What is the big deal about character strengths?
Posted on March 13, 2019 by Hettie Stroebel, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.
In 2004, something groundbreaking took place in the field of social sciences. For the first time in history, a cross-cultural language describing the
Dr. Martin Seligman, the “father of Positive Psychology” and author of Authentic Happiness and Flourish, and Dr. Christopher Peterson, distinguished scientist at the University of Michigan and author of A Primer in Positive Psychology, developed a 24 item VIA Classification of Strengths and Virtues. The VIA Survey is regarded as a central tool of positive psychology and has been used in hundreds of research studies and taken by over 5 million people in over 190 countries.
Peterson and Seligman identified six core virtues, and under each virtue they identified different strengths:
Wisdom and Knowledge (the way we acquire and use knowledge)
creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, love of learning, perspective
Courage (emotional strengths)
bravery, perseverance, honesty, zest
Humanity (interpersonal strengths)
love, kindness, social intelligence
Justice (civic strengths)
teamwork, fairness, leadership
Temperance (strengths protecting against excess)
forgiveness, humility, prudence, self-regulation
Transcendence (strengths that provide meaning)
appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humor, spirituality
What is a character strength?
Character strengths are positive human traits that influence human thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, providing a sense of fulfillment and meaning.
What is a signature strength?
Signature strengths are individuals’ highest-ranked character strengths, those that they own, celebrate, and frequently exercise. Individuals typically have three to seven signature strengths.
Signature character strengths can foster health-related outcomes in your private life and at your workplace
Private Life
Life satisfaction and wellbeing through the five happiness strengths (curiosity, gratitude, hope, love, zest)
Effectiveness in coping with problems and difficulties
Improved social relationships
At the Workplace
Meaningfulness and productivity at work
Zest, hope, and social intelligence were strongly associated with job satisfaction
Self-regulation, zest, hope, love, honesty, and gratitude were associated with the perception of work as a calling
Higher engagement and meaning of work
Work productivity, organizational citizenship behavior, job satisfaction, engagement, positive affect
Perseverance, zest, and love of learning showed the numerically strongest relationships with career ambition
Hope, zest, bravery, and perspective lead to healthier work behavior
Reduced burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment)
References
Huber, et al. Possession and Applicability of Signature Character Strengths: What Is Essential for Well-Being, Work Engagement, and Burnout? Applied Research in Quality of Life. January 2019.
Lavy, Shiri and Littman-Ovadia, Hadassah. My Better Self: Using Strengths at Work and Work Productivity, Organizational Citizenship Behavior, and Satisfaction. Journal of Career Development 2017, Vol. 44(2) 95-109.
Littman-Ovadia, et al. When Theory and Research Collide: Examining Correlates of Signature Strengths Use at Work. J Happiness Stud, 2016.
Niemiec, Ryan M. Character strengths interventions. Hogrefe Publishing. 2018.
Peterson, Christopher and Seligman, Martin. Character strengths and virtues: A Handbook and Classification. 1st Edition. Oxford University Press, 2004.
