly automated job market (pp. 145–170). ICI Global.
Robertson, I., Cooper, C., Sarkar, M., & Curran, T. (2015). Resilience training in the workplace from 2003 to 2014: A systematic review. Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology, 88, 533–562.
Saks, A., & Belcourt, M. (2006). An investigation of training activities and transfer of training in organisations. Human Resource Management, 45(4), 629–648.
Scheier, M. F., Carver, C. S., & Bridges, M. W. (1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery and self-esteem): A re-evaluation of the life orientation test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1063–1078.
Seligman, M. E. P. (1990). Learned optimism: How to change your mind and your life. Nicholas Brealey.
Snyder, C. R., & Lopez, S. J. (Eds.). (2002). Handbook of positive psychology. Oxford University Press.
Snyder, C. R., et al. (2018). Hope theory: A member of the positive psychology family. In M. W. Gallagher & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Hope (pp. 27–44). Oxford University Press.
Tugade, M., & Fredrickson, B. (2004). Resilient individuals use positive emotions to bounce Back from negative emotional experiences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(2), 320–333.
U. S. Army Heritage & Education Center. (2019). Who first originated the term VUCA (Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity)? USAHEC ask us a question. Retrieved from https://usawc.libanswers.com/faq/84869
Work Institute. (2020). 2020 retention report. Retrieved from https://info.workinstitute.com/hubfs/2020%20Retention%20Report/Work%20Institutes%202020%20Retention%20Report.pdf
Further Reading
Green, A., & Humphrey, J. (2012). Coaching for resilience: A practical guide to using positive psychology. Kogan Page.
Lopez, S. (2014). Making hope happen: Create the future you want for yourself and others. Atria Books.
Luthans, F., Youssef-Morgan, C., & Avolio, B. (2015). Psychological capital and beyond. Oxford University Press.
Niemec, R. (2017). Character strengths interventions: A field guide for practitioners. Hogrefe.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Giraldez-Hayes, A. (2021). Coaching to Develop Psychological Capital to Support Change. In: Smith, WA., Boniwell, I., Green, S. (eds) Positive Psychology Coaching in the Workplace. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79952-6_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79952-6_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-79951-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-79952-6
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)