1,721,012 research outputs found
Turning potential into performance : the missing link in (IS) leadership? / Marius Stander
No full textGlobally, the business environment and business leadership is increasingly becoming more volatile, uncertain and complex. Leaders need to reconsider the way they think about and manage their businesses. During the 4th industrial revolution one can assume that the rate of change will increase drastically over the next few years. The question then arises if businesses are ready for these changes?
For organisations to remain sustainable and develop, it is of vital importance that employees who are able to effectively handle changes and challenges are attracted and retained. One such change is a continuous shift in skills needed. The availability of key skills can be a major threat for companies, particularly in developing countries. Some of the expected skills needed for the future include complex problem solving, active learning and innovation. We therefor need to ask ourselves if current systems are able to support the development of these skills. I am of the opinion that we are not geared for the development of such skills and that the inability to adapt swiftly within current formal systems will be present. Within this challenging environment, the leader‟s role in developing individuals will become increasingly important. Leaders need to create working environments where individuals can optimise their potential and add value for the organisation whilst improving their own well-being. Research has found that amidst difficult times - positivity is of utmost importance for leaders. Leadership styles such as empowering leadership, positive leadership, and authentic leadership are gaining increasing field in literature and practise. These styles, as well as psychological empowerment are discussed from a theoretical basis and thereafter aligned with practical challenges. In conclusion: It is important to have leaders which attract and develop talent, allow people the opportunity to explore their own ideas, set stretching challenges, engage in robust debate, create ownership with direct reports and invest in their potential by means of focused development
Positive organisation: The role of leader behaviour in work engagement and retention
Get PDFOrientation: The positive organisation creates a framework in which its elements can be investigated in relation to the retention of talent.
Research purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate if leader empowering behaviour can positively impact on role clarity, psychological empowerment and work engagement, with the final outcome being the retention of talent.
Motivation for the study: In the ever changing work environment organisations place great emphasis on their human capital. The positive organisation utilises specific elements to optimise human capital’s potential. It is therefore important to identify the elements contributing to a positive organisation as well as the elements which lead to the retention of talent.
Research design, approach and method: A survey research design was used. A convenience sample (n = 179) was taken from a business unit in a chemical organisation. The Leader Empowering Behaviour Questionnaire, Measures of Role Clarity and Ambiguity Questionnaire, Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the Intention to Leave Scale were administered.
Main findings: Leader empowering behaviour, role clarity and psychological empowerment predicted work engagement. Role clarity interacted with competence to affect employees’ dedication and interacted with the development of employees to affect absorption. Work engagement predicted employees’ intention to leave.
Practical/managerial implications: Organisations should foster the elements of a positive organisation if they want to retain their talent.
Contribution/value-add: The results of this research contribute to scientific knowledge about the effects of a positive organisation on retention
Flourishing Interventions: A Practical Guide to Student Development
No full textThis chapter presents a practical guide for the development of flourishing students. Flourishing is defined as a positive psychological state characterised by positive emotions, engagement, positive relationships, meaning and accomplishments with various positive work/life outcomes (Seligman, Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being, 2011).Within an academic setting, recent research has alluded to the relationship between flourishing students and academic
performance (Van Zyl and Rothmann, Journal of Psychology in Africa 22(3), 2012). Howell (Journal of Positive Psychology 4(1):1–13, 2009) found that flourishing students were less likely to procrastinate, had higher levels of self-control, adopted a mastery-approach towards their goals and reported higher levels of academic performance. Further, Seligman (Flourish:A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being, 2011) argued that flourishing students has a higher probability to
experience fruitful and rewarding careers. Therefore, it is imperative to equip students with the necessary skills to enhance flourishing early in their academic careers. This chapter aims to present the theoretical implications of flourishing as well as to provide a practical approach towards developing flourishing students.http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00645-1_14,http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-319-00645-1_14#page-
Psychological empowerment, job insecurity and employee engagement
Get PDFOrientation: The psychological empowerment of employees might affect their engagement. However, psychological empowerment and employee engagement might also be influenced by job insecurity.
Research purposes: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between psychological empowerment, job insecurity and employee engagement.
Motivation for the study: Employee engagement results in positive individual and organisational outcomes and research information about the antecedents will provide valuable information for the purposes of diagnosis and intervention.
Research design, approach and method: A correlational design was used. Survey design was conducted among 442 employees in a government and a manufacturing organisation. The measuring instruments included the Psychological Empowerment Questionnaire, the Job Insecurity Inventory, and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale.
Main findings: Statistically significant relationships were found between psychological empowerment, job insecurity and employee engagement. A multivariate analysis of variance showed that affective job insecurity had a main effect on three dimensions of psychological empowerment (viz. competence, meaning and impact) and on employee engagement. Affective job insecurity moderated the effect of psychological empowerment on employee engagement.
Practical implications: The implication of the results is that interventions that focus on the psychological empowerment of employees (viz. meaningfulness, competence, self-determination and impact) will contribute to the engagement (vigour, dedication and absorption) of employees. If job insecurity is high, it is crucial to attend to the psychological empowerment of employees.
Contribution: This study contributes to knowledge about the conditions that precede employee engagement, and shows that the dimensions of psychological empowerment (namely experienced meaningfulness, competence, impact and self-determination) play an important role in this regard
Psychological empowerment, work engagement and turnover Intention: the role of leader relations and role clarity in a financial Institution
No full textThis study investigated the relationship between leader-member exchange, role clarity, psychological empowerment,
engagement and turnover intention within a financial institution in South Africa. A cross-sectional survey design was
used. A convenience sample (N = 278) was taken (males =31%, females =60%; 88% younger than 35 years; 57% with 2 – 5
years service) from the total population (N = 889). They completed the Leader-Member Exchange Questionnaire (Liden,
Wayne, & Stilwell, 1993) Role Conflict and Ambiguity Questionnaire (Rizzo, House, & Lirtzman, 1970), Measuring
Empowerment Questionnaire (Spreitzer, 1995), Engagement Questionnaire (May, Gilson, & Harter, 2004) and
Intention-to-leave Scale (Sjöberg & Sverke, 2000). A path model was tested with SPSS to determine the relationships of
the variables. Furthermore, a theoretical model was tested through the use of structural equation modelling (Arbuckle,
2008). The latent variables included LMX (consisting of two parcels), role clarity (consisting of two parcels),
psychological empowerment (consisting of four variables, namely meaning, competence, impact, and
self-determination), work engagement (consisting of two parcels), and turnover intention (a manifest variable). Role
clarity mediated the relationship between leader-member exchange and psychological empowerment, while
psychological empowerment mediated the relationship between role clarity and work engagement as well as turnover
intention. Leader-member relations lead to better understanding of roles, while role clarity empowers and engages
employees
Investigating positive leadership, psychological empowerment, work engagement and satisfaction with life in a chemical industry
Get PDFOrientation: The predominant theme of this research attends to the role of perceived positive leadership behaviour in relation to employee outcomes (psychological empowerment, work engagement, and satisfaction with life).
Research purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate whether perceived positive leadership behaviour could predict psychological empowerment, work engagement, and satisfaction with life of employees in a chemical organisation in South Africa and whether positive leadership behaviour has an indirect effect on employees work engagement and satisfaction with life by means of psychological empowerment.
Motivation for the study: The motivation for this study arose from the evident gap in academic literature as well as in terms of practical implications for the chemical industry regarding positive leadership behaviour, psychological empowerment, work engagement and satisfaction with life of employees.
Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used with a convenience sample (n = 322). Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to examine the structural relationships between the constructs.
Main findings: Statistically significant relationships were found between positive leadership behaviour, psychological empowerment, work engagement and satisfaction with life of employees. Positive leadership has an indirect effect on work engagement and satisfaction with life via psychological empowerment.
Practical/managerial implications: This study adds to the lack of literature in terms of positive leadership, psychological empowerment, work engagement and satisfaction with life within a chemical industry. It can also assist managers and personnel within the chemical industry to understand and perhaps further investigate relationships that exist between the above mentioned concepts.
Contribution/value-add: It is recommended that leadership discussions, short training programs and individual coaching about positive leadership and particularly psychological empowerment take place
Leadership empowering behaviour, psychological empowerment, organisational citizenship behaviours and turnover intention in a manufacturing division
Get PDFOrientation: Employees’ perceptions of their leaders’ behaviour play a role in creating empowering environments where employees are willing to do more than what is expected, with retention of employees as a result.
Research purpose: The aim of this study was to theoretically conceptualise and empirically determine the relationships between employees’ perception of their leaders’ empowering behaviour, psychological empowerment, organisational citizenship behaviours and intention to leave within a manufacturing division of an organisation.
Motivation for the study: In the ever-changing work environment, organisations must capitalise on their human capital in order to maintain competitiveness. It is therefore important to identify the role of employees’ perception of leadership in contributing to the establishment of an environment where employees feel empowered, are willing to do more than what is expected and want to stay in the organisation.
Research design, approach and method: A non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design was used. The total population (N = 300) employed at the manufacturing division was targeted. Two hundred completed questionnaires were obtained. The Leader Empowering Behaviour Questionnaire, Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire, Organisational Citizenship Behaviour Questionnaire and Intention to Leave Scale were administered.
Main findings: Employees’ perception of their leaders’ empowering behaviour (keeping employees accountable, self-directed decision-making and people development), psychological empowerment (attitude and influence) and organisational citizenship behaviours (loyalty, deviant behaviour and participation) predict intention to leave the organisation.
Practical/managerial implications: Organisations should foster the elements of a positive organisation, in this case leader empowering behaviours, if they want to retain their employees.
Contribution/value-add: The results of this research contribute to scientific knowledge about the positive effects of employees experiencing their leaders as empowering
A strength-based approach to athlete engagement: an exploratory study
No full textStrength-based interventions have proven effective in the sport and athletic environment in a number of studies. However, few studies have investigated the effect of an integrated strength-based approach on positive athlete outcomes. This study investigated the effect of team-strength use and individual strength use on athlete engagement. Participants were 235 semi-professional athletes from South Africa’s major sports, football and rugby. A cross-sectional, quantitative and exploratory research design was implemented. Structural equation modelling was used to determine the empirical validity of the relationship between the variables. Statistical analyses revealed individual strength use as a predictor of athlete engagement, and team-strength use as an enabler of individual strength use. Individual strength use further mediated the relationship between team-strength use and athlete engagement. These findings provide valuable knowledge content in terms of the development of athletes through a strength-based approach. The authors discuss the practical implications of the results and make recommendations for interventions and future researc
Authentic leadership and organisational citizenship behaviour in the public health care sector: The role of workplace trust
Get PDFOrientation: The orientation of this study was towards authentic leadership and its influence on workplace trust and organisational citizenship behaviour in the public health care sector.
Research purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of authentic leadership on organisational citizenship behaviour, through workplace trust among public health care employees in South Africa. The objective was to determine whether authentic leadership affects organisational citizenship behaviour through workplace trust (conceptualised as trust in the organisation, immediate supervisor and co-workers).
Motivation for the study: Employees in the public health care industry are currently being faced with a demanding work environment which includes a lack of trust in leadership. This necessitated the need to determine whether authentic leadership ultimately leads to extra-role behaviours via workplace trust in its three referents.
Research design, approach and method: A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was used with employees the public health care sector in South Africa (N = 633). The Authentic Leadership Inventory, Workplace Trust Survey and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour Scale were administered to these participants.
Main findings: The results indicated that authentic leadership has a significant influence on trust in all three referents, namely the organisation, the supervisor and co-workers. Both trust in the organisation and trust in co-workers positively influenced organisational citizenship behaviour. Conversely, authentic leadership did not have a significant influence on organisational citizenship behaviour. Finally, authentic leadership had a significant indirect effect on organisational citizenship behaviour through trust in the organisation and trust in co-workers. Trust in the organisation was found to have the strongest indirect effect on the relationship between authentic leadership and organisational citizenship behaviour.
Practical/managerial implications: The main findings suggest that public health care institutions would benefit if leaders are encouraged to be more authentic as this might result in increases in both trust among co-workers and in the organisation. Consequently, employees might be more likely to exert additional effort in their work.
Contribution/value-add: Limited empirical evidence exists with regard to the relationship between authentic leadership, workplace trust in its three referents and organisational citizenship behaviour. This study aimed to contribute to the limited number of studies conducted
Authentic leadership as a source of optimism, trust in the organisation and work engagement in the public health care sector
Get PDFOrientation: The orientation of this study is towards authentic leadership (AL) and its influence on optimism, trust in the organisation and work engagement of employees in the public health care sector.
Research purpose: The objectives of this study were to determine whether the leadership style of AL could predict optimism, trust in the organisation and work engagement amongst a large sample of employees from various functions in public hospitals and clinics in Gauteng and to establish whether optimism and trust in the organisation could mediate the relationship between AL and work engagement.
Research approach, design and method: A convenience sample of 633 public health employees from various functions within 27 public hospitals and clinics in the province was used in this research. A cross-sectional research design was implemented. Structural equation modelling was utilised to investigate the Authentic Leadership Inventory (ALI), and the validity and fit of the measurement model, to position AL as a job resource within the nomological net and to test its mediating effects.
Main findings: The statistical analysis revealed that AL was a significant predictor of optimism and trust in the organisation and that optimism and trust in the organisation mediated the relationship between AL and work engagement.
Practical/managerial implications: The research results suggested that organisations in the public health care sector should encourage their managers to adopt a more authentic leadership style. This will lead to higher levels of optimism, trust in the organisation and eventually work engagement. This will greatly assist employees in the domain of public health care to manage their demanding working environment.
Contribution: This study provides evidence that the ALI can be used reliably within the South African context and specifically within the public health care sector. It further substantiates for the implementation of AL as a leadership style in the South African public health care sector, supporting work that has been done internationally in health care where AL has been associated with a number of positive outcomes. Finally, the study puts forward two practical suggestions, on both an individual and an organisational level, to facilitate a culture in which AL can be translated more effectively into an engaged workforce
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