The psychology of becoming a successful worker : research on the changing nature of achievement at work

Kaarina Määttä & Satu Uusiautti

2015

Routledge

In this book, we introduce our research on success at work in a very broad sense. This research can be said to have begun during the fi rst years of this millennium. Adjunct Professor Uusiautti fi rst focused on work drive in nurses and midwives, expanding her analysis to Finnish Employees of the Year, while Professor Määttä conducted her studies on love and human relationships. When our specifi c research streams converged, we began studying positive development in childhood and adolescence as well as in adulthood and later life. We even managed to incorporate our ideas on leadership. Now, we think it is time to compile our fi ndings into a psychology of success. In many parts of this book, we will refer to the route to success – we hope that this book will function as a signpost showing the way to happiness-promoting success at work. The standpoint in this book rests on psychology, particularly positive psychology. This means that we deliberately aimed to combine the themes of work success with fl ourishing and favourable development. Our purpose is to inspire and challenge researchers and all those interested to examine the possibilities of this positive approach and to consider this as one example of how to seize phenomena that are diffi cult to defi ne comprehensively but, first and foremost, we want them to see the connection between success and happiness.

Psychology

English

9781315766515
9781138787421

The Psychology of Becoming
a Successful Worker

What is success at work and why is it important? How do top workers
describe their success? How can work, community, leadership, family, or
home and school promote success?
Success at work is often associated with career-oriented individuals who
sacrifice other areas of life to achieve highly in the workplace, but success can
also be defined in other ways. It can consist of feelings of knowledge, competence
and accomplishment, stemming from an inner drive to work well and create an
expression of mastery. This book focuses on employees who have been rewarded
for their skills and expertise.
Based on the authors’ in-depth research into the phenomenon of success at work,
this book provides a positive human-strength based approach to success and offers
a fresh viewpoint to the modern, demanding and hectic work life. Drawing from
the theory of positive psychology and outlining new theoretical ideas including
work motivation, career orientation, work characteristics, and positive states of
work, success is described as a combination of multiple elements which include
other areas of life. The book is illustrated throughout with case studies from
employees, and it will ignite thoughts about what success at work is and can be,
and how to recognise factors which enhance or hinder success in varying contexts.
Considering a variety of data, this book will appeal to researchers and academics
from the fields of work and organisational psychology, positive psychology, career
counselling and coaching.
Satu Uusiautti is Adjunct Professor of Educational Psychology at the University
of Helsinki, Finland, and a Researcher in the Department of Education at the
University of Lapland, Finland.
Kaarina Määttä is Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of
Lapland, Finland.

The Psychology of
Becoming a Successful
Worker
Research on the changing nature
of achievement at work

Satu Uusiautti and
Kaarina Määttä

First published 2015
by Routledge
27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 2FA
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 S. Uusiautti and K. Määttä
The right of S. Uusiautti and K. Määttä to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.
com, has been made available under a Creative Commons AttributionNon Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Uusiautti, Satu.
The psychology of becoming a successful worker : research on the changing
nature of achievement at work / Satu Uusiautti and Kaarina Määttä.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Employee motivation. 2. Success, 3. Job satisfaction. 4. Employees–
Psychology. 5. Psychology, Industrial. 1. Määttä, Kaarina. II. Title
HF5549.5.M63U97 2015
158.7–dc23
2014007714
ISBN: 978-1-138-78742-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-76651-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Cenveo Publisher Services

Contents

List of figures
Foreword
Acknowledgements

vi
vii
viii

1

Introduction

1

2

The theoretical starting point: everyone can
succeed at work

5

3

A successful worker

29

4

Success begins in childhood

57

5

Success and the influence of exogenous factors
in adulthood

87

6

The road to success – why pursue success at work?

113

Notes on the authors
Index

136
138

Figures

3.1

The interconnectedness of the factors that explain success at
work among Employee of the Year awardees (Uusiautti, 2008)
3.2 The connection of individual and communal factors with the
perceived success at work (Uusiautti and Määttä, 2013)
4.1 Core factors affecting students’ success (adapted from Määttä
and Uusiautti, 2011: 52)
6.1 The elements of success and their interconnectedness
(Uusiautti, 2013)

33
50
77
129

Foreword

The word ‘success’ brings many things to mind. If we stop and think, we will
probably be able to name people who we consider successful. However, upon
closer examination the criteria for our nominations might vary, fade and become
vague. While someone might have thought about his colleague who has just
moved into a new office with a huge mahogany desk and a view overlooking the
city, another might have thought about a friend who has a beautiful home, a
friendly wife and well-behaved children, plus a nice job. What about an artist
who leads an austere life but sells his paintings around the world for big money?
Is success then something one has achieved – but what? Is it possible to study
success? Is it possible to define it?
In this book, we introduce our research on success at work in a very broad
sense. This research can be said to have begun during the first years of this millennium. Adjunct Professor Uusiautti first focused on work drive in nurses and
midwives, expanding her analysis to Finnish Employees of the Year, while
Professor Määttä conducted her studies on love and human relationships. When
our specific research streams converged, we began studying positive development
in childhood and adolescence as well as in adulthood and later life. We even
managed to incorporate our ideas on leadership. Now, we think it is time to
compile our findings into a psychology of success. In many parts of this book, we
will refer to the route to success – we hope that this book will function as a signpost showing the way to happiness-promoting success at work.
The standpoint in this book rests on psychology, particularly positive psychology.
This means that we deliberately aimed to combine the themes of work success
with flourishing and favourable development. Our purpose is to inspire and
challenge researchers and all those interested to examine the possibilities of this
positive approach and to consider this as one example of how to seize phenomena
that are difficult to define comprehensively but, first and foremost, we want them
to see the connection between success and happiness.
In Cape Coral and Rovaniemi, 14 February 2014
Satu Uusiautti and Kaarina Määttä

Acknowledgements

This book draws upon the publications and studies listed below, which have been
revised and rewritten for the purposes of this book:
Uusiautti, S. (2008) “Tänään teen elämäni parhaan työn” Työmenestys Vuoden
Työntekijöiden kertomana [‘Today, I’ll work better than ever’: employees of the
year describe their experiences of success at work]. (PhD Diss., University of
Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland)
Uusiautti, S. (2013) ‘An action-oriented perspective on caring leadership: a
qualitative study of higher education administrators’ positive leadership experiences’. International Journal of Leadership in Education: Theory and Practice,
16(4), pp. 482–496
Uusiautti, S. (2013) ‘On the positive connection between success and happiness’.
International Journal of Research Studies in Psychology, 3(1), pp. 1–11
Uusiautti, S. and Määttä, K. (2010) ‘What kind of employees become awarded as
Employees of the Year in Finland?’ Enterprise and Work Innovation Studies, 6,
pp. 53–73
Uusiautti, S. and Määttä, K. (2011) ‘Process of becoming a top worker’.
International Education Studies, 4(4), pp. 69–79
Uusiautti, S. and Määttä, K. (2011) ‘Top workers’ virtues and strengths’. GJES:
Education Sciences and Psychology, 2(19), pp. 46–56
Uusiautti, S. and Määttä, K. (2012) ‘The successful combination of work and
family in Finland: The ability to compromise as the key factor’. Journal of
Comparative Family Studies, 43(2), pp. 151–163
Uusiautti, S. and Määttä, K. (2013) ‘Brisk attitude and optimism – top workers’
childhood experiences forming the basis of success at work’. European Journal
of Educational Research, 2(2), pp. 69–82
Uusiautti, S. and Määttä, K. (2013) ‘Does success at work produce well-being
and happiness or vice versa?’ The International Journal of Interdisciplinary

Acknowledgements

ix

Organizational Studies, 7(3), pp. 11–25 (journal published by Common Ground
Publishing, Champaign, IL, USA)
Uusiautti, S. and Määttä, K. (2013) ‘Enhancing university students’ study success
through caring leadership’. The European Scientific Journal, Special Edition, 2/2013
Uusiautti, S. and Määttä, K. (2014) ‘Leaders’ flow’. Paper presented at the
International Conference on Social Science and Management, 14–16 March 2014,
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Määttä, K. and Uusiautti, S. (2012) ‘The four-leaf clover of human resources’.
Journal in Organizational Psychology and Educational Studies, 1(1), pp. 37–42
Note: we have made every effort to gain permission for material in the book
regarding the article Määttä, K. and Uusiautti, S. (2012) ‘The four-leaf clover of
human resources’. Journal in Organizational Psychology and Educational
Studies, 1(1), pp. 37–42.

Chapter 1

Introduction

The positive sides of work
The latest studies on work life tend to focus on overburdened working conditions;
negative concepts like stress, burnout and lassitude are some of the most common
descriptors in work-related research, which is less than surprising in the present
economic situation. It is true that accelerated changes in work life, as well as
efficiency-based demands, tend to exert greater levels of stress on employees. On
the other hand, the image of work life becomes unilateral if we focus only on the
problems and drawbacks of work.
The nature of work life is changing. Motivation to work is no longer dependent on salary alone. Instead, employees’ personalities and moral valuations have
increasingly had a considerable effect, even to the extent that it has already been
stated that the admiration of social skills has gone almost too far in today’s
working life. Therefore, it appears that there is a need for studies that bring
other aspects of work life to the discussion and that shed light on the positive
sides of work. This is one purpose of this book: to not only explore how to cope
with work but also how to succeed. We also want to respond to the need for
qualitative research to survey human experiences, although this kind of research
introduces a methodological challenge, namely, how to examine experiences
without placing them into predetermined categories. The importance of positive
feeling as a source of human strength is a strong foundation for our research.
Therefore, following in the footsteps of some of the great names in positive
psychology, Diener, Csikszentmihalyi, Seligman, Peterson, Fredrickson, Isen,
among others, we place the theoretical framework for success at work in positive psychology.
This book has a positive starting point, which is, instead of focusing on all the
problems and stress factors of today’s working life this research concentrates on
the positive sides of work and success (Almost and Spence Laschinger 2002;
Spence Laschinger et al. 2004). But what is success at work? How can it be
defined, and whose definition counts?
In this book, we analyse the concept of success from a particular point of view.
The purpose is to explain our viewpoint and open up the fundamental idea of

2

Introduction

considering success as something positive. But in what way is it positive? Is
success manifested in some other, perhaps material, dimension? Does it mean
that successful people are also happy? Could it mean that? In this book, we
discuss success as a form of positive human development.

‘Success is as ice cold and lonely as
the north pole’
Nicki Baum’s thought, as presented in heading, gets straight to the point: this is
what success is traditionally associated with. Similarly, success at work is often
correlated with career-oriented individuals who make sacrifices in other areas of
life in order to achieve success. Materialistic values and career orientation are
emphasised. Consequently, control, production, results and money have become
central (see, for example, Riikonen et al. 2002).
According to an online dictionary, ‘success’ as a noun means (1) the favorable
outcome of something attempted; (2) the attainment of wealth, fame, etc.; (3) an
action, performance, etc., that is characterised by success; (4) a person or thing
that is successful. The definitions give and maintain the impression that success
is something that only a few of us can achieve. Success is associated with fancy
cars, suits, huge offices, fine dining and cocktail parties – in other words, with
money. It also has connotations of opportunism, heartlessness, toughness, goalorientation, and less of friendliness, altruism, love and care. Indeed, financial
success has formed the core component of people’s dreams and, for example, in
the 1990s three-fourths of Americans declared that a very important life goal was
being financially rich (Myers and Diener 1995).
Interestingly, David Myers and Ed Diener conducted a multidimensional
analysis of people’s happiness – including money and work dimensions. Although
the goal of being well-off ranked higher than, say, helping others, the researchers
observed that once people were able to afford life’s necessities, increasing levels
of affluence mattered surprisingly little. Rather it appeared that the idea of having
a high income as a means to happiness was important, but the actual correlation
between income and happiness appeared modest.
Indeed, there has been a change in attitudes toward life goals and career
expectations in general over the past few decades. Up until the 1970s, Finnish
workers valued work more highly in their lives than home and leisure time
outside work, and we assume that this tendency has been similar in many other
countries too. Likewise, success at work was mainly seen as climbing hierarchical ladders. In the 1980s values began changing as the home and family began
witnessing greater levels of appreciation (Maljojoki 1989). Today, these factors
are of greater importance to employees’ lives than ever before, and workplaces
have become less and less hierarchical. So, let’s have a look at success in today’s
world. Is it still something ice cold? Could a positive climate change have
occurred?

Introduction

3

Description of the book
The book consists of six chapters. The purpose of this first chapter is to have
readers think about the multidimensional nature of success, to ignite thoughts,
opinions, viewpoints and interest in questions such as ‘What is success at work?’
and ‘Who defines success?’
The second chapter provides a theoretical basis for the research on success at
work. Numerous theories that purport to explain success are introduced and their
role in this positive phenomenon is discussed. Relevant theories of work motivation, career orientation, work characteristics and positive work states, such as
engagement, joy of work and flow, are introduced along with the offerings of
positive psychology. We also introduce the research on which this book is based.
The fundamental idea is to discover whether everyone can succeed at work.
The third chapter covers research results describing the core characteristics of
top workers, their attitude toward work and life in general, and their way of working: what are they like, how do they perceive their work and how do they cope
with the challenges at work? In addition, a specific strength-based viewpoint to
success is introduced.
Success is not a self-supporting endpoint and it is influenced by many factors
in various areas of employees’ lives. In Chapter 4, we discuss how success can
be promoted and, starting with home and school, how to help children and pupils
discover their strengths and resources. We will also introduce university leaders’
viewpoints on how to support students’ success and provide an all-encompassing
illustration of the factors influencing study success.
Chapter 5 looks at the exogenous factors enhancing success at work in adulthood. Top workers also have to solve the eternal dilemma of how to combine
work, hobbies and leisure, and family life. We introduce possible solutions and
key factors in finding the successful combination of work and family. The role of
hobbies and leisure time is also discussed in the light of top workers’ experiences.
Moreover, the importance of supportive work communities will be brought out in
the context of leadership studies.
The sixth chapter concludes the book and focuses on the holistic nature of
success. The purpose is first to show that success is not a static state but a process,
and no one becomes a top worker just like that, in the twinkling of an eye.
Success is a process that involves many phases. Chapter 6 describes the process
of becoming successful by looking at the autobiographical narratives of top workers, their roads to success, ups and downs, crossroads and pit stops. Knowledge
about the various phases and even hardships that are also faced by top workers
can help other people discover the good causes in their lives, maintain belief and
encourage them to make even difficult decisions in the pursuit of fulfilling lives.
Also, the process of developing expertise is described. We then look at the
phenomenon from yet another perspective and find the common denominator for
the process, i.e., love as a human strength. The role of love for work as a source
of human happiness and wellbeing is discussed.

4

Introduction

This chapter answers the question ‘Why pursue success at work?’ We present
an analysis of the concept of success and its connection with happiness and wellbeing. The question of whether success at work – when defined as a positive
manifestation of human development – results in wellbeing and happiness or vice
versa is discussed.

References
Almost, J. and Spence Laschinger, H. K. (2002) ‘Workplace empowerment, collaborative
work relationships, and job strain in nurse practitioners’. Journal of the American
Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 14(9), pp. 408–420
Maljojoki, P. (1989) Ammatinvalinnanohjauksen taustoja ja kehityspiirteitä Suomessa
[Background and Development of Occupational Guidance in Finland]. Reports of
Faculty of Education 32, Joensuu, Finland: University of Joensuu
Myers, D. G. and Diener, E. (1995) ‘Who is happy?’ Psychological Science, 6(1), pp. 10–19
Riikonen, E., Makkonen, M. and Vilkkumaa, I. (2002) Hullun työn tauti. Lukemisto tulevan työhyvinvointikeskustelun pohjaksi [Mad Work Disease. Digest for future discussion about well-being at work]. Jyväskylä: Gummerus
Spence Laschinger, H. K., Finegan, J. E., Shamian, J. and Wilk, P. (2004) ‘A longitudinal
analysis of workplace empowerment on work satisfaction’. Journal of Organizational
Behavior, 25, pp. 527–545

Chapter 2

The theoretical starting point
Everyone can succeed at work

Introduction
An interest in themes such as wellbeing, happiness, quality of life and positive
feelings has become germane to positive psychology, a field offering studies on
the positive characteristics, feelings and strengths of individuals, and one that
also seeks to identify the nature of institutions that promote and enhance such
positive attributes (Aspinwall and Staudinger 2006; Seligman et al. 2005). In this
chapter, we introduce the background of our studies and the main concepts used.
We realise that there are numerous concepts that could describe the phenomenon
of success and that therefore there was a need for careful selection. What follows
is a brief discussion of some basic theories and concepts, as well as an introduction to our empirical studies.

Positive psychology and success at work
Focus on the positive
Gable and Haidt (2005: 104) briefly define positive psychology in the following
terms: ‘Positive psychology is the study of the conditions and processes that
contribute to the flourishing or optimal functioning of people, groups, and institutions’. The aim of positive psychology is to study the reasons why people feel
joy, show altruism, and create healthy families and institutions. This focus has
been criticised because it concentrates on exploring normal and healthy activities
instead of helping dysfunctional people with a variety of problems. On the other
hand, perhaps focusing on problems has taken attention away from studying why
the majority of people are actually psychologically, physically and socially
healthy – or happy, so to speak (Gable and Haidt 2005). Simply stated, a study
on successful workers will provide hands-on and positively-toned information
about success at work.
We will connect the concept of success with an important research target of
positive psychology, namely, happiness. Research on happiness has also increasingly taken root. In order to understand why some people are happier, regardless

6

The theory: everyone can succeed at work

of the setbacks encountered, than others, we have to understand the cognitive and
motivational processes that maintain and even increase happiness and positive
attitudes (Lyubomirsky 2001). Here, success at work is dissected from a positive
perspective.
Positive psychology is also interested in whether the lifespans of positively
behaving people differ from those of others. If they do, what factors play a key
role during the lifespans of strong and optimistic people, and how can these
factors be recognised? These questions are essential to research on the experiences of successful workers and in seeking to identify the factors that have
contributed to their successful careers. An individual’s differences are traditionally characterised by achievements as opposed to the processes in which he or she
takes part (see, for example, Feldt et al. 2005); the process of achieving success
at work seems extremely interesting when considered from this point of view.
We will also place the phenomenon in context and acknowledge the individual,
communal and social dimensions of success. At the subjective level, positive
psychology concentrates on subjective experiences, wellbeing, satisfaction, flow,
joy, pleasure and happiness, as well as on optimistic and hopeful attitudes and
confidence in the future. At the group level, the interest is in the civic skills
and institutions that turn individuals into better citizens – responsible, flexible and
ethical workers (Seligman 2002).
Turner et al. (2002) have introduced the Healthy Work Model (HWM). This heuristic model explains how to create healthy work systems. The model presents healthy
work characteristics as good work practices, positive psychological processes and
mechanisms, as well as various health-related outcomes. Healthy work systems
require good external environments and develop strategies for good work practices
(for example, autonomy, teamwork and leadership) that enhance positive psychological processes and other mechanisms (for example, trust, perceived control and
organisational commitment) in order to increase healthy outcomes (for example,
wellbeing and proactivity). Happiness not only produces a quantitative improvement
by increasing efficiency but also a qualitative one by making a better product or
outcome on the basis of pride, belief and commitment to one’s job.
Positive emotions and experiences
The importance of experiencing positive emotions can be reasoned in a variety of
ways. Diener et al. (2009: 187) broadly define subjective wellbeing as experiencing high levels of pleasant emotions and moods, low levels of negative emotions
and moods, and high life satisfaction. If the experience of success is considered
positive, it may be one factor that also increases wellbeing. Experiences also
relate to people’s perception of them. ‘Moods and emotions, which together are
labeled affect, represent people’s on-line evaluations of the events that occur in
their lives’ (Diener et al. 1999: 277). For example, Fredrickson’s (1998) broadenand-build model of positive emotions explains why the propensity to experience
positive emotions has evolved into a ubiquitous feature of human nature and how

The theory: everyone can succeed at work

7

positive emotions might be tapped to promote individual and collective wellbeing
and health. Positive emotions serve as markers of flourishing or optimal wellbeing (Fredrickson 2001), and research on experiences can be useful for measuring
wellbeing (Kahneman et al. 2004; Kahneman and Krueger 2006).
Fredrickson (2001) considers pride as a distinct positive emotion that follows
personal achievements. In order to feel pride one has to succeed; in other words,
one must experience success. Likewise, Lyubomirsky et al. (2005) claim that
positive affect or regard engenders success; positive emotions signify that one’s
life is going well and goals are being met.
Therefore, goals are also important for the emergence of the experience of
success; the types of goals one has, the structure of one’s goals, the success with
which one is able to attain one’s goals, and the rate of progress toward one’s goals
can all potentially affect one’s emotions and life satisfaction. The general conceptual model is that people react in positive ways when they make progress toward
goals and react negatively when they fail to achieve goals. Thus, a central idea is
that goals serve as an important reference standard for the affect system (Diener
et al. 1999).
Positive feelings and experiences support problem-solving skills and the ability
to operate in an innovative way. The importance and potential of this may seem
surprising, as feelings of happiness are simple and common in nature (Isen 2006).
Considering the issue in the context of work, there are such interesting and useful
concepts as work engagement (referring to work drive) (see Hakanen 2002;
Hakanen et al. 2008; Schaufeli et al. 2002), flow (Csikszentmihalyi 2008;
Csikszentmihalyi et al. 2005), and joy of work (Varila and Lehtosaari 2001). All
these concepts describe a positive feeling toward work that one may experience
after active, motivated and engaged working, and which we will discuss in detail
later in this book. According to Isen (2001; see also Isen and Reeve 2006), positive feelings sustain intrinsic motivation and help with successfully performing
pleasing work tasks and new challenges as well as enjoying them. However, this
does not mean that one would not accomplish less interesting tasks any less
responsibly. These concepts help with understanding the kinds of actions that
may lead to the experience of success. But first we look at a favorable way of
achieving success, namely, optimism.
Optimism
Optimism is one of the core concepts of positive psychology (Peterson 2000) and
affects how people pursue goals; if they believe their goals are achievable, they
are optimistic (Carver and Scheier 2002). This is why the concept of optimism is
often confused with hope. Gillham and Reivich (2004) explain that the difference
between these two concepts is that hope is often defined as a wish for something
with some expectation that it will happen, while optimism is typically defined as
a tendency or disposition to expect the best. Thus, hope typically refers to
expectations in a specific situation, while optimism refers to general expectations.

8

The theory: everyone can succeed at work

Peterson and Luthans (2003) consider optimism a vital part of hope, but emphasise that they still are distinctively separate concepts.
Optimism therefore determines how we experience events. The author of The
Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor (2010: 109), develops a remarkable notion:
‘By scanning our mental map for positive opportunities, and by rejecting the
belief that every down in life leads us only further downward, we give ourselves
the greatest power possible’. This means that people have a habitual way of
explaining events (Peterson 2000; Peterson et al. 1988).
Peterson (2000) suggests that instead of clinging to a pessimistic explanatory
style, an optimistic one deserves more attention. Furthermore, he separates ‘little
optimism’ from ‘big optimism’ as optimism may function differently depending
on the level. Little optimism seems to be connected to concrete events, and this
is also interesting from the point of view of the experiences of success. Big optimism provides a general state, ‘vigor’ (see also Pajares 2001), whereas little
optimism leads to desirable outcomes in concrete situations (Peterson 2000).
Optimism is shown to be connected to higher life satisfaction, health, perseverance, and resilience, whereas pessimism has connection to depression (Reivich
and Gillham 2003; Reivich et al. 2013). Still, like too much pessimism, too much
optimism is also likely to be harmful. Optimism and pessimism are also closely
related to the phenomenon of ‘learned helplessness’. Seligman (1990) observed
that individuals who were exposed to uncontrollable negative events often overgeneralised from this experience and became passive in other situations that were,
in fact, controllable. He also discovered that the behaviour can be turned the other
way round too, into ‘learned hopefulness’ or, in other words, ‘learned optimism’.
Dispositional optimism refers to a general tendency to expect positive outcomes,
and these positive expectations can partly result from the individual’s belief that
he or she can control good outcomes (Gillham and Reivich 2004).
It has also been argued that the best results in life can be achieved with ‘realistic optimism’ (see Schneider 2001). Realistic optimism involves enhancing and
focusing on the favorable aspects of our experiences. Consequently, Schneider
(2001: 253) includes the awareness of reality in optimism by stating that ‘realistic
optimism involves hoping, aspiring, and searching for positive experiences while
acknowledging what we do not know and accepting what we cannot know’. It is
worth noticing that realistic, positive expectations closely relate to self-awareness
and self-knowledge as well as to the concept of self-efficacy, which refers to an
expectation that one’s behaviour will be effective (Bandura 1997). We will
discuss these factors in greater detail later in this chapter. When considering the
phenomenon of success at work, realistic optimism may be particularly important
as it can considerably predict the likelihood of achieving future goals and plans.

P eople strive for success
According to Krueger (1990), success can be considered the fullest expression of
mastery in any area of life. However, the concept is not that easily approachable; for

The theory: everyone can succeed at work

9

instance, what factors form the elements of success? To begin constructing the
definition of success at work, the first step is to think about and choose between
certain psychological concepts that foster positive emotions, and that are acquired
through feelings of mastery and inner drive, which perhaps form the core of success.
Indeed, there are numerous theories that explain the connection between mastery
and performance that can be viewed from the point of view of success. Psychological
research is replete with concepts that define human action, motives, as well as the
outcomes of these, which can all be seen as manifestations of mastery and performance; but the suggestion here is that their common nominator, the umbrella term,
could be success.
Naturally, there are also external factors that influence all the aforementioned
states and behaviours. For example, encouraging learning environments, loving
parents or supportive workplaces are likely to enhance one’s success, while underestimating, oppressive or unstable environments are likely to hinder such positive
development. Therefore, this review will include a perspective on the individual
person’s success as always context-bound. What follows is a detailed introduction
of these concepts. They are partly overlapping and interconnected; in other words,
they complement each other and coalesce in such a way as to form the heart of
success.
Success is about competence
Originally, White (1959) utilised the concept of competence to describe a
person’s ability to perform efficiently in his or her environment. In order to do
that, one’s development must be seen as the acquisition of greater competence,
and the subjective side of competence is the sense of competence. Deci and
Moller (2005) view the concept from the perspective of motivation psychology
and have complemented White’s thoughts by adding the need for competence as
one dimension of competence. The term ‘intrinsic motivation’ refers to this need.
Deci and Ryan (2008) have later shown that autonomous motivation predicts
persistence and adherence and is advantageous for effective performance.
Furthermore, this is shown to be related to psychological health.
Adler (1982) is credited with an early definition of the elements of competence,
which provides a good way of analysing the multidimensional nature of the
concept. Perhaps the most important element of an individual’s competence is the
ability to perform the social roles that the community and society have set for
each and every one of us. The second element is self-conception. A competent
person has a stable and well-developed identity that includes awareness of his or
her strengths and weaknesses, an optimistic conception of the relationship with
the surrounding world, and a realistic understanding of his or her abilities to
control his or her destiny. The third element consists of interaction skills, which
include communication, credibility and reliability, sensitivity and empathy, and
negotiation skills. The fourth element is the ability to regulate emotions, especially the negative ones such as fear, frustration, anger and guilt, and to learn to

10

The theory: everyone can succeed at work

recognise and control inappropriate reactions to these emotions. The fifth dimension of competence is the ability to develop and move from one developmental
stage to another. The sixth element refers to the ability to cope with stressful
experiences, life crises and other events that one cannot prevent or influence. The
seventh element is the ability to acquire the resources that one needs in order to
get through a certain phase.
The last element of competence is cognitive skills, that is, the ability to work
with words, concepts, symbols and to process information. Causal thinking and
planning, as well as understanding of social reality and social problem-solving
skills, are important areas of competence (Adler 1982).
Competence is also related to how people perceive their control over the
activities and tasks they undertake (for example, Paulsson et al. 2005). Karasek’s
(see Karasek and Theorell 1990) model of work-control shows that in situations
in which people have a high-strain job with high demands and low control, they
cannot meet challenges efficiently. On the other hand, while a low-strain job with
low demands and high control enables optimal responses to challenges, it is not
likely to bring about satisfaction or wellbeing. A passive job has low control and
low mental strain and people can feel that their skills and abilities are misspent
and not optimally utilised. A state of indifference and lack of challenges can
expand to other areas of life as people lose the courage to develop and test their
skills. In active jobs, people have a significant amount of mental strain but also
high control. They can utilise their abilities, which may, for example, lead to the
experience of total concentration and absorption, i.e., ‘flow’ (Csikszentmihalyi
2008; Csikszentmihalyi et al. 2005).
When considered from the point of view of success, competence combined
with opportunities to actively use skills and strengths – whether at work, in
leisure, at school, in parenting, etc. – could be one of the core elements of
success. Naturally, it is also about the person himself or herself and whether he
or she is ready to seize challenges.
Success is about motivation
The role of motivation has already been mentioned in the previous section as one
of the core elements of competence. Indeed, motivation is also a crucial element
of success. Fundamentally, motivation can be considered a critical factor in any
theory attempting to predict and explain behaviour and performance (Mitchell
1997). The ability to predict, understand and influence employees’ motivation has
increased markedly, and modern psychological studies try to pay attention to
work motivation in a comprehensive manner (Latham and Pinder 2005).
Actually, it is quite easy to list various obvious reasons why people work in the
first place: work provides your daily bread, it activates and stimulates, it is a
source of social contacts, it is a way of structuring one’s time management, and
it can also be rewarding (Furnham 1992). These factors do not, however, say
much about the motivation that lies behind the foundation of true success at work.

The theory: everyone can succeed at work

11

According to Eccles and Wigfield (2002; see also Campbell and Pritchard
1976), success can be discussed from four theoretical dimensions related to motivation. First, many theories (such as Bandura 1997) focus on individual employees’ belief in their talents and efficiency, the likelihood of success or failure, and
the sense of being able to control their work results. All this starts from the question ‘Can I handle this task?’ When people are aware of their talents, they actually
do perform better and are more willing to seize new challenges.
The second theoretical viewpoint is based on engagement, which has not been
considered in the theories of personal beliefs. Even if people knew that they could
successfully perform a task, they would not necessarily have a compelling need
to do it (Eccles and Wigfield 2002) – in other words, they may not be interested
in it. Many recent studies have shown, for example, how the sense of meaningful
work, brought on by power and responsibility, can enable employees to become
engaged in their work. The worker becomes like an entrepreneur; through
engagement, he or she takes success as his or her goal. Engagement theories, in
other words theories answering the question ‘why’, include intrinsic motivation
theories and goal theories (see, for example, Deci et al. 1991; Latham and Pinder
2005). The benefits of this kind of positive approach are clear; it leads to greater
persistence, greater flexibility in strategies to reach a goal, greater creativity in
solutions, better outcomes, and higher subjective wellbeing (Schneider 2001).
Intrinsic motivation describes the need to learn new things and skills and to
develop toward greater autonomy, competence and self-determination. It also
includes the structure of personality and the development of motivation. Action
that is intrinsically motivated is experience valued as such. Action has an intrinsic
attribution and, thus, it does not threaten the feeling of autonomy, thereby leading
to satisfaction and positive experiences. Moreover, intrinsic motivation is not
regulated by extrinsic rewards or punishments, but doing becomes self-purposeful (Ryan and Deci 2000a, 2000b).
The positive experience connected to motivation and doing is worthy of further
investigation. For example, in the 1990s, Locke and Latham (1990) introduced a
theory in which they combined work motivation and work satisfaction and called
the model the ‘high performance cycle’. The cycle starts by giving an employee
a challenging task. If the challenge includes an expectation of success, high
performance is guaranteed, assuming that the employee is engaged in the goal,
receives adequate feedback, and situational factors do not considerably affect
performance. Similar findings have resulted from various educational experiments (for example, Gilpin 2008; Green et al. 2012; Oades et al. 2011) and
hobbies (for example, Carruthers and Hood 2005).
Thirdly, there are theories that combine expectations and value constructs (for
example, Weiner 1992). Expectation value refers to an evaluation of the outcome
of action and the likelihood of achieving the outcome (Mitchell 1997). These
theories are based on the idea that employees are more interested in the outcomes
of work than working itself (Eccles and Wigfield 2002). In addition to achievements and related outcomes, the goal or the benefit value can be appreciation and

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The theory: everyone can succeed at work

better self-esteem. For example, Covington’s (1992: 74) self-worth theory
supposes that ‘individuals are thought to be only as worthy as their achievements’. Expectation value also includes an assessment of the instrumentality
between the fundamental goal (for example the performance) and the secondary
outcome (for example salary or promotion), and of the valence of these
secondary outcomes (Mitchell 1997).
Theories that combine motivation and cognition (for example, Rosenthal
and Zimmerman 1978) provide a different perspective on success because they
are interested in an individual’s ways of regulating his or her behaviour and
using cognitive strategies in order to achieve his or her goals (Eccles and
Wigfield 2002).
Mitchell (1997) has presented a useful theory of work motivation that deserves
a closer look. According to his interpretation, work motivation includes various
components such as, for example, needs, goals, expectations, fairness, rewards,
social influences and work description. He lists seven features that can explain a
high motivation level in a work situation: the situation has to (1) correspond to
the employee’s needs, (2) involve goals, (3) reward for a good performance, (4)
be fair and equal, (5) include stimulating tasks, (6) involve colleagues who also
work diligently, and (7) have an accepting atmosphere with an emphasis on hard
work and engagement. The employee responds to the work situation with his or
her skills, knowledge, goals, values and mood, whereas the work context includes
the work task, colleagues, work environment and culture. When added together,
these categories can influence motivation. Motivation, together with abilities,
work knowledge and context-bound factors, leads to behaviour, which again
leads to performance – one of the cornerstones in considerations of success.
Mitchell (1997) emphasises that all theories that attempt to describe performance, whether they are belief, goal, efficiency or expectation value theories,
share certain features. Goals describe what we want to do, self-efficacy describes
what we think we can do and expectations describe our best evaluation of the
consequences our action can have. All these influence motivation, either directly
or indirectly, and are also connected to effort, attention, persistence and
strategies.
Success is about good performance
Performance is often confused with its neighbouring concepts such as competence,
behaviour or action. It is crucial to realise the differences between them.
Performance is the result of behaviour; it is something measurable and comparable, and a clearly definable result. This idea is based on the finding that positive
experiences concerning one’s own doing make for one of the most central dimensions of good performance (Uusiautti 2008; Uusiautti and Määttä 2011; see also
Liden et al. 2000). It is important to analyse some of the core concepts that might
help with an understanding of the positive experience of doing. Competence,
indeed, is often confused with performance, but they are not synonymous (Kanfer

The theory: everyone can succeed at work

13

and Ackerman 2005). Competence refers to a more stable state or to a person’s
characteristic. Performance is a momentary happening and can vary according to
many factors, even if competence is high in relation to the task at hand.
Kanfer and Ackerman (2005) distinguish two dimensions of performance:
maximal and typical performance. The former refers to a person’s skills and
abilities and describes all that the person can do when inner states (for example,
sleep, concentration, etc.) are optimal and when it is possible to concentrate on
the task. The latter dimension is typical behaviour, which refers to how the person
usually does things or how he or she is likely to perform. The researchers point
out that although maximal performance is an interesting research target, it would
perhaps be more beneficial to pay attention to the difference between what the
person can do and what he or she actually does. In Kanfer and Ackerman’s (2005)
model, performance consists of various factors, namely, abilities, skills and
knowledge, personality, motivation and self-image. Motivation is affected by
personal interest and general motivational tendencies. Performance lays the foundation for a learning mechanism that is connected to features that increase
competence (see also Stoltenberg 2005).
The concept of self-efficacy is also closely related to competence and performance. Self-efficacy means a person’s assessment of his or her own abilities to
use his or her resources and to regulate his or her behaviour in order to perform
a task (Caprara and Cervone 2006; Judge et al. 1997; Mitchell 1997). It is therefore similar to the aforementioned sense of competence. It has been shown that
positive self-efficacy improves a person’s performance and wellbeing in numerous ways (Schunk and Pajares 2005). People who have high self-efficacy devote
more to their activities and persevere more than those who estimate that their
competence is weaker. In addition, people with high self-efficacy are likely to
select more high-level goals and engage in them (Bandura 1997; Mitchell 1997).
High self-efficacy, as the manifestation of accurate recognition of one’s skills and
abilities, is also related to how optimistically and realistically one can estimate
one’s performances (Shepperd et al. 1996).
Work engagement – referring to work drive – can be used to describe wellbeing and positive experiences at work. Schaufeli et al. (2002) have defined work
engagement as a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that includes three
sub-scales: vigor, dedication and absorption. Vigor refers to high levels of energy
and willingness to work well in typical and in challenging, conflict-filled situations. It could be described as the feeling of ‘bursting with energy’ when working. Dedication refers to having experiences such as appreciation for your work
and being filled with enthusiasm and inspiration. Absorption refers to having a
deep focus on work and the pleasure that follows the completion of work (see also
Hakanen 2002; Hakanen et al. 2008).
Work engagement, when understood from this definition, is similar to the
concept of flow (see Csikszentmihalyi 2008). Flow is a subjective state of feeling control – or, better yet, feeling that you can act without any control, without
hindrance (Csikszentmihalyi et al. 2005). According to Gardner et al. (2001),

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The theory: everyone can succeed at work

contrary to common belief, flow is more often experienced at work than in
leisure. Furthermore, features such as gender and cultural norms affect the experience of flow. However, here, the focus is on the experience of flow at work.
Flow at work is usually experienced when goals are high and feedback is immediate and fair. In addition, the work itself has to include continuous challenges
that match employees’ skills. Nevertheless, flow is a temporary feeling, whereas
work engagement is a more stable and comprehensive state that does not
focus on any particular task, behaviour, or individual. Flow is equivalent to
absorption from the sub-scales of work engagement (Csikszentmihalyi 2008;
Hakanen 2002).
Success is about positive strategies
Although top performances or steady, quality performance can lead to success, it
can also be seen as a more comprehensive process. Namely, people who want to
develop and seize opportunities in life can be seen as following a positive strategy. This is an interesting perspective on the phenomenon of success. Carver and
Scheier (2005) have pointed out that it is also important that people realise when
goals can be met and when it is time to give up. Ultimately, it is about the ability
to estimate the situation and act accordingly. Likewise, future expectations
greatly affect how people react to changes and challenges. An optimistic attitude
plays a salient role (Carver and Scheier 2002), however, the strategy of success
can also be described in other ways.
For example, Locke (2002) claims that success requires persistent trials. One
has to think about what a desirable goal is and why, what kinds of intermediate
goals should be set, how to reach the goal, how to prioritise demands that are
contradictory in relation to the goal, how to overcome future obstacles and
setbacks – how to achieve a dream?
Baltes and Freund (2006; see also Freund and Baltes 1998) refer to the SOC
model, which provides a general framework for understanding developmental
change and resilience across one’s lifespan. The fundamental idea is that people’s
lives are awash opportunities and limitations that can be ‘mastered adaptively as
an orchestration of three components: selection, optimization, and compensation’
(Freund and Baltes 1998: 531) – SOC.
On the other hand, Covey (2006) considers success as a strategy in which
knowledge, skills and will are combined. Knowledge answers the question of
what to do and why. Skills can make it happen whereas will is synonymous with
motivation or the need to achieve something. As these three dimensions meet, a
strategy leading to success can emerge.
Naturally, the constant pursuit of success can lead to an endless treadmill. The
theory of the hedonic treadmill (see Brickman et al. 1978; Diener et al. 2006)
claims that people constantly strive for a happier life because they believe that
greater happiness awaits right around the corner from achieving the next goal or
solving the next problem. Success is there but not yet achieved.

The theory: everyone can succeed at work

15

Success happens in context
Even though one possessed the most exquisite level of competence and high
motivation, one is still tied to a certain time and place. Behaviour depends on
context and outcome. In addition, contexts are dynamic and change during an
individual’s lifespan (Baltes and Freund 2006). However, according to selfdetermination theory (SDT), people are by nature active and self-motivated, curious and interested, vital and eager to succeed because success itself is personally
satisfying and rewarding (Deci and Ryan 2008).
Context-bound factors can be viewed from two perspectives: first, there is the
actual work context; second, an employee’s personal development always
happens in context. The actual work context always influences work motivation
and the ways that employees perceive and experience their work. Considered
from the point of view of success, certain features, such as interesting or challenging work, could be keys.
Notwithstanding, there are several characterisations of work. In the 1970s,
Kaufman (1974) noticed that work-related challenges were also positively correlated with work performance, professional expertise and competence later in
one’s career. Ever since, researchers have agreed that work involving the right
amount of challenges can increase productivity and motivation. In addition to
challenges, work outcomes should somehow be measurable or recognisable (by
others too). Moreover, responsibility and opportunities for self-development
boost motivation, satisfaction and engagement (see, for example, Almost and
Spence Laschinger 2002; Spence Laschinger et al. 2004) and, according to
Laubach (2005), these features are best realisable in informal organisations in
which employers can offer autonomy, flexible schedules and an opportunity to
participate in decision-making.
Indeed, good performances and motivated working not only depend on the
employee but also on the contents of work and the conditions in the workplace
(Latham and Pinder 2005). On the other hand, there are also different kinds of
jobs and, for example, in monotonous or predictable jobs, autonomy is not likely
to be a very important feature.
Hackman and Oldham (1976) have defined three core dimensions of work,
namely, autonomy, the nature of tasks, feedback, the significance of tasks and the
selection of required skills. These dimensions influence three psychological states:
the experience of the importance of the work, responsibility over the results and
awareness of the real consequences of the work. The fundamental idea is that an
employee, for example John, will perceive his work positively if he knows that he
has performed well in a task he considered important. John’s personal need for
growth speaks to how powerfully he reacts to the psychological states. Thus, the
dimensions of work and psychological states have impact on both individual and
work outcomes; these are high work motivation, high performances at work and
high work satisfaction, and little absenteeism and turnover of workers.
As a matter of fact, jobs that require high performance, without the attendance
of negative psychological strain, offer good opportunities for controlling one’s

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The theory: everyone can succeed at work

work, allow employees to utilise their skills and provide the scope to develop and
learn new skills. Karasek and Theorell (1990) call them ‘active jobs’. We think
that active jobs can present an opportunity for success but, naturally, it is also a
matter for an employee himself or herself and whether he or she is ready to seize
the opportunities provided by an active job.
This leads us back to the individual. Moving from a particular work context to
a wider perspective on success requires an acknowledgement of interactions with
the surrounding environment in one’s positive development. Every one of us has
a personal history; we have not become like this in the wink of an eye, and we
take our entire background with us to the workplace. Some of us have learned to
perceive challenges positively, while others tend to stick to the familiar.
Development, including positive development, always happens in context.
Magnusson and Mahoney (2006) present four theses on the nature of phenomena when dissecting positive development, all of which can also be relevant for
the conceptualisation of success. First, the individual acts and develops as an
active, intentional part of the integrated, multidimensional, dynamic and adaptive
person-environment system. The nature of this system changes along one’s lifespan through developmental processes, societal changes and as a result of constant
individual-environment interaction processes. Second, the individual develops
along the course of time as an integrated, undivided organism within a multidimensional, dynamic, adaptive, maturing and learning process. This interaction
process involves mental, biological and behavioural factors of the individual and
social, cultural and physical features of the environment. Third, the preconditions
provided by the environment, including the possibilities, limitations, demands
and expectations, are especially important for research on positive development.
Fourth is the theoretical model that aims to explain that a human being’s positive
development has to include and integrate his or her mental, biological and behavioural aspects as well as the physical, social and cultural features of this individual’s environment (Magnusson and Mahoney 2006).
These viewpoints felicitously highlight the basic idea of positive development
from the point of view of success. Positive development cannot be defined without referring to the individual but merely that attention must be paid to natural
features, resources and limitations within his or her cultural, physical and historical context (Magnusson and Mahoney 2006).
What this means is that success, when considered from this positive point of
view, also needs to be seen in context. First, the processes have a holistic nature that
means that success is merely a result of the functional interaction of its elements
rather than how each element influences entity. Second, the inner processes, such
as mental, biological and behavioural functions, and outer processes, such as opportunities, obligations and rules, and how well these processes are synchronised,
contribute to the possibility of success.
It is therefore relevant to ask whether the lifespans of positively acting people
differ from those of others and, if they do, how. Basically, the discussion of the
phenomenon of success seeks to analyse how it can be enhanced, the ways of

The theory: everyone can succeed at work

17

conceptualising it as positive development and, most importantly, it opens up
discussion on how the elements can be recognised. The next chapters will sink
some teeth into this interesting matter.

Top workers: who are they?
We have now introduced the fundamental ideas directing our research on success.
But how do they appear in practice, if at all? Understood as the result of an inner
drive to work well and as an expression of mastery, success is an indication of
positive attitudes and wellbeing at work. Given such a definition, everyone has an
equal chance to succeed at work; in other words, more people would be considered successful.
Experience has already shown that healthier and more satisfied employees
work better (Rissa 2007). However, not everyone’s goal of success at work is the
same, and a variety of motivating factors can be recognised. One may aim to earn
a living, the another’s goal may be to achieve top expertise in his or her professional field, to enhance the quality of life, or to strive for a personally significant
long-term goal (Locke 2002) – not to mention that success is experienced
subjectively and that personal achievements are evaluated in different ways
(Maddux 2002).
The purpose of this book is to introduce the positive sides of work: how you
can not only manage your work life, but also succeed. We will introduce our
empirical research on the phenomenon. Although we take a specific viewpoint of
success, it is not very straightforward to find suitable people to represent top
workers. How do you define whether someone has achieved success at work or
not? Who can define this?
How to study success at work?
As referenced in the introduction to this book, we considered any employee in
any occupation as having the chance to succeed. However, in order to find the top
workers, we could not just go into workplaces to interview employees. Instead,
we decided to contact workers who had received a top-worker award in their
field. Every now and then in Finland – and we know that the same is true for
numerous other countries – people are selected as excellent workers in their
specific fields.
The main research on which this book is based included participants who
represented top workers from different occupations (see Uusiautti 2008). Each
participant was nominated ‘Employee of the Year’ by Finnish labour unions as
most Finnish workers are members of a labour union in their respective fields.
These top workers were considered representatives of successful workers and
suitable informants for describing their experiences of success at work. The selection of successful employees was not done by the researchers, thereby ensuring
that there was public justification for selecting the participants. The criteria for

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The theory: everyone can succeed at work

the award of ‘Employee of the Year’ were gathered for the 20 occupations from
which the participants were chosen (examples of these professions include fields
such as psychology, policing, teaching, etc.). The criteria were mostly found on
the internet, but some of them were obtained through email inquiries to the labour
unions.
We will now briefly introduce how the participants were described with reference to the criteria for Employee of the Year. In different occupations, the award
emphasised different qualities that could be categorised into three groups. Firstly,
having a high professional standard was named as one of the most important
qualities among the participants. Regarding this quality, expertise was recognised
as referring not only to excellent work quality but also to the ability to actively
develop one’s work and skills. The following occupations best represented this
theme: priest, police officer, nurse and psychologist. The second group consisted
of employees’ actions that led to making their work and occupation recognised.
Examples of these actions included paying attention to the contents of the occupation (for example work tasks), publicly discussing current topics regarding
their occupational field, and facilitating the recognition of Finnish proficiency
abroad. For example, the criteria for the ‘Artisan of the Year’, ‘Journalist of the
Year’, and ‘Athlete of the Year’ awards typified this theme. The difference
between these two themes was that the first emphasised winners who had developed their field through their own professional development, while the second
emphasised winners who used their proficiency to gain publicity.
Some of the rewarded employees were selected not by their colleagues but
through competitions. These competitions differ remarkably, depending on the
occupation (for example ‘Chef of the Year’ and ‘Cleaner of the Year’). However,
one feature was common among them, namely, professional skills in several
sectors were evaluated (for example, customer service skills and working methods) as these depicted core occupational expertise. In other words, only a true
professional can win this kind of competition. Therefore, employees who had
won a competition were also asked to participate in this research. On the other
hand, employees who had been selected for these competitions from their workplace had also already been nominated by their colleagues as excellent workers.
In addition to the three themes mentioned above, the criteria for ‘Employee of
the Year’ awards can be studied by analysing the specific words describing the
awards. Three different categories were found: attributes that described top workers, action-related attributes and profession-specific qualifiers. The most common
attributes were adjectives such as competent, innovative, punctual, celebrated,
effective, open-minded and social. Action-related descriptions covered factors
such as developing work and occupation, improving one’s occupation, making
one’s occupation noted in Finland and abroad, dedication to one’s occupation and
active cooperation. Profession-specific qualifiers were language proficiency, tidiness, expertise, care for one’s own and others’ wellbeing at work, punctuality, a
well-functioning business idea, courage to create new ideas, cooperation skills
and service skills. Top workers’ attributes were essentially words that described

The theory: everyone can succeed at work

19

employees, regardless of occupation. Action-related attributes paid attention to
how an employee had been working or what an employee had done in order to
earn the nomination. Profession-specific qualifiers referred directly to occupation
and specific profession-bound skills. Thus, one qualifier could describe several
occupations but with different meanings (for example, tidiness can be considered
differently among taxi drivers, chefs and cleaners).
It was interesting to note that the criteria for Employee of the Year did not
differ substantially between fields. The aim of this introduction was to give an
idea of the kinds of characteristics emphasised in the criteria. Nevertheless, it is
worth deliberating on how much this actually framed the picture of successful
employees used in this research, as winners of Employee of the Year awards
were, and still are, mainly selected by their own labour unions. For example,
making one’s occupation renowned can be advantageous for a particular union,
thereby influencing one’s chances of being selected. Additionally, persons who
are more sociable could be seen as more appealing, further influencing the likelihood of their selection for Employee of the Year.
Nonetheless, and most importantly, Employee of the Year winners are top
workers rewarded in their own fields. Thus, they constitute a group of successful
and excellent workers.
The data and analyses
The research consisted of two phases. In the first phase, success at work was
analysed by focusing on motivation as well as on work engagement. In addition,
those work characteristics considered most rewarding by participants were studied.
The participants were nominated employees of the year in a variety of occupational
field1. Altogether, 44 employees were contacted. Of this figure, 16 participated by
answering the questionnaires. Five of them were men and 11 were women. Seven
of those who responded to the questionnaires were interviewed during the first
phase of the study. Participants were between 29 and 71 years old (mean = 49).
Their occupations represented different fields and could be divided into the following professional groups: academic occupations, artistic occupations and labourers.
The research used a mixed-methods approach (see, for example, Creswell
2002; Teddlie and Tashakkori 2003). Data were collected via questionnaires and
interviews. Questionnaires consisted of both quantitative and qualitative sections.
The quantitative section was designed to assist answering the open-ended questions. The participants were asked to describe:
•
•
•

their experiences about their work (How do you usually feel about your work
[for example, rewarding/frustrating, interesting/boring] and why?);
the significance of their work (How important do you consider your work,
and why?);
their job satisfaction (Are you usually satisfied with your work, and why?
Please, also write about what inspires you about your work);

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The theory: everyone can succeed at work

•

work-related challenges (Is your work challenging? Do you think that you
are capable of handling these challenges? How so?);
whether their work was rewarding (Is your work rewarding?);
the most important characteristics of their work (Mention three things that
you consider to be most important about your work. Why have you chosen
this particular work/occupation?);
themselves as workers (In your opinion, what kind of employee are you?
Please describe yourself as a worker).

•
•
•

The interviews were based on the questionnaires and were qualitative theme
interviews, i.e., all themes included in the interviews were decided beforehand,
but the order and form of the questions were not (Hirsjärvi et al. 2000). In other
words, the interviewer ensured that all the predetermined topics were discussed,
but the order and extent could vary (Eskola and Vastamäki 2001). In this research,
the researcher analysed the questionnaires before each interview and, based on
that analysis, determined the focus of each interview. For example, if a participant had found it difficult to answer a certain question on the questionnaire, that
theme was discussed more thoroughly in an interview. Therefore, the themes in
the interviews were the same for everyone (work motivation, experiences about
work and participants’ characteristics as workers) but were given varying degrees
of emphasis according to the participants’ answers on the questionnaires.
In this research, the data were analysed through qualitative content analysis
with predetermined categories derived from a theoretical background (such as ,
for example, the key concepts mentioned). Qualitative content analysis emphasises a relevant selection and rational organisation of categories (Kracauer 1952;
Mayring 2000). This formed the basis for analysis. Furthermore, these categories
were divided into reasonable subcategories that emerged in the data (based on the
number of references).
The second phase of the research concentrated on the process of becoming a
top worker. In this phase, the employees of the year (n = 8) were Nurse of the
Year, Farmer of the Year, Police Officer of the Year (n = 2), Psychologist of the
Year, Priest of the Year (n = 2) and Artisan of the Year. Six of them were men
and two were women. Participants were between 36 and 64 years old (mean =
49). In the interviews, the participants were asked to discuss the following
themes: factors that enhance success, difficulties and obstacles they had
confronted, and choices and decisions they had made during the course of their
lives. As this was a piece of narrative research, the data were collected using
interviews.
Narrative research can be defined as research that utilises or analyses data
collected via narratives (for example, biographies) or other similar ways (for
example, anthropologists’ observational narratives). Thus, a narrative can be
either a research object or a means to study a phenomenon (Lieblich, TuvalMashiach, and Zilber 1998). Narrative research does not focus on objective and
generalized facts but on local, personal, and subjective information – this is

The theory: everyone can succeed at work

21

considered a strength of narrative research because informants’ voices can be
heard authentically (Guba and Lincoln 1994). Narratives can also be used when
analyzing the reasons for actions (Moilanen 2002). To best serve this research the
narrative interview was complemented with characteristics of the themed interview, thereby aiming at a thick description of the phenomenon of success at work
(see Rubin and Rubin 1995).
Polkinghorne (1995) distinguishes the analysis of narratives and narrative
analysis. The former means categorising by types, for example, and metaphors.
The latter refers to the composition of a new narrative based on various original
narratives. Both of these analytical methods were used in this research. On the
one hand, the participants’ narratives were categorised by predetermined categories and, on the other hand, a narrative of becoming a top worker was composed
(see also Kuusela 2003).
In this research, an analysis of narratives and narrative analyses was conducted.
The analysis consisted of narrative structuring, which tries to put together a cohesive narrative of experiences and events during interviews (Kvale 1997).
Furthermore, the analysis typified a category-content-focused approach, with
parts of narratives being placed in different categories (Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiac,
and Zilber, 1998).
As the participant group was quite a selective one, some reliability issues need
to be addressed. To what extent are the stories of top workers biased? Certainly,
they already had a particular attitude and idea of the purpose of the study when they
answered the questionnaire and were interviewed. Indeed, the aim was to study
their positive experiences, although the themes and questions did also cover negative happenings. However, they were regarded as top workers, examples of
successful people, and that starting point may have affected their responses.
However, especially in the interviews, the participants thoroughly contemplated
their experiences. In the second phase, in particular, when they described their
entire life stories, their answers could not have been structured entirely on the basis
of extrinsic norms or expectations and were thus considered reliable and valuable.
Furthermore, when the participants describe their experiences of success, there was
no reason to think that they were not be honest. Consequently, the question was
merely about what the participants considered so important that it was worth telling.
Studies on the factors contributing to success at work
Research on employees of the year forms the main study on which this book is
grounded. However, we have complemented and viewed the phenomenon of
success from various perspectives, especially in Chapter 5 when we discuss external factors that influence the process. We include Professor Kaarina Määttä’s
research on Finnish married couples (N = 342) who had been married for more
than ten years. In her study, couples, inspired by a writing competition arranged
by a Finnish magazine, wrote about the secret of their own long-lasting marriage,
as well as the variety of solutions they had tried in terms of combining work and

22

The theory: everyone can succeed at work

family. The theoretical basis of the study was grounded in many theories and
previous research on marital quality and marital stability, especially Sternberg’s
Triangular theory of Love (1986), the Love is a Story theory (Sternberg, 1999),
Gottman’s publications (1994; 1999), and A Vulnerability-Stress-Adaption Model
of Marriage by Karney and Bradbury (1995). The participants were a good representation of the gamut of Finnish married couples; they represented different age
groups, most of them had been married for 10-15 years, and they had one or two
children. For many of the writers, this was their first marriage; for others, this was
at least their second marriage. The stories did not only describe the bright sides of
marriage; there were also some rough experiences and survival stories. What they
had in common was that the relationships endured more than ten years. The data
analysis was based on inductive content analysis and the qualitative categorising
of the written stories. In addition, the question about the kinds of solutions couples
employed in order to combine work and family produced interesting results.
In Chapters 4 and 5 we also lean on a research project called ‘Love-based
Leadership – An Interdisciplinary Approach,’ which focuses on enhancing
employees’ happiness at work by supporting their individual strengths and creating productive work communities that are ready for change – thus, the starting
point and emphasis is on an individual. This study approach can be identified
within the area of positive psychology called positive organisational behaviour
(POB) (see Youssef and Luthans 2007). Luthans (2002: 59) defines POB as ‘the
study and application of positively oriented human resource strengths and
psychological capacities that can be measured, developed, and effectively
managed for performance improvement in today’s workplace’. The viewpoint is
interested in positivity and psychological resources that illustrate capacity that
must be theory- and research-based and validly measurable as well as ‘state-like’
(i.e., open to change and development) and have a demonstrated performance
impact. This viewpoint offers a great addition to the analysis of the process of
becoming a successful worker.
In this study, 13 leaders were interviewed. The interviews consisted of four
themes, from leaders’ strengths to their understanding of caring leadership, and
from positive and love-based work communities to interrelationships between
positive, appreciative and happy experiences and leadership. The interviewees
included deans and associate deans (n = 5) and department chairs or department
managers (n = 8). Seven participants (three women and four men) came from a
general university and a university of applied sciences in Finland, while six (all
men) came from one university in the USA. The purpose of including participants
from two countries was to gather experiences that were as diverse as possible.
And indeed, leaders revealed a rich store of personal perceptions and experiences.
In this book, we will especially employ the findings to analyse how leadership
can enhance employees’ success (see also Peterson and Luthans 2003).
Having introduced the theoretical assumptions and empirical solutions, it is
time to move on to practical examples and viewpoints concerning success at
work. Let us have the top workers reveal their secrets!

The theory: everyone can succeed at work

23

Note
1

Employees of the year represented the following awards: in the first phase, Coach of
the Year, Artisan of the Year, Cleaner of the Year, Nurse of the Year, Doctor (of
Medicine) of the Year, Industrial Designer of the Year, Farmer of the Year, Textile
Artist of the Year, Psychologist of the Year, Police Officer of the Year and Graphic of
the Year and, in the second phase, Nurse of the Year, Farmer of the Year, Police Officer
of the Year, Artisan of the Year, Priest of the Year, and Psychologist of the Year.

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Chapter 3

A successful worker

Introduction
What features do top workers share? How do they perceive their work? Do they
face setbacks (at all)? Are they always excited about their work, or do they also
have boring work tasks? Work cannot be all about sunshine, can it?
These questions came to mind as we glanced at the work attitudes and personalities of Employees of the Year. In this chapter, we reveal their thoughts, allow
them to describe their motivation, engagement and themselves as employees.
Surprisingly, the Employees of the Year participating in our studies had many
things in common – regardless of occupation.
The chapter consists of three viewpoints of top workers’ descriptions of themselves and their work. First, their opinions on the most important features of their
work and other relevant factors that enhance success are introduced. Second, we
look at the top workers as persons following the ideas of positive psychology and
human strengths. Finally, a new perspective on success is introduced: the experience of success. Here, we focus on experiences of success at work as described
by top workers. All these contribute to a special perspective on the phenomenon
of success when the analysis is limited to the employee as well as the workplace
and its distinctive features.

Work itself boosts motivation and provides
experiences of joy and accomplishment
Challenging work is most appreciated
Some commonalities emerged as employees listed the most important factors that
resulted in positive experiences at work. The most significant factor concerned
the challenges at work and opportunities to improve skills and/or work. They
described such situations as those in which you can learn more and develop yourself through new challenges at work. The participants emphasised that recognising your core skills is essential as it becomes possible to concentrate on doing
what is most suitable for you. Indeed, knowing your strengths and weaknesses as

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well as your values and interests is crucial for enhancing your career (see also
Arnold et al. 1993).
‘I’m excited mostly in situations that enable me to develop something, to
change something for the better, in a more reasonable direction.’
‘Every day is different. It’s challenging to see every customer as an individual and not as a group of clients!’
‘I can actually say that we have very diverse training at work. And all these
courses help with doing this work as this environment is changing constantly
and, of course, the whole society. Continuously educating yourself in this
way is essential in order to maintain your proficiency.’
Surprisingly, participants were not mavericks at their work, but they highly
valued successful and effortless cooperation with their co-workers. Similarly, it
has been discovered that social support is an effective means of enhancing selfesteem and feelings of mastery (Rousseau et al. 2009), thus promoting success at
work. Argyle (1987) points out that contentment with relationships in the workplace, both horizontally – between employees – and vertically – between
employers and employees – is central to happiness at work.
‘I like working in teams. It’s interesting to work with different kinds of people.’
‘I think that my most powerful experiences at work are those in which we are
working together as a group.’
‘I think that [good relationships in the workplace] are an unquestionable precondition; everybody works better when they feel good…. So, if you spend five or ten
minutes chatting, it doesn’t harm because it contributes to the system in general.’
Thirdly, participants considered opportunities to work autonomously as a salient
dimension of their experience. The Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) Model
suggests that job resources (for example, autonomy, immediate feedback and
rewards) are especially salient for resource gain, for example, true wellbeing and
motivation at work, i.e., work engagement (Bakker and Demerouti 2007). In
addition, individuals should be encouraged to rest, to engage in positive work
reflection, and to prevent negative work-related thoughts (Binnewies et al. 2009).
‘I can autonomously determine what I’m doing and when.’
‘I can determine the content of my work.’
‘Work drive, engagement, and the joy of work.’
All Employees of the Year thought that their work was rewarding. According to
them, new challenges, as well as opportunities to develop themselves at work,
were most exciting to them. It seemed certain that they experienced work

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31

engagement and joy of work. From the sub-scales of work engagement, the
significance of work refers to dedication. All participants were proud of their
work and considered their work meaningful. Furthermore, the sub-scales of flow,
namely, vigor and absorption, were apparent in their descriptions.
‘I am able to concentrate so deeply that I escape from reality. I can close my
ears, and my husband tells me that I’m a closed book…. I am riveted by my
work, and I see it as a blessing.’
The interviewees were asked to describe how they focused on work. This was
supposed to provide information about their flow experiences. In addition, they
were asked to describe setbacks and hardships and their ways of handling such
situations. Likewise, top workers described the challenges of their work and some
aspects of work that had recently made them excited. One way of expressing top
workers’ inspiration for their work was their descriptions of how pleasurable it
was for them to go to work every day. Many of them spoke of how important it
was to be able to develop their work.
The experience of flow was familiar to almost everyone. Their descriptions
were convincing; they kept talking about how fantastic it was to be absorbed by
their work. However, the conditions leading to flow varied from person to person:
some could reach this state in cooperation with colleagues, while others did so
independently.
‘I become absorbed when the [work] space is as undisturbed as possible.’
Inspiration and enthusiasm were concretely described as they said that they
became riveted by work and did not remember to check the time or count the
hours.
‘Sometimes I can come here during weekends if I am very enthusiastic about
developing something, for example an initial idea, so the time can pass
quickly and it can be that I come here to my office on Saturday and Sunday.’
Above all, the most extraordinary characteristic among Employees of the Year
was their positive attitude, which was specific to informants. For instance, they
did not give up in the face of conflicts. Instead, they saw such situations as opportunities to reassess their occupational skills and, if necessary, to study and
develop. Thus, conflict situations were seen as challenges that had to be solved.
This kind of positive and optimistic attitude was at the very core of the participants’ characteristics and may explain why they did not consider demanding
situations to be stressful.
‘Firstly, you have to try again if it’s worth it. And if it’s not, it might be that
you weren’t right after all. But then again, you can think that now is the time

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to look in the mirror and accept the fact that that way isn’t leading you anywhere and find another one. This I have done many times along my way. And
what else can you do…?’
‘Sometimes I think that I’m a little bit stupid…. But I’m not because it might
be that I don’t see those [conflict situations]. I’ve always taken more responsibility than I should have and thus got more interesting duties….’
This is also an instance of the rewards of a proactive (as opposed to reactive)
attitude (see Covey 2006). Proactive people can change their behaviour, see
things from a different angle, make choices, and know what they want. Reactive
people, on the other hand, concentrate on things that they cannot control or
change, such as other people’s weaknesses and poor circumstances. Accordingly,
proactive people function in more effective and positive ways.
Positive experiences at the core?
This research has shown that one’s positive work experiences (both the work
itself and the employee’s way of working) could be placed at the core of success.
Employees of the Year found their jobs pleasing. Having a holistic positive experience is crucial to this (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi 2000; see also
Mäkikangas et al. 2005). Moreover, finding a balance between an employee’s
skills and work-related expectations, as well as between opportunities and challenges, is shown to lead to better performance at work, contentment, higher
motivation and self-efficacy (Mäkikangas et al. 2005).
How then can success at work be outlined? The positive attitude that Employees
of the Year demonstrated toward work and life in general was a common factor
among them. As they outlined the phenomenon of success at work, the manner in
which the participants experienced their work appeared to lie at the core of their
success. Their positive experiences regarding their work and themselves as
employees can be seen as a salient factor whereas the other features of work –
professional proficiency, life situation, work motivation and personality – merely
appeared to be dependent on this positive experience. Notwithstanding, all these
factors affect each other to a certain extent. Especially the above-mentioned
features of work seemed to affect both the experience of work and work motivation. All features together form the basis and prerequisites for success at work. The
interconnectedness of these factors is illustrated in Figure 3.1.
Placing the experience of work at the center is, in fact, a unique way of understanding success at work because it is not usually considered the most salient factor
when compared with, for example, work motivation (cf. Ruohotie and Honka 2003).
On the other hand, the positive development that leads to becoming a top
worker cannot be considered separate from an individual’s environment (Magnusson and Mahoney 2006). Factors outside working life that
influence success include one’s overall life situation, family, friends, hobbies,
physical and psychological health, and so on.

A successful worker

Motivation:
- Intrinsic work motivation.

Life situation:
- The combination
of work and family.

The features of work:
- Challenging work;
- Development
opportunities;
- Good working
atmosphere;
- Autonomy.

The positive work experience:
- Work engagement and drive;
- Regarding adversities as challenges;
- Optimistic and enthusiastic attitude
towards work.

Personality:
- social, optimistic, selfconfident, diligent, openminded, persistent, reliable,
willing to learn and develop,
etc.

Professional proficiency:
- Maintaining, updating and
developing one’s
professional skills;
- Interest in developing the
profession.

33

S
U
C
C
E
S
S
A
T
W
O
R
K

Figure 3.1 The interconnectedness of the factors that explain success at work among
Employee of the Year awardees (Uusiautti, 2008).

Although the findings are not generalisable as such, some recent research
provides interesting guidelines regarding the types of attitudes that Finnish workers have toward work. For example, the National Research and Development
Centre for Welfare and Health of Finland has studied working conditions and
contentment (see, for example, Miettinen 2006) and has listed factors that
employees value most about their work. Among employees who were mostly
very pleased with their jobs, the factors that were most appreciated were the
following: interesting content, autonomy, variation at work and social relationships with co-workers. Of these factors, autonomy and social relationships were
also important to Employees of the Year. The difference between Finnish workers in general and the participants in this research was in relation to employees’
attitudes toward opportunities for developing and educating themselves and the
need for challenges at work. These were highly appreciated among Employees of
the Year but not among workers in general.
The variation between top workers and the general pool can also be studied
from another perspective. Among Finnish workers in general, two-thirds of
managers, half of subordinate managers and one-third of workers reported
considering education and development at work as very important (Aitta 2006).

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In our research, this kind of variation between different positions was not apparent. Instead, all Employees of the Year, regardless of their position, appeared to
be extremely eager to educate themselves.
These results are in line with previous research. For example, Kinnunen et al.
(2008) have found that increasing the rewarding aspects of work – instead of
decreasing effort – could be especially efficient for increasing work engagement.
Additionally, researchers have demonstrated that wellbeing is impacted by core
concepts of positive psychology such as hope (see Snyder 1994), self-efficacy
(Bandura 1997) and optimism (Carver and Scheier 2002). These characteristics
were common to participants – especially the optimistic attitude toward work and
life in general.
What can be learned from the experiences of Employees of the Year? It seems
that having positive experiences is a key factor in success and wellbeing at
work. Also, a lack of absenteeism and a willingness to stay in the same job –
engagement, so to speak – are significant. Employees of the Year could be
described as true ‘try-harders’ because of their optimistic attitude both when
confronting obstacles and when striving forward in their careers and other workrelated ambitions. According to Tugade and Fredrickson (2004), there are individuals who seem to ‘bounce back’ from negative events quite effectively,
whereas others are seemingly unable to get out of their negative ruts. Our
participants seemed to represent the former group. In addition, participants were
passionate about working consummately. Indeed, it has been discovered that
high work engagement magnifies emotional responses to perceived success or
failure (Britt 1999).
Regardless of occupation or position, Employees of the Year appreciated wellbeing at work over hard values, such as making a good salary. In order to gain
positive experiences from one’s work, an employee has to be (intrinsically) motivated to do this particular work, to accomplish tasks and goals set. Work itself
can motivate. However, in the present research, it was also discovered that when
the work content lacked interest but its other characteristics, such as challenges,
autonomy and work environment, appealed to employees, positive experiences
were more likely to be achieved.

Strengths and success
Employees are human beings working in a certain job or occupation. As the
previous findings show, success at work can be connected to challenging and
inspiring work tasks but also to the intrinsic drive to work well. However, it is
also interesting to think about the strengths that top workers possess and illustrate
in their doings.
Indeed, recent research has paid increasing attention to studying human virtues
(Magnusson and Mahoney 2006). Now, the research concentrating on human
weaknesses has had to compete with a strong interest in human abilities, healthy
aptitudes and virtues. Researchers have become conscious that people’s

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35

experiences can be studied from this perspective as well and not just in a way that
is oriented toward flaws and conditions (Mahoney 2002).
The concept of human strengths can be considered as contextually dynamic
because the function of a specific behaviour depends on its context and its
outcome. In addition, contexts are dynamic and change during an individual’s life
span. The concept of human strengths is also norm-dependent because the fundamental features of a society involve common knowledge about appropriate and
appreciated behaviour (Baltes and Freund 2006).
According to Baltes and Freund (2006), the concept of human strengths is (1)
dynamic and unbound to context from the point of view of adaptation or
general mechanism, (2) represents the state of life-long learning and flexible lifemanagement, (3) regulates the direction of the goals in individual development as
well as the ways in which the goals will be achieved, and (4) not only supports
individuals’ development but also makes them more efficient participants in
creating the common good.
Virtues can be dissected from a variety of viewpoints. The synchronic perspective tries to explain an individual’s behaviour on the basis of psychological and
biological orientations at a certain moment, whereas the diachronic point of view
is interested in those developmental processes that have led to the prevailing
behaviour. This perspective focuses on the behaviour at a certain moment as part
of an individual’s developmental history. Diachronic models consider individual
development and the timing and emergence of important happenings in one’s
environment, as well as the ways in which these factors interact in the course of
time (Magnusson and Mahoney 2006).
We leaned on a universal idea of human strengths and asked about the strengths
that top workers recognised in themselves. The list of strengths was originally
developed by Professors Seligman and Peterson and their research group. After
having read all kinds of categorisations about human virtues – starting from
Aristotle and Plato, to the Old Testament, Talmud, Buddha, Bushido and the Boy
Scouts – they managed to define six virtues that appeared common to all.
Their criteria for the strengths and virtues selected among the list were the
following: first, a strength needs to be manifest in an individual’s behaviour,
including thoughts, feelings or actions consistently across time and situations.
Second, a strength contributes to various fulfillments that comprise the good life.
Third, although strengths can and do produce desirable outcomes, each strength
is morally valued in its own right. Fourth, the display of a strength by one person
inspires and encourages others rather than diminishes them. Strengths and virtuousness in this sense are not based on or evoke jealousy. Fifth, the wider society
provides institutions and associated rituals for cultivating strengths and virtues.
Sixth, it is possible to recognise people who are paragons of virtue. Seventh,
strength is arguably one-dimensional and cannot be decomposed into other
strengths (Peterson and Park 2004: 436-436).
The virtues listed were wisdom and knowledge, courage, justice, temperance,
spirituality and transcendence, and love and humanity (Seligman 2002). Each

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A successful worker

virtue was complemented with strengths that illustrate the particular virtue. In
other words, the idea is that one can reach a virtue and manifest it through special
strengths, for example, the virtue of love and humanity can be shown through
social intelligence.
The list of virtues and strengths is as follows (Seligman et al. 2005: 412):
1

Wisdom and knowledge (cognitive strengths that entail the acquisition and
use of knowledge):
Creativity (thinking of novel and productive ways of doing things);
Curiosity (taking an interest in all of ongoing experience);
Open-mindedness (thinking things through and examining them from all
sides);
Love of learning (mastering new skills, topics and bodies of knowledge);
Perspective (being able to provide wise counsel to others).

2

Courage (emotional strengths that involve the exercise of will to accomplish
goals in the face of opposition, external or internal):
Authenticity (speaking the truth and presenting oneself in a genuine way);
Bravery (not shrinking from threat, challenge, difficulty or pain);
Persistence (finishing what one starts);
Zest (approaching life with excitement and energy).

3

Humanity (interpersonal strengths that involve ‘tending and befriending’
others):
Kindness (doing favours and good deeds for others);
Love (valuing close relations with others);
Social intelligence (being aware of the motives and feelings of self and
others).

4

Justice (civic strengths that underlie healthy community life):
Fairness (treating all people the same according to notions of fairness and
justice);
Leadership (organising group activities and seeing that they happen);
Teamwork (working well as a member of a group or team).

5

Temperance (strengths that protect against excess):
Forgiveness (forgiving those who have done wrong);
Modesty (letting one’s accomplishments speak for themselves);
Prudence (being careful about one’s choices; not saying or doing things
that might later be regretted);
Self-regulation (regulating what one feels and does).

6

Transcendence (strengths that forge connections to the larger universe and
provide meaning):

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37

Appreciation of beauty and excellence (noticing and appreciating beauty,
excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life);
Gratitude (being aware of and thankful for the good things that happen);
Hope (expecting the best and working to achieve it);
Humour (liking to laugh and tease; bringing smiles to other people);
Religiousness (having coherent beliefs about the higher purpose and
meaning of life).
Top workers’ strengths and virtues
We asked the top workers to rank their strengths by giving three points to their
best strength, two to their second best, one to their third best and half points to any
other strengths they considered typical of them. When all the data were combined,
the results were interesting. Three strengths stood out: open-mindedness came
in first, social intelligence was ranked second and perseverance came in as the
third important strength. We will now introduce the strength-based analysis in
greater detail.
Wisdom and knowledge
The virtue of wisdom and knowledge consists of cognitive strengths (creativity,
curiosity, open-mindedness, love of learning and perspective) that relate to the
ability to acquire and use information. This virtue was the most important among
the top workers. Based on their own perceptions, wisdom and knowledge as a
virtue included those strengths that best described their passionate attitude toward
learning new things, developing themselves and their occupation, as well as gathering versatile knowledge and skills. Therefore, their estimation also illustrated
their attitude towards working.
The top workers were not always able to recognise their strengths, for example,
when they spoke about creativity:
‘I thought that I was not creative at all because I have always been really bad
at drawing. But still, I compose music and write lyrics… and make up all
kinds of gadgetries and apparatuses.’
Creativity was appreciated, but not all the top workers recognised themselves as
creative. In fact, the concept of creativity is not as self-evident as one might think.
Seligman et al. (2005: 412) state that creativity simply means ‘thinking of novel
and productive ways to do things’ whereas Sternberg and Lubart (1999) have
defined creativity as the ability to produce work that is novel and appropriate.
Simonton’s (2009: 262) definition follows that of Sternberg and Lubart.
Creativity can be defined on the basis of two conditions: first, it must be original.
This means that creative ideas are novel, surprising and unexpected; however,
originality is not a sufficient criterion. Creativity must also be adaptive, which

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A successful worker

means that others should find the created thing adjustable or the creation should
be adaptable. Sometimes, creativity is defined only as a feature that produces
concrete results (for example, Carson et al. 2005). Furthermore, creativity can be
defined only in terms of the so-called divergent creative reasoning. In divergent
working, several options for solutions are kept open and flexible whereas the
convergent way of working concentrates on one solution in order to achieve the
right convincing result (Basadur and Hausdorf 1996; Runco 1993). From a
psychological point of view, creativity is a very important human strength; it is
most productive for those whose personality consists of features such as independence, strength, optimism, inner-direction, flexibility, tolerance of conflicts,
energy, as well as perseverance and goal-orientation (Csikszentmihalyi 1990,
2000; Eysenck 1993; Maslow 1988).
Furthermore, creativity must not only be understood as a feature of an individual (a lone genius) but more often as a result of group work (see Nijstad and
Levine 2007; Simonton 2009). Indeed, Anderson et al. (2004) have suggested
that creativity and innovations should be studied more comprehensively and in a
more routinised manner as the modern, constantly changing working life requires
it – not to mention other areas of life.
Open-mindedness is associated with tolerance and courage to take part in
new things. From the point of view of success at work, this is interesting
because it can explain top workers’ willingness to tolerate changes and seize
opportunities. Usually, people tend to resist information that conflicts with their
personal views – even if new information is shown to improve understanding
(Correll et al. 2004). Interestingly, people seem to be motivated toward
discounting both the source and the content of a challenging message in an
effort to protect their existing beliefs and by striving for positive self-regard by
drawing on successes in important domains in their lives (see also Cohen et al.
2000). For successful working, it is worth mentioning that research has shown
that open-minded interaction leads to curiosity and information-seeking and the
increasing likelihood of creative new knowledge emerging in work groups and
teams (Mitchell and Nicholas 2006).
In particular, the Police Officer of the Year, the Psychologist of the Year and
the Farmer of the Year considered open-mindedness as an important characteristic. According to the interviews, open-mindedness aptly described all the participants, as did love of learning (for example, Nurse of the Year considered this to
be his greatest strength), whereas creativity and curiosity were not. Curiosity was
considered rather negatively: as nosiness. This might be a culture-specific finding
since the concept seemed to have a negative connotation among interviewees.
Notwithstanding, according to an American-Japanese comparative research, curiosity was connected with subjective happiness (Shimai et al. 2006), thus representing a very important human strength.
Perspective was, to some extent, every top worker’s strength. It was understood as a sort of wisdom gained through experience, i.e., the ability to look at
things from different perspectives:

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39

‘First, I thought of some tactics… The more experience you have the easier
you notice that you have plenty of other options and tacks that you have to
consider.’
Thus, the virtue of wisdom and knowledge described the top workers well, a
point also supported by the fact that none of these workers thought that these
strengths should be improved or that they lacked one or some of these strengths.
Courage
The virtue of courage was defined as an emotional strength consisting of the will
to achieve goals regardless of inner or outer resistance. Putnam (1997) distinguishes three dimensions of courage: physical courage is characterised by overcoming a fear of death or physical harm. The goals to be achieved by the exercise
of physical courage are traditionally defined by society or by the requirements of
survival. Moral courage deals with loss of ethical integrity or authenticity and
social disapproval. For example, it refers to situations in which a person adheres
to his or her moral principles regardless of the group pressure of the people
surrounding him or her. The third form of courage is psychological courage,
which refers to fear centering on a loss of psychological stability. In the classification of virtues and strengths (Seligman et al. 2005) courage is analysed through
the strength of authenticity, bravery, persistence and zest, which can all contain
elements of the aforementioned three dimensions as well.
This virtue was evaluated as having secondary importance by the top workers,
and they did not see any shortcomings in the strengths listed within this virtue.
Nurse of the Year and Priest of the Year thought that authenticity was their most
important strength, which is, indeed, especially crucial among professions that
entail working closely with other people.
‘So you certainly have to be genuine when dealing with people and at work
in general and I think that I try to express that I am what I am and what I
do…’.
Persistence is an interesting strength when it comes to success at work. The previous chapters have shown that, to some extent, success requires persistent and
diligent work. Therefore, it could be assumed that persistence would score high
among top workers. Furthermore, the strength itself is not as straightforward as it
might appear. For example, Lent et al. (1984) have shown that high self-efficacy
positively affects persistence. Likewise, motivation and outer surroundings can
influence how persistently people keep on doing something. But when regarded
as a personal strength, persistence appears more stable, a constant feature that one
manifests in many areas of life. It is also a question of a certain kind of attitude,
a mental map (Achor 2010), that leads people to strive and try over and over
again or to approach any long-term goal step by step.

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A successful worker

Persistence as a strength was emphasised by Police of the Year, Psychologist
of the Year and Priest of the Year and, according to the top workers, persistence
was the third most important strength among them.
‘I can say that if I agree to take care of something, I’ll have a great need to do
it; I rarely leave tasks unfinished.’
Every top worker also considered himself or herself to be typically zesty;
however, bravery as a concept was difficult to grasp as many of them associated
it with romantic images of brave heroes. Nonetheless, defined as everyday bravery, it seemed more familiar, and they described it as staying strong and sticking
to one’s principles when accomplishing daily chores and making daily choices.
Humanity
The third most important virtue among the top workers according to their assessments was humanity. Within this virtue, they also recognised their second most
important strength, namely, social intelligence. The concept of social intelligence
can be perceived from various viewpoints. Salovey et al. (2004) sums up four of
them: (1) perceiving emotions, (2) using emotions to facilitate thought, (3) understanding emotions, and (4) managing emotions in a way that enhances personal
growth and social relations. If success at work was previously associated with
opportunist, cold-hearted mavericks, top workers in our studies proved the opposite.
Artisan of the Year, Priest of the Year, Police of the Year, and Nurse of the
Year all thought that social intelligence described them extremely well. Of
course, the later three are occupations for which social intelligence can be seen
as one of the basic requirements to perform well. One of the top workers paralleled social intelligence with social skills, and he was of the opinion that his
social skills were not perfect but should be improved. One interesting remark
concerning social intelligence was made by Artisan of the Year who pointed out
that social relationships are important for success at work:
‘You don’t create your success all by yourself; it’s the others who create your
success.’
However, those employees who lacked social skills can also be rewarded, but
whether it is more likely that social personalities are rewarded is a different question altogether.
Justice
Among the strengths (fairness, leadership, teamwork) that describe the virtue of
justice, the top workers named fairness as their most important feature, especially
Farmer of the Year, as he considered it as a component of good leadership. Treating

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41

his employees fairly was important for creating and sustaining a good working
atmosphere and trust in the workplace. Leadership can be defined as a leader’s
personal characteristics or behaviour, style and decisions (Arnold et al. 1993). The
top workers regarded leadership merely as a skill, instead of a strength, that one
should have. Indeed, leadership can be seen as an innate characteristic – or
strength – that can be cultivated and that can flourish along with one’s development (see, for example, Murphy and Johnson 2011). On the other hand, leadership
can also be considered as a profession that can be taught and learned for the benefit
of oneself and others (see, for example, Uusiautti 2013; Uusiautti et al. 2012).
One of the top workers recognised the shortcomings in her leadership skills
whereas another considered it as one of his most important strengths.
‘I want to be in the lead and take the group forward… Yet, I am not a dictator… but I consider myself as a leader and a trend-setter in order to make
good for other people as well.’
Teamwork skills varied among top workers according to their assessments. Those
who evaluated their social intelligence as good assessed their teamwork skills
similarly, whereas two of the top workers who held managerial positions saw some
deficiencies in their teamwork skills; one of them wanted to improve his skills.
Temperance
This virtue was not deemed very important, but downright distant, because of its
connection with modesty and prudence. The top workers found it somewhat difficult to assess how this virtue and its associated strengths (forgiveness, modesty,
prudence and self-regulation) would characterise them. However, after persistently defining them together during the interviews, the workers began to have an
idea of which strength typified them and which did not.
Not surprisingly, the ability to forgive did depict all top workers to some
extent. They also emphasised that one has to be able to apologise as well.
According to the top workers, their forgiveness was tested by the social conflicts
in the workplace.
‘I am able to forgive and apologize… but it is hard if you are accused of
something that you have not done.’
Modesty as a strength was considered paradoxical; on one hand, modesty is a
desirable trait, but one has to be able to be genuinely proud of one’s achievements
without unnecessary or excessive modesty. Indeed, a study by Shimai et al.
(2006) also showed that modesty had a strong negative correlation with happiness
among both Americans and Japanese, which means that having modesty as a
signature strength was associated with less happiness. The contradictory nature
of this concept was also discussed in our studies. Although, traditionally, modesty

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in people has been appreciated, the top workers were critical. For example, some
old proverbs were questioned:
‘“Modesty makes you prettier” is not necessarily good for success at work
but “you would foster your own achievements” would be.’
However, feeling proud assumes that one cannot be proud of something to which
one has not contributed oneself (see also Varila and Ikonen-Varila 2002). Two of
the top workers associated modesty with humbleness.
‘I would like to be humble but do I want to be… “the one who reaches high
ends up low” – this proverb has stumped us.’
In work life, unwritten emotional rules determine what emotions are approved
and how, to whom, and in which situation one is allowed to express them, and
how emotions are interpreted.
Half of the participants saw prudence as one of their strengths, and they
explained it as their special skill in deliberating their actions and making justified
decisions at work. Therefore, prudence merely resembled a professional skill or
a work-related strength rather than a personal attribute, unlike self-regulation,
which was seen as a strictly personal characteristic and as an aspect of temperament. Half of the top workers assessed that their self-regulation could be better.
‘Still, there are many dimensions that could be smoothened… my nature can
be stretched to many directions.’
Transcendence
Transcendence as a virtue was also considered paradoxical because they did not
agree with all the strengths (appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude,
hope, humour, religiousness) included in this virtue. For example, it was difficult
to imagine religiousness as a strength – except for the Priest of the Year.
However, the top workers did spend a significant amount of time contemplating
how appreciation of beauty and excellence was manifested in working life. They
explained this virtue as the ability to recognise good performances and achievements instead of using one’s energy on envying. This had to do with their positive
attitude and ability to understand achievements earned (Pajares 2001).
Gratitude is an important human strength that contributes to subjective happiness (McCullough et al. 2002; see also Otake et al. 2006). Gratitude was considered as gratefulness for being able to have rewarding and pleasing work.
‘This lies deep in our culture; you cannot say when another does something
good. We haven’t had such a working culture either. I want to give feedback
if I see that someone is seriously doing something really great.’

A successful worker

43

One of the top workers saw hope as one of her most important strengths. Hope
was seen as the foundation of an optimistic attitude.
‘So that you believe that you’ll cope with this although there are difficulties;
that you’ll just try again or some other route.’
Indeed, hope and optimism are neighbouring concepts, but Finnish people
(Ojanen 2002), for example, are traditionally seen as optimistic rather than hopeful. Ojanen (2002) defines hope as realistic optimism which has trust at the
center.
The top workers appreciated humour although some of them did not consider
themselves very humorous. The ability to look at things from a distance and see
humour in them was, however, considered important as humour helped to process
problematic issues and handle tough situations. For example, the Police of the
Year emphasised the meaning of humour in police work as a connective factor
among police officers and when there is a need to confront the most difficult situations at work. The Priest of the Year saw similarities in humour and religion:
‘They are at least cousins, if not downright siblings; both create hope in
people.’
In addition, humorous people understand things widely and do not remain stuck
on details; in his opinion, religion has the same dimension.
Other virtues and strengths
The top workers also named some other strengths that were not included in the
CVS Model. Five of them highlighted the significance of their own personality;
they allowed their strong personalities to surface in their work. Many of them
associated this with authenticity or being themselves. This was important for
Nurse of the Year, Priest of the Year and Police of the Year. But those who
worked as supervisors also emphasised the significance of acting in a genuine
way and bringing out one’s personality. In this way, followers’ trust can be
achieved.
Another important characteristic that most of the top workers mentioned was
diligence and dedication. They thought that success at work could be achieved
through industriousness. This was also a trait that was mentioned when they were
asked to identify one trait that they would like other workers in their work
community to possess.
Half of the top workers emphasised their positivity and joviality. Positivity
appeared as an optimistic attitude towards working. In addition, it was seen as
providing resources to the entire work community. Indeed, optimism is one of the
most salient concepts in positive psychology. It can be defined as a steady attitude
and view of life and the future (Pajares 2001).

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On the connection between virtues and strengths
and success and wellbeing at work
Arnold et al. (1993) state that awareness of one’s strengths and weaknesses as
well as values and interests is of primary importance for enhancing one’s career.
Optimism has a clear connection with success because, among other things, it
involves the ability to set reasonable goals, to achieve these goals, and to use
efficient learning strategies. According to Carver and Scheier (2002), optimistic
people achieve their goals because they organise their actions in an intellectual
way in order to achieve these goals. Furthermore, the top workers appeared to
have proactive (Covey 2006), as opposed to reactive, attitudes. A proactive attitude embodies a way of thinking according to which people are able to change
their behaviour, look at things from various perspectives, make choices by themselves, and know what they want. Proactive people concentrate on things that
they can affect and thus, their action is positive and more efficient by nature.
This kind of attitude can also be dissected with the use of the concept of resilience. Being able to move on, despite hardships, demonstrates the resilience of
those successful individuals. Therefore, psychological resilience refers to effective coping and adaptation when faced with loss, hardship or adversity – a
common feature among the top workers.
The strengths that the top workers recognised most in themselves – openmindedness, social intelligence, persistence, optimism and authenticity – all
relate to positive behaviour. If these features explain success at work, at
least partly, wellbeing and happiness are most certainly not irrelevant to the
workplace.

Experiencing success alone and together
Thus far, we have talked about the process of success or the phenomenon of
success. We have referred to the idea of success as a (developing) state. However,
the phenomenon of success at work also includes various experiences of success.
Success is related to work and life in general and can be seen as a positive
outcome of working.
What is an experience of success and what kinds of successes do top workers
recognise in their work? This question was also posed to the top workers. They
were eventually able to describe their experiences of successful situations or
events at work in numerous ways. However, some categorisations could be made.
The most fundamental categorisation concerned whether the experience of success
was achieved alone or in a group. These are thus divided into personal experiences
and communal, teamwork-based experiences. These two categories include various elements that illustrate the origin or nature of the experience of success.
Here again, the model of human strengths and virtues was applied for analytical purposes as it appeared that the two main categories could also be illustrated
on the basis of personal strengths that are connected to the experience of success.

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45

In addition to individual strengths that can partly explain the origin of experiences of success, and that also appear on Seligman’s list, teamwork-based experiences of success also seemed to necessitate human strengths that are social by
nature. The categories somewhat overlap, but their purpose is to highlight the
connection between individual strengths and experiences of success both at the
individual and communal levels.
Personal experiences of success
Persistence, bravery and hope: experiencing
(concrete) accomplishments
The list provided by Seligman et al. (2005) includes strengths that can be seen as
relevant to accomplishing work-related tasks. Specifically, persistence as the ability to finish what one starts; bravery as not shrinking from threat, challenge, difficulty or pain; and hope as expecting the best and working to achieve it, appeared
in the participants’ descriptions. Firstly, the experience of success results from
quite concrete accomplishments at work. On one hand, the top workers described
their experiences of success as hands-on experiences such as, for example,
performing well in some concrete task (for example, compiling a manual for guidance at work). On the other hand, these experiences could result from achieving a
more high-level goal, sometimes through practical action. Furthermore, concrete
successes may be born when some larger entity at work is directed in the right
way. These kinds of experiences were described in the interviews as follows:
‘So it is an orientation file. We began to compile this kind of bible…. The
operation of our workplace is described in a very comprehensive manner, and
all the practices are printed in it. Our boss always remembers to mention it.
I think that our employees appreciate it as well. I think it is something that has
been very useful.’
‘I have thrown myself in new tasks. Supervisors have asked about my willingness, and I guess that they have seen in all their wisdom that I am able and
capable of taking on new tasks. There [in the participant’s work unit], it went
like that, and I think it was something like one year since I had started as the
section leader when my boss asked whether I was willing to change over to
the duty officer’s task. My boss thought that I would be good at that, so I took
the duty officer’s post… And I can tell that I had an excellent group at that
time; it was this so-called car offence group. Many really good fellows worked
in it and we really produced great results; the best of Finland at that time.’
‘We created a new training program for occupational health psychologists…so
that’s my thing, you know… This task came to me at the end of the 1990s, and the
head of department assigned me for it. And I have managed to create a team of it.’

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A successful worker

Moreover, the experience of success could result from such occasions in which
employees were able to control or solve a situation at work. Therefore, accomplishment could be concrete but not always material in nature:
‘There are phases when everyone flounder. So, I might have given a speech
or address that solved that situation… When you hurl yourself into the situation and manage to reach the goal.’
‘I have had the experience of “oh how good was it that I intervened the situation and was able to handle it”.’
One way of achieving the experience of success is to work systematically and
persistently. Therefore, daily practices and actions are not always that peculiar
but the result may be:
‘Then there are sort of exceptional crimes that I was allowed to help [solve]…
I headed it here in the district. We quizzed people; and every time we had a
small hint, we would start off, even at nights. And that is something immemorial and so exceptional that we could solve things like that.’
Zest and love of learning: experiencing success through
the joy of work and flow
Seligman et al. (2005) define zest as the ability to approach life with excitement
and energy, and love of learning as a desire to master new skills, topics and
bodies of knowledge. These strengths surfaced in the top workers’ interviews in
the form of various positive emotional states toward their work. In this research,
the top workers showed high levels of joy of work (Varila and Lehtosaari 2001)
and flow (Csikszentmihalyi 2008) that resulted from putting their soul into work
or learning new skills. When viewed from this perspective, the experience of
success can also entail these positive feelings. The top workers described their
moments of joy and flow in the following way:
‘I am riveted by it and it is a blessing that you can be so wrapped up in your
work so much.’
‘Maybe the best feedback is those numbers and successes; in other words, we
have good results to show the things that I want.’
Curiosity and open-mindedness: experiencing success and
expertise through challenges and new opportunities at work
Top workers also emphasised the significance of challenges and new development opportunities in their work. Of the strengths categorised in the list by
Seligman et al. (2005), this attitude especially resembled curiosity as workers

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47

were open-minded, were actively interested in ongoing experience, thought
things through, and examined them from all angles. The experience of success
could often result from a situation in which the outcome was not always clearly
known beforehand or if worker had to learn or study something new. These
events were described as follows:
‘I always take up the gauntlet although a bit clueless… Huge challenges
[I have accepted]. And then if you can contribute in a developing manner…’
‘Then I considered criminal investigation challenging since I had worked [as
a patrol officer] for two and half years, and I didn’t know anything about
criminal investigation. And I had so many questions on how I should handle
this… So I thought I should put myself in criminal investigation for a couple
of years so that I could learn it. And then I went, and I did not regret it. Of
course, after a few months, I found working there quite awkward, but then it
started to run smoothly.’
The experience of success is certainly closely connected to the experience of expertise. Top workers were extremely willing to educate themselves and gather knowledge either from various areas of their occupation or gain increasingly profound
knowledge in their special field. The experience of success may thus consist of the
self-efficacy and perceived feelings of capability and competence (see also
Bandura 1997; Carver and Scheier 2005; Judge et al. 1997; Paloste et al. 2011):
‘But then… as I qualified as a leader and had that training, it gave me such
sources in a positive way, that I thought that someday I could go after that
kind of position.’
‘Oh yeah, I have taken all sorts of them [training sessions]. Of course, quite
quickly, I reached the level that no one could teach me anymore.’
‘And then, I have been developing quality work and pursued an auditing
qualification, and then I was able to evaluate other units with my co-worker.’
At its best, work provides employees with opportunities to develop, find meaning
in life and achieve social, emotional and mental wellbeing. Therefore, more attention should be paid on increasing employees’ possibilities in workplaces (Snyder
and Lopez 2002) since the opportunities to achieve experiences of success could
also increase.
Communal, teamwork-based experiences of success
Seligman et al. (2005) allude to strengths that appeared especially important
among top workers when they discussed teamwork-based experiences. They
defined teamwork as working well as a member of a group or team; social intelligence as being aware of the motives and feelings of self and others; fairness as

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A successful worker

treating all people the same according to notions of fairness and justice; and
kindness as doing favours and good deeds for others. Although the experience of
success is a personal positive emotion, it may spring up after or while of working
together with co-workers, clients or other people who are closely connected to the
task at hand. When everyone in a team is excited and inspired by the task, developing successful outcomes may produce the most delightful experience of success
(see also Losada and Heaphy 2004), as described in the following utterances:
‘It is most fruitful when we all are excited about developing things.’
‘What is most important is that you see together that something works, that
the orchestra works and plays, and that everyone even plays the same melody.’
Furthermore, it is easier to carry out difficult work tasks when you are supported
by colleagues and share ideas with them. According to the participants, when you
have a good network or work community, you can succeed better than before.
Naturally, however, one has to be willing to share and work for the team:
‘It is a problem when you have to do it [make decisions] alone. When you
think of whether you are blind to something or whether you have forgotten
something crucial; it is a little bit harassing, but on the other hand, you’ll find
help from your network. I mean you can ask your colleagues.’
‘Quite a few people come to talk to me about things and have the courage to
say if there is something wrong or what they cannot take up in the negotiations by themselves. Many times I have been the channel through which the
issues are discussed and thought over and their anxieties are released… It’s
one of those experiences.’
‘But then I was called for this locum post, and it was something that I felt
that I could work with real professionals, and somehow I worked well and
felt supported and was in a really good team. The work was a regular nineto-five job, and it was a success even though I was a mother of a small child.’
The notion of the communal nature of the experience of success also highlights
the fact that supportive and positive atmosphere at the workplace may be an
important contributor to the experiences of success. Boreham (2004) uses the
concept of collective competence to refer to making collective sense of events in
the workplace, developing and using a collective knowledge base, and developing a sense of interdependency. Indeed, a common feature of the new ways of
organising work is their emphasis on teamwork. Thus, the top workers’ perceptions of teamwork and the support received from co-workers are essential from
this point of view. It is important to notice that the experience of success can also
be communal by nature. However, it requires strengths of a social character (see
Seligman et al. 2005).

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49

Experiencing work
The experience of success is only one way of dissecting positive experiences at
work. However, the top workers’ experiences are also interesting because of their
connection to overall success at work. In this research, the experiences of success
were categorised in a data-driven manner, being aware that there are other ways
of categorising these experiences. For example, Lutgen-Sandvik et al. (2011)
used a more detailed categorisation structure when they studied American workers’ experiences of success. However, some similar categories could be found in
these two studies; for example, appreciation, challenge, success, opportunity,
relationships, social support and teamwork, climate, supervisor/mentor, resources
and triumphs were apparent in the participants’ descriptions in both studies.
Based on the results, we constructed a model to illustrate the connection
between individual and communal factors to the possibility of experiencing
success at work (see Figure 3.2). Figure 3.2 includes the dimensions of both individual/communal and positive/negative. Next, we will introduce the four starting
points for the experience of success at work in greater detail:
1

2

3

4

Firstly, there is the state in which both negative individual and communal
factors are present. The employee is belittled not only by himself or herself
but also by the work community. This situation is not likely to further the
development of positive emotions at work – neither at the individual nor at
the communal level. Instead, it can be considered as hindering the emergence
of successes or other positive feelings.
Secondly, there is the possibility that the work community acts as a positive
factor but the individual employee may still have low-esteem. Success as
well as feelings of joy are difficult to achieve on the personal level as people
usually tend to feel genuinely happy about achievement if they feel entitled
to it (see, for example, Deci and Moller 2005).
The third part of the illustration describes a situation whereby the work community acts as a negative factor, but the individual has a positive perception.
Therefore, the individual employee may have strong self-esteem, regardless
of the work community’s disregard – although the employee’s self-regard in
this situation may be low (Baumeister 1993; see also Baumeister et al. 1996).
The fourth section presents the so-called ideal situation whereby both the
individual and communal factors are positive. This kind of starting point
might be the core factor for the emergence of positively-toned experiences
such as flow (see Csikszentmihalyi 2008) and joy of work (Varila and
Lehtosaari 2001). Likewise, experiences of success, both alone and as a
team, become more likely than in the other above-mentioned situations as it
can, for its part, lead to maximal performances (see Avey et al. 2010; Kanfer
and Ackerman 2005). Furthermore, for example, intelligent thought and
social inclusion have also been seen to have a positive, direct relationship
(Baumeister et al. 2002). Our idea is that this kind of combination of positive
individual and communal factors will also lead to wellbeing at work.

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A successful worker
POSITIVE INDIVIDUAL
FACTORS

Strong self-esteem
regardless of the
work community’s
disregard

Flow, joy of
work

NEGATIVE
COMMUNAL
FACTORS

POSITIVE
COMMUNAL
FACTORS
Belittled by the work
community and
oneself

Low self-esteem
regardless of the
work community’s
appreciation

NEGATIVE
INDIVIDUAL FACTORS

Figure 3.2 The connection of individual and communal factors with the perceived success
at work (Uusiautti and Määttä, 2013).

Employees of the Year found their jobs pleasing. Furthermore, finding a balance
between an employee’s skills and work-related expectations as well as opportunities and challenges leads to better performance at work, contentment, higher motivation and self-efficacy (Mäkikangas et al. 2005). As Myers and Diener (1995: 11)
point out, ‘Positive wellbeing is not just the absence of negative emotions’. Thus,
no one has only positive experiences or experiences of success – one would not
even know what these experiences are if one had not experienced the opposite.
Employees of the year considered difficulties as challenges and moments for
stocktaking. This behaviour resembles realistic optimism (see also Chapter 2).
Schneider (2001) illustrates this way of thinking felicitously. According to her
definition of realistic optimism and its beneficial consequences, the term ‘problem’
(with synonyms such as predicament, obstacle and difficulty) implies that the
current state is negative and that actions must be successful to establish a satisfactory state. When this problem is seen as a challenge, the current state is considered
acceptable, offering a potential opportunity for bringing about a beneficial change.
Indeed, this framing can be quite powerful and explain the fundamental attitudes
enhancing the process of success. Thus, they were able to eventually turn these
situations into experiences of success – although it did not necessarily happen in
an instant (see also Mitchell et al. 2004).
Bravery was not the only strength among the participants. Employees of the
Year could tackle obstacles and strive forward in their careers and other workrelated ambitions. In addition, participants were passionate about working

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51

consummately. Indeed, it has been discovered that high work engagement magnifies emotional responses concerning perceived success or failure (Britt 1999).
The positive attitude that Employees of the Year had toward work and life in
general was the common factor among them. Their experiences of success can be
seen as a salient factor in the perceived happiness at work. Of course, other
features of work – professional proficiency, life situation, work motivation and
personality – are also important for the positive experience. However, all factors
affect each other to a certain extent. All special features together form the basis
and prerequisites for success and wellbeing at work. In order to gain positive
experiences from one’s work, an employee has to be (intrinsically) motivated to
do this particular work and to accomplish the tasks and goals that are set. Brown
and Ryan (2003) suggest that mindfulness may also directly contribute to wellbeing and happiness. They define mindfulness as a pre-reflective state, which
includes both self-focused attention and, for instance, experience. Furthermore,
happy people are seen to possess adequate resources for making progress toward
valued goals (Diener et al. 1999). This is interesting especially from the point of
view of performing well and experiencing success at work because people who
have a high perception of their self-efficacy tend to devote more to their work and
are more persistent workers than those who make lower assessments of their
abilities (cf. the second part of the model in Figure 3.2) (see Bandura 1997;
Mitchell 1997).
The above-mentioned matters are important but, on their own, they are not
enough. The results encouraged us to also consider success from the perspective
of a work community. Therefore, the results of our study suggest that success is
not only matter of a single employee; participants also highlighted the importance
of a good working atmosphere and a supportive and healthy work community.
Quick (1999: 123) maintains that ‘healthy work exists where people feel good,
achieve high performance, and have high levels of wellbeing’ – in other words,
where people are happy. Could it be, then, that success could be enhanced by
creating happy and functional work communities? It seems that feeling positive
emotions toward work produces not only a quantitative improvement by increasing efficiency but also a qualitative one by making a better product or outcome
that results from the virtue of pride, belief and commitment to one’s job (Wright,
2004). Indeed, Arnold et al. (2007: 201) point out that ‘it is possible that humanistic work values (the normative beliefs individuals hold about whether work
should be meaningful) are an important influence on the likelihood of finding
meaning in current work and psychological wellbeing.

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Chapter 4

Success begins in childhood

Introduction
Is success at work based on childhood and adolescent experiences? What is the
influence of parents’ expectations on one’s career? The influence of childhood
and adolescent experiences in relation to adult work success has not been widely
studied. As such, we wanted to begin the process of drawing back the curtain on
this theme through top workers’ biographies.
We were interested in exploring those factors that Employees of the Year
recognised from their lives, especially from childhood and adolescence, as having
enhanced their success. This is important if our aim is help people with their
opportunities to find a suitable occupation in which they can use their talents.
Experiences and events taking place in childhood and adolescence can be crucial
or can at least point people in the right direction.
The first part of the chapter focuses on the top workers’ childhood memories
and the factors they recall as having influenced their careers. The second part of
the chapter then continues the analysis from the point of view of caring teacherhood. Findings from our leadership studies are also included in this chapter to
show how caring leadership in education can be used for promoting students’
successful study paths. This contributes yet another viewpoint to factors promoting success during children’s and adolescents’ school careers.

Success starts from childhood?
Magnusson and Mahoney (2006) have argued that positive development cannot
be defined with reference to an individual person and that the person’s characteristics, resources and limits, as well as the cultural, physical and historical context
in which the person lives, also matter. As such, positive development is a holistic
process. This means that developmental processes form an entity that affects all
levels of the person-environment system. At the same time, all the elements
within developmental processes interact. An individual’s positive development
depends on how well the inner and outer functions of the organism are synchronised. Inner processes are, for example, mental, biological and behavioural

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Success begins in childhood

functions while outer processes cover opportunities, demands and rules provided
by one’s environment. Therefore, the developmental process also varies between
society and culture (Magnusson and Mahoney 2006).
Numerous studies have focused on positive development, and they have often
taken a specific stand or approach to the theme. There are singular studies
researching various factors and relationships; for example, studies have found a
positive relationship between adolescents’ perceived autonomy and self-esteem
together with a positive relationship with parents. Likewise, parents’ socioeconomic status influences not only children’s wellbeing but also intellectual attainment, such as education (for example, Bradley and Corwyn 2002). Furthermore,
socioeconomic factors are shown to be indirectly related to children’s academic
achievement through parents’ beliefs and behaviours (Davis-Kean 2005). Similar
findings have been reported, for example, regarding parents’ role in enhancing
their children’s acquisition of positive values, attitudes and behaviours towards
sport hobbies (Côté 1999). However, current approaches to the theme have begun
adopting more and more holistic foci concentrating on factors that affect both
positive and problem youth development (Catalano et al. 2005).
Success is not just sunshine; it requires the ability to be flexible, adjust, make
compromises and cope with failures and adversities. It is important to consider
how the home teaches and supports a child, including in circumstances in which
he or she does not achieve goals, i.e., the ways in which difficulties are handled
and how they are understood as an inevitable part of life (Määttä and Uusiautti
2012a, 2012b, 2013), as well as how to develop a sense of oneself as an autonomous individual (Eccles 1999). Therefore, the influence of family and upbringing
is far from simple when it comes to children’s success in later life (see, for example, Aronson Fontes 2002; Elder et al. 1985; Rowe 1990). What might be the
most crucial aspect for this study is the manner in which people learn to interpret
their experiences.
Indeed, top workers do not develop independently; they are surrounded by
their families, friends and relatives. According to Berscheid (2006), human
behaviour and development should always be understood as the result of living
within the network and context of human relationships. It is crucial to explore
how these factors enhance the development of self and the use of human strengths
(Caprara and Cervone 2006; Magnusson and Mahoney 2006). Indeed, love and
attachment expressed in relationships that surround us are not simply about an
affect or a passive inner emotion but an active aspiration to help the beloved grow
and be happy (Maijala et al. 2012; Määttä and Uusiautti 2013).
Perhaps no one aims for an Employee of the Year award, but the road to
success at work, from perspectives on childhood and adolescence, is likely to be
something more indefinable and general. Despite this, some people do achieve
success at work. Is their success traceable to their childhood, and what could be
the role of their childhood and adolescent experiences? The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the childhood experiences of top workers awarded Employee of
the Year and to explore what they regard as especially facilitating factors or

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59

obstacles in their childhood and adolescence that could explain their favourable
growth and development toward success at work.
First, we discuss the factors that the top workers considered beneficial to their
career development and success at work. As expected, many factors were highlighted, which were further categorised into (1) parents’ support and upbringing,
(2) idols, relatives and friends, and (3) careers counselling at school. Following
this, we take look at the hardships and obstacles faced by the top workers in their
childhood and adolescence.
Childhood experiences as contributory factors
in occupational choices
Success at work can result from many factors. Snyder and Lopez (2002) discuss
it as a process emphasising, for example, the influence of family, school, childhood development and good workplaces on the young people. The section will
begin by analysing parents’ influence on top workers’ career choices and their
attitude to life, successes and hardships, and many characteristics needed for
success. Likewise, the role of idols, relatives and friends as bellwethers is
discussed. Third, the significance of careers’ counselling at school is studied in
the context of the top workers’ experiences.
Parental support and upbringing
Values and educational goals that form the basis of upbringing reflect an understanding of the meaning of life, in other words, what people want to achieve or
do in order to live a certain kind of life. Home is the most important environment
for children because every child is bound to a home and is under the influence of
the home environment. Attitudes to life and other people are adopted from home.
The influence of the home in upbringing is markedly significant and, therefore,
the process of becoming a top worker can be traced to the childhood and adolescence of top workers.
In the interviews, top workers were asked to reminisce about events and factors
that have affected their career choices in one way or another and whether their
parents had influenced them. The first reaction was that their parents had not tried
to influence them. However, according to Snyder and Lopez (2002), families do
influence their children’s behaviour in later life by exemplifying how to explain
adversities, how to set goals for the future, and how they strengthen hope in children. Indeed, according to the interview findings, parents had influenced top
workers’ attitude toward work rather than than their actual career choices.
Top workers maintained that their parents emphasised the importance of
having an occupation and earning one’s keep during adulthood. Three of the
interviewees reported that their parents had some ideas about what they might
want their children to become, and two top workers stated that their parents’
occupation had influenced their career choices. For example, a farmer had

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Success begins in childhood

continued the family farm. However, this career choice was not clear from the
beginning. The farmer described the situation as follows:
SU: ‘Was it always clear that you would continue with the family farm?’
Employee of the Year: ‘I don’t know. It wasn’t obvious… Of course, when
relatives visited, they would always talk about the young farmer, or they
would ask something else. But it wasn’t clear to me… I think that it mattered
that I was away for about ten years. It broadened my mind and thoughts, and
everything, surprisingly lot when you look around and see what people do
elsewhere in the world. My parents never put pressure on me. Rather, they
have always asked about my situation. Certainly, these questions were asked
more often when my father’s retirement got closer.’
Another top worker was also given the opportunity to continue with his parents’
farm, but this top worker was aware from an early age that this was not a suitable
path. One of the interviewees spoke of hope quite concretely: the top worker’s father
had wanted his child to become a chemist (in Finland, chemists are entrepreneurs and
own pharmacies), but the top worker was not interested in this field. The desire of
the parents was primarily driven by the security and profitability of being a chemist.
One top worker stated that studying and having an occupation was strongly
encouraged at home. Although parents did not influence this top worker’s career
choice, his father’s occupation had affected childhood and adolescence hobbies
and the career choices of siblings:
‘My father was a musician… Being an artist, he downright demanded that we
do music and almost every one of us children had to play the piano or whatever.
You have probably heard these stories about compulsory hobbies. We did it, and
some of my siblings, two sisters are cantors and my brother too is a musician.’
Other top workers did consider that their parents had much influence on their
careers. The most important thing was to find a field that was pleasing and interesting, and parents did not try to restrict their children. Parents did not put pressure or demands on their children but helped them to think about the future, make
their own choices in life, and perceive the possibilities, opportunities and wellbeing that life could offer. What is relevant for success is the capability to learn how
to get excited, set new goals, and the propensity to receive positive feedback and
thus enhance one’s own learning.
Furthermore, disappointments are an important aspect of developing selfesteem and mental health (for example, Desjardins et al. 2008). In the safety of
the home, children can learn about those means that help them to handle disappointments and failures. When necessary, parents can protect their children from
feelings of anxiety and guilt. Successful rearing does not aim to rid hardships and
obstacles but to help children learn how to confront, tolerate and conquer the
inevitable difficulties (McRee and Halpern 2010).

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61

Idols, relatives and friends
Only a few of the interviewees could name an idol who had influenced their
career choice. However, three top workers acknowledged someone or some
people who had, in one way or another, helped them with their occupational
choices. The police officer maintained that patriotism in the family had influenced
his career dreams. Patriotism was based on respect for relatives who had gone to
war and they were considered the police officer top worker’s idols. Although the
top worker realised that the police profession was not founded only on the basis
of this ideology, it remained partially important.
The priest described how spiritual life was rooted in the family even if the
priest’s parents had had temporal occupations and there were no actual church
employees in the family. Nevertheless, the top worker’s grandmother had run
Sunday school and the top worker had good memories of it.
These examples show that top workers’ stories do not include absolute idols
who they would have followed in their lives. Therefore, it is not about admiration
with blind worshipping but, rather, that the factors influencing these idols were
manifested in attitudes such as patriotism and religiousness. These kinds of positive experiences directed their career choices later in life.
Friends can also have an influence on careers, and their effects are not always
foreseen. Hence, one of the top workers stated that the decision to apply to a business school was based on a discussion with a friend. They wanted to continue
studying together. This is a good example of how powerful an influence adolescent friendships can have and that, therefore, the impact of the circle of friends
should never be underestimated. In a situation in which choosing a place of study
is uncertain or difficult, the decision can easily be made with friends.

Careers counselling at school
The previous sections have showed that top workers’ career choices were not
directed by their families; their upbringing was directed in the sense of enhancing
their overall positive attitudes to study and work. Therefore, it was also interesting to explore whether their schools had guided them and whether careers counselling in school had helped them with their occupational choice.
The significance of school in upbringing becomes especially emphasised if the
home and family resources are insufficient or if children and adolescents do not
receive sufficient information or stimuli at home. Their development can be
supported at school, too, by employing their strengths. The purpose of student
counselling at school is to support students’ personal, social, moral and occupational development, and therefore it is quite wide-ranging and holistic (SundvallHuhtinen 2007) in nature. In Finnish schools, students have careers counselling,
and practical training periods in real workplaces are also important.
In the interviews, top workers were asked to describe their experiences of
careers counselling at school. Their experiences varied from one extreme to the

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Success begins in childhood

other. Every top worker remembered their school counsellor, but perceptions of
how meaningful the counselling had been varied considerably.
Three top workers had experiences that could be regarded as positive. One
remembered that various occupations were introduced to them, although this top
worker attended school when Finnish schools did not yet have separate counsellors or practical training periods.
‘I think careers counseling was appropriate. I cannot remember which one of
the teachers had to do it. It provided information about certain occupations
and such, so that we could ponder it a bit. So, it was beneficial at that moment.’
This top worker did not choose his occupation on the basis of careers counselling
but did so later when performing army duties. However, the positive experience
of careers counselling was based on the information provided about different
occupations that many young people did not know beforehand.
Another top worker remembered that at school they had to familiarise themselves with occupations in which they were the most interested. They were asked
to write about how to study for and become employed in these fields. This top
worker stated that he was already thinking about his current occupation at that
time. Thus, careers counselling equipped this top worker with the knowledge of
how to enter that profession.
The third positive experience differed somewhat from the previous two. This
top worker had sought professional careers counselling after graduating from
general upper secondary education. Careers counselling thus supported this top
worker’s occupational choice.
Two top workers had quite similar negative experiences of careers counselling
in school. Their counsellor had advised them about who could apply for vocational school and who could continue to general upper secondary education and
then to higher education. While the first top worker’s counsellor had not
supported the top worker’s decision to go to vocational school, the other top
worker’s counsellor remained doubtful of the top worker’s capability to continue
on to general upper secondary education. Therefore, careers counselling would
have directed them in directions other than what they had chosen and in which
they had succeeded. These two top workers were the youngest of the research
participants and they also had practical training periods at school. Usually, they
would go to familiar, neighbourhood enterprises to familiarise themselves with
real work life.
‘Yes, we had careers counseling in middle school. And I still remember what
our counselor at the time told me, that my choice was a bad one. I tried to say
that I did not agree and tried to give reasons. And the counselor strongly
encouraged me to continue with general upper secondary education. I did not.
I did not think it would be my thing. I really remember it, and we had quite a
lot of that counseling during the ninth grade.’

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63

What is most interesting in the previous example, and in the one that follows,
is that counsellors do not seem very interested in figuring out what the youth is
interested in. At the very least, this was what the top workers remembered.
Students were divided into two groups; based on their grades, they would be suitable for either general upper secondary education or vocational upper secondary
education after their compulsory education.
Employee of the Year: ‘Those careers counseling lessons! Those were about
rest and so on. I don’t know whether I was just a silly youngster that I didn’t
understand the idea of counseling or whether it was because of those counselors. I remember that they were all already approaching their retirement age,
so they were so far away from…’
SU: ‘…yeah, the adolescents’ life.’
Employee of the Year: ‘Yes. And then he looked at my records and wondered
whether I was really seriously going to pursue general upper secondary education.’
Two top workers reported that careers counselling had not been significant to
them at all. They both remembered it but had not personally benefitted from it. In
all, it can be concluded that the top workers had not found careers counselling
very important and, therefore, it cannot be seen as one of the key factors directly
contributing to their success, although, in fact, it could and should have the opposite effect.
Why did careers counselling not meet students’ needs? One reason is probably
that top workers who participated in this research went to school in the
1950s-1970s when careers counselling was completely differently organised than
it is today. For example, Sundvall-Huhtinen (2007) points out that it was not until
the 1970s that the school system started to become more flexible and personal
study plans were developed. In addition to changes in the education system,
changes in society and especially work life have influenced on the development
of careers counselling (Numminen et al. 2002).
The need for counselling and guidance has increased. At the same time, attitudes about the future and future occupations have changed considerably; in the
1960s-1980s’ Finland, the starting point of studying and work was to make a
career decision, pursue studies, find a stable and secure career, and avoid making
mistakes. This was also evident in the kind of advice that the top workers received
at home from their parents. However, in the 1990s and 2000s, attitudes have
changed and emphasis is on having many options, life-long learning, enjoying
life, and learning from mistakes (Sundvall-Huhtinen 2007). Changes in the worldview, living in insecure times, and the demand for constant updating and learning
at work necessitate efficient guidance that can support occupational development.
Top workers also mentioned other factors that they thought enhanced their
careers. One talked about having a gap year between studies and after compulsory

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Success begins in childhood

school. This top worker had no idea about a suitable occupation at the time.
During that particular year, the top worker worked in a retirement home for eight
months and became familiarised with nursing. Although this top worker did not
apply for nursing education immediately afterwards, the top worker later realised
that positive work experiences from the retirement home would pave the way.
Eventually, the top worker studied and graduated as a nurse and has worked as
one ever since.
Hardships and obstacles
Top workers were also asked to describe the kinds of hardships they faced in their
lives and whether they considered these experiences as having impacted on their
careers. Some specific events were mentioned. For example, the police officer did
not get into cadet school, which was very disappointing. However, this top
worker decided on the police profession and applied to police school, got in, and
this is how a fine career as a police officer got started. The setback turned into an
advantage, and plan B became a success story.
Various kinds of career-related hardships could be seen as mere sidetracks.
This is also because top workers were once clueless youngsters trying to find their
own paths. Two top workers experienced such sidetracks; after having acquired
an education, they later realised that their pursued fields were misguided and
unsuitable. Stories about sidetracks teach that one does not always decide upon
the right occupation without some level of stray. As a matter of fact, wrong
choices can even be considered advantageous as they may strengthen one’s positive feelings toward finding the right path; under such circumstances, one can
make solid comparisons between situations.
Every top worker had experienced turning points in which they had to decide
where to go next. For example, two top workers had the opportunity to continue
with their parents’ farm, but only one of them eventually did. Both of them
became Employees of the Year awardees. What seems most important is to listen
to oneself and choose the direction according to one’s own feelings, thoughts and
values. One of the top workers expressed this as follows:
‘I do not know about those situations when you have to choose, whether the
road will go here or there, or will I take this or that. I have been wise enough
to think of what I really want, what is worth investing in with my abilities and
talents. And even if something could be really interesting but not quite what
is most suitable. I have always discussed these profoundly with myself. When
it comes to my occupation, I have certainly been thinking about what are the
best use of my strengths. And that had led to such satisfaction and pleasure
that cannot be measured by money or respectability in relation to work.’
This type of thinking reveals a multidimensional analysis of the mission, standards and performances expected in work (see also Gardner et al. 2001).

Success begins in childhood

65

Imbibing brisk attitude and optimism from parents
and educators?
According to the results, top workers could not recall specific factors from their
childhood that could have been crucial in finding the right occupation. However, one
important notion can be raised from their childhood, which is the attitude toward
education, work and life in general that was adopted from home. Although the top
workers’ parents did not make career decisions for their children, they had encouraged them to educate themselves, work hard, and have a positive attitude about the
future. Indeed, it has been shown that childhood experiences do matter in later development and success in later life (for example, Hawkins et al. 2005; Larson, 2000).
How then can success be supported? Twenty years ago, Arnold et al. (1993)
emphasised that awareness of one’s own strengths and weaknesses, values and
points of interest, and knowledge about different occupations are of primary
importance for career enhancement. According to the results of this study, none
of the top workers had found their occupation through the careers counselling
provided at school, but some of them still appreciated the information about
occupations given at counselling.
The latest research in the field of positive psychology has further advanced the
importance of recognising one’s strengths (Aspinwall and Staudinger 2006).
There is not simply one road to success at work, and every top worker is an individual. What was common among them was their ability and courage to listen to
themselves and be true to themselves. According to Gilligan (2000), childhoodrelated factors that promote self-directedness or self-efficacy include parents’
belief in the child’s own sense of control, responsiveness, consistency, warmth
and praise, support, and encouraging the child to engage in his or her environment and surrounding people (see also Sroufe 2005; Young et al. 2001).
Therefore, social skills learned from home can be crucial for the positive development in this sense (see, for example, Decovic and Janssens 1992).
It seemed that the most important criterion for success is to find a career that
is suitable and in which a person can become fulfilled. Educators need imagination, courage, and even the ability to take risks so that they can help growing and
maturing people test their own limits and abilities (Uusiautti 2008; Uusiautti and
Määttä 2013). Careers counselling can play an important role and should be
further researched. Students need information about various occupations and
work tasks to be able to evaluate what they find interesting and what they want
or can do. Therefore, personal careers counselling also has to help a student
recognise his or her abilities and talents, but equally important is to find out which
school subjects the student likes the best and what he or she likes to do. Questions
related to career choice and occupational socialisation are surprisingly closely
connected with free-time activities (Driver 1982; Duffy and Dik 2009; Maljojoki
1989; Middleton and Loughead 1993).
In addition, students have their own preconceptions of various occupations and
thus it is crucial that the expectations in various professions are clarified to

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students. Abundant practical experiences and examples from real work life
cannot be sufficiently emphasised. Furthermore, teachers and counsellors should
be aware of their prejudices and stereotypical conceptions of valuable and notso-valuable occupations. Top workers who participated in this study attended
school four to six decades ago, and careers counselling was not as systematic as
it is today, since societal interest in adolescent choices emerged in the late 1960s
and early 1970s (Petersen 1988).
It is also worth remembering that, regardless of whether a student is a straightA pupil or simply barely passes, every student needs careers counselling.
Therefore, it is important to highlight the positive experiences of success and
being capable – every student has and can have them. It would be interesting to
know how the future Employees of the Year perceive the role of careers counselling in school today.
In all, it became evident that researching the secrets of success from people’s
childhood and adolescence was not straightforward. The phenomenon of success
does not appear in the same way as failure and, therefore, it is not easy to think
about reasons for success (Isen 2001; Uusiautti and Määttä 2011). However, the
role of childhood experiences at school and at home should be interesting to
educators. For example, Mäkikangas (2007) has found that a sensitive and childcentered upbringing was connected to optimism in later phases of life (see also
Sroufe 2005). Top workers also displayed optimistic attitudes, which can be
closely related to the overall satisfaction of life, including satisfaction with one’s
work and career choice.
Perceiving the phenomenon of success from this perspective is relevant to
many areas of life, but especially remarkable is that the foundation of success can
be laid from childhood. Positive psychology has been interested in exploring and
creating optimal conditions for all children and students (Carruthers and Hood
2005). Success is not just something that, for example, gifted people are entitled
to but the concept could be used for enhancing everyone’s success. If students’
mastery of information or skill leads to success, and if positive emotions are one
of the cornerstones of successful learning, it would be reasonable to pay attention
to this viewpoint in education (Chafouleas and Bray 2004). The purpose, therefore, is to research, define and specify the human strengths and capacities that
individual people, families, communities and societies should aim to utilise.
Positive human development should be encouraged (Dunn et al. 2008). Although
the viewpoint presented in this review is very individualistic, it is also worthy to
continue the discussion from the collective perspective and to think about
whether these concepts can also be used for enhancing collective or communal
success.
Educators should be ready to meet the challenge of providing children and
students with such positive experiences of finding their own road and being able
to fulfil themselves. Lerner et al. (2002) use the word ‘thriving’ to discuss the
positive development of youth. They emphasise ‘the five Cs of positive youth
development: competence, confidence, character, social connection, and caring

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(or compassion)’ (p. 23), which work toward enhancing positive youth development. Indeed, in addition to the personal benefits of happiness that are achieved
through utilising one’s strengths (Seligman 2002; 2011), they are also socially
beneficial as balanced, satisfied people are also better citizens (Gilpin 2008).

Caring teacherhood as a means to success
As the childhood memories of top workers surfaced, it became evident that the
connection between counselling at school and one’s capability of finding the right
occupation was not that simple. As such, we want to spend a moment to discuss
the idea of caring teacherhood as a means to discovering pupils’ strengths.
We consider teachers as caring leaders who can employ love-based methods that
enhance pupils’ ability to spot their strengths and thus improve their
self-knowledge.
Can pupils and students be led toward goodness
and happiness – and wellbeing?
Authority is often addressed from pedagogical points of view and it has been
studied a great deal (Delpit 1988; Deutsch and Jones 2011; Pace and Hemmings
2007). Nevertheless, it has been understood in a contradictory manner in relation
to education and teaching (Langford 2010; Seidl and Friend 2002). Obviously,
the relationship between a teacher and a student is asymmetrical because the
teacher possesses something that the pupil does not. According to Hare, the
teacher does not have to think that the student is presently his or her equal, but
does need to see the student as a potential equal (Hare 1993). The purpose of the
learning relationship is to make the pupil develop into an independent and
responsible autonomous individual. However, students cannot achieve this goal
independently; they need the educator’s help and guidance and, therefore, the
teacher is in a position of authority.
van Manen emphasised that an adult’s ability to affect a pupil is genuine when
the authority does not rely on power, but on love and affection (van Manen 1991).
Harjunen also defines pedagogical authority through pedagogical interaction
(Harjunen 2009). According to the author, pedagogical interaction consists of
such characteristics as ‘trust building’, ‘treating students as human beings’, and
the ‘ethics of care and justice’.
We have defined the connection between pedagogical love and authority in the
following manner:
If pedagogical love and pedagogical authority are based on expertise-based
respect, the learning atmosphere is warm and encouraging. Mutual respect
supports empathy; students respect the teacher because of his or her expertise
and regard the teacher as a sort of safe mainstay that they can rely on. The
teacher trusts and believes in the students’ abilities, respects their individuality,

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and helps them to enhance their balanced development and find their own
strengths.
(Määttä and Uusiautti 2011b)
What does this mean in the context of schooling and teaching? The existence of a
good human being can be considered problematic or even impossible because
‘good’ is usually confused with ‘perfect’. Being a good human being does not mean
that one should be totally irreproachable, moral and faultless, that is, non-human and
probably impossible to achieve anyway. We want to highlight love as the fundamental factor in raising children to be good human beings and that this particular aim is
the ultimate purpose of all rearing. Love appears in teaching as guidance toward
disciplined work, but also as patience, trust and forgiveness. The purpose is not to
make learning fun, easy or pleasing but to create a setting for learning whereby
pupils can use and develop their own resources, eventually proceeding at the maximum of their own abilities. A loving teacher takes care that the learner does not lose
his or her trust in his or her own learning when faced with difficulties. Therefore,
love appears as goal-oriented action: a teacher plans and implements learning situations that enhance learning. Furthermore, a loving teacher takes a pupil’s personal
situation into consideration (for example, Hatt 2005; van Manen 1991).
Pedagogical love is considered a working method that involves persistent interest and perseverance in supporting pupils’ development for the sake of themselves and the whole society. In addition, teachers should find a balance between
pedagogical love and pedagogical authority and combine them both in a studentspecific manner. Pedagogical tact is at its strongest in this ability. Dealing with
various students requires flexibility and sensitivity in the teacher’s pedagogical
approach. Some students need more intimacy while some others consider expertise especially important. Moreover, the teaching content and learning objectives
may necessitate different kinds of procedures from the teacher – in other words,
a certain kind of tact (Määttä and Uusiautti 2011b). Taking this viewpoint further,
van Manen points out that pedagogical tact is ‘the language of surprising and
unpredicted pedagogical action’ that emerges from the genuine attachment to the
pupil (van Manen 1991). At the core, it is the children’s vulnerability and
defenselessness that make the educator protect them.
Tools for employing strength-based approaches in school
The way we see it, the role of a teacher is primarily focused on encouraging and
rewarding the multitude of talents and strengths a child has, by presenting opportunities for displays of these talents and strengths each day. In practice, the means
are quite simple: linking strengths to specific festivals and events throughout the
school calendar and activities such as the strengths-based classroom, victory logs
and celebrations of ‘what went well’ (see Linley et al. 2009).
In practice, it is important that the teacher makes self-assessments. A teacher
can reflect and observe his or her way of teaching and interacting with students

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and ask questions such as ‘Do I listen to students’ opinions in an open manner?’,
‘Do I encourage students to express their emotions or perceptions?’, ‘How do I
handle divergent opinions and criticism or feedback from students?’, and ‘Do I
treat students equally regardless of their background?’ Becoming aware of one’s
own style and level of tact enables one to move from one quadrant to another,
toward an ideal state. It is about the teacher’s tact and the capabilities of recognising various learners and personalities and of having situational flexibility (see
also Määttä and Uusiautti 2012b).
In addition to teachers’ reflective practice, it is crucial to include positivelyoriented and wellbeing-promoting actions toward pupils and students. Seligman
et al. (2009) describes simple exercises that aim to help students identify their
signature strengths and increase their use of these strengths in daily life.
Moreover, this intervention was aimed at promoting resilience, positive emotions
and students’ sense of meaning or purpose. All goals were achieved, which made
Seligman’s research group conclude that wellbeing should and can be taught at
school. The positive focus seemed, according to the study by Seligman et al., to
consist of relatively small things, such as changing speaking prompts (for example, instead of asking students to describe negative events, teachers asked them
to give a speech about when they were of value to others; religious education
teachers asked students to explore the relationship between ethics and pleasure
and what gives life purpose and meaning; geography teachers asked students to
consider how the criteria for wellbeing might differ between various countries;
PE teachers focused on analysing the successes of past games before the next
game or lesson). The point here was that wellbeing could be taught and, with the
teacher’s lead, students would not only learn about it, but their own wellbeing
would increase as well.
It is important to discover one’s signature strengths. In Seligman et al.’s (2005)
study, long-term effects of increased happiness were perceived in exercises that
aimed to employ signature strengths in a new way and in which pupils were asked
to name and explain three good things about their daily lives.
Furthermore, the idea behind Appreciative Inquiry (AI) could also be employed
in education by teachers who would like to utilise the idea of caring teacherhood.
Appreciative Inquiry utilises a cycle of four processes that focuses on ‘discover’
(the identification of organisational processes that work well), ‘dream’ (the envisioning of processes that would work well in the future), ‘design’ (planning and
prioritising processes that would work well), and ‘destiny’ (the implementation
(execution) of the proposed design) (Cooperrider et al. 2008). Likewise, Ryan
et al. (1999) have advanced that AI is a suitable strategy for initiating an affective
and analytical micro-level reform within a single school. The fundamental notion
is that instead of concentrating on what was done wrong, AI helps with discovering what is done well and what more could be done.
Furthermore, providing students with daily experiences of success is important. If the mastery of information and skills is to lead to success, and if positive
emotion is one of the keystones of learning, it would be reasonable to pay

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attention to this viewpoint in teaching (Chafouleas and Bray 2004). Fredrickson’s
(2001) analysis on pride also falls into this category. By adjusting goals and
objectives and planning learning tasks in a way that each pupil can have the experience of achieving a goal, this kind of experience of success can be promoted.
Teachers try to find a balance between pupils’ skills, work-related expectations
and opportunities and challenges, which is likely to lead to better performance,
contentment, higher motivation and a sense of self-efficacy.
The teacher as a caring leader or pedagogical authority has the capacity to help
bring about the best in pupils. The process can then move forward – not only the
process of learning and performing, but also the process of discovering and using
pupils’ signature strengths, and promoting wellbeing and happiness, not only in
the current phase of life but also in prospective phases.
According to Hare (1993), pedagogical love, caring in the classroom, humility,
commitment and hope are traits that constitute a ‘good’ teacher, although they are
not always easy to adhere to in modern schools. Therefore, pedagogical tact is the
key; this is because it, along with pedagogical goodness, illustrates the pedagogical
relationship and the fundamental idea that the adult is primarily working for the
benefit of the child in this context (Saevi and Eilifsen 2008). The ability to create
happiness for life is an important skill for a good educator and teacher. Von Wright
has stated that to love the world we have to accept it and, therefore, to love students
we have to accept them and to refrain from wanting to change them and to prepare
them for changing the world in a particular and predefined way (von Wright 2009).
Enhancing students’ study success through
caring teacherhood
Caring teacherhood can be the way of bringing out the best in children, but
caring, strength-based leading of learning does not need to end in compulsory
education. Similar guidance is needed also in higher education levels. Also, it is
not just teachers working in the classrooms that is important but the overall study
environment that is created by the way the school or education institution is led;
whether the teachers are encouraged to focus on pupils’ and students’ strengths,
whether they are provided with sufficient resources for teaching, and whether the
students are appreciated at school. The school functions as an entity, and the
student-centered, positively oriented approach is a pervasive element of education. Here, we introduce our findings from Finnish and American universities as
an example of how school can enhance students’ success. The perspective on
university studies is not meant to overlook other education levels. Instead, we
wanted to analyse our data and provide an example of the impact caring leadership can make in education institutions. Thus, we argue that this viewpoint could
apply to, for example, vocational education schools and polytechnics as well as
it seemingly does to the university-level education.
Especially at a time when increasing demands on efficient and productive
higher education, high numbers of student drop-outs (see, for example, Kuh et al.

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2008; OECD 2010) and prolonged studies (OECD 2010; San Antonio 2008;
Schoon et al. 2010) do not seem to point in the same direction, new ways of
considering education are needed. How to make students’ study paths smooth and
have them succeed in their studies?
In this section we will discuss how the goal of success could be achieved by
employing caring leadership in higher education. This section leans on the data
obtained from Finnish and American university leaders. The ultimate idea of the
study was that a particular positive and caring viewpoint could be something that
today’s higher education would need. For example, Cruce et al. (2006) suggest
that good practices in education have a unique, positive impact on student development as they can affect, for example, student engagement, which can be seen
as one of the main pillars of successful and meaningful study paths. Kezar and
Kinzie (2006) have introduced features of a quality undergraduate education that
has been associated with student engagement; quality begins with an organisational culture that values high expectations, shows respect for diverse learning
styles, and has emphasis on the early years of study; a quality undergraduate
curriculum requires coherence in learning, synthesising experiences, on-going
practice of learned skills, and integrating education with experience; and quality
undergraduate instruction builds in active learning, assessment and prompt feedback, collaboration, adequate time on task, and out-of-class contact with faculty
(see also Kuh 2003). Likewise, Theilheimer (1991) has presented a detailed list
of five factors that contribute to a positive learning environment: (1) comfort
(creating a feeling of safety, accommodating errors, giving students the freedom
of expressing themselves without constraints, creating the feeling of belonging to
peer group); (2) clarity (providing clear instructions, breaking down material to
smaller chunks to maintain the feeling of accomplishment, however small); (3)
respect (mutual respect between students and the teacher); (4) relationships
(particularly caring relationships between the teacher and individual students,
teacher attending each student individually); and (5) responsibility (giving
students a degree of control over decisions concerning their learning).
Here, our purpose was to analyse how caring leadership in higher education
can be employed to enhance students’ success and study achievements, and what
its relationship with other factors affecting students’ study success is like.
The leaders’ perspective is interesting when considering the effect of caring
that covers the institution, in this case, the university, through the select approach
of the leader. Caldwell and Dixon (2010) have defined love, forgiveness and trust
as organisational constructs that are freedom-producing, empowering and vital to
enhancing followers’ self-efficacy. When leaders consistently exhibit love,
forgiveness and trust in relationships, their followers – whether they were
students or employees – respond to these behaviours with increased commitment
and loyalty. Moreover, happiness can be directly translated into engagement,
productivity and satisfaction (Prewitt 2003; see also Rego et al. 2011). It has been
argued that sensitive leaders develop a culture that demonstrates concern for
individual needs (Fairholm and Fairholm 2000; Popper and Amit 2009).

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Happiness not only produces a quantitative improvement by increasing efficiency
but also a qualitative one by making a better product or outcome by virtue of
pride, belief and commitment. Emotions and emotional intelligence have even
been considered as the heart of effective leadership (Goleman 2006). Furthermore,
an ethic of caring establishes a moral touchstone for decision making (Hoyle
2002) as leaders’ elicitation of love regards other people as the cause, target or
third-party observer of these emotions (Fischer and van Kleef 2010).
Given this perspective on love and leadership, we were interested in researching how university leaders talk about the connection between caring leadership
and students’ study success. This viewpoint contributes to the overall knowledge
about caring leadership practices, but specifically to the awareness of the multidimensional nature of higher education organisations and factors affecting the
smoothness of university students’ study processes. Finally, the purpose is to
determine how the love-based aspect might be used in elaborating research
models for re-thinking and designing caring learning environments, students’
psychosocial wellbeing, and for developing the models of caring and love-based
leadership in education context.
As the interviewees worked in universities, their work was closely connected
to not only their followers but also to university students. Therefore, leaders
discussed their leadership in relation to the study opportunities and conditions
among students at their universities. We analysed how the university leaders actually perceived their role in promoting university students’ study success and
fluent study processes. All their perceptions were first categorised into themes
according to the way leadership was discussed in relation to students (for example, leadership actions for the students, providing resources and quality teaching).
Then, the perceptions were re-categorised into three main categories that best
represented the leaders’ perceptions: using caring leadership for (1) providing
resources for quality education, (2) seeing students, faculty or staff, and themselves as equal groups, and thus promoting a sense of solidarity, and (3) treating
students as customers.
Caring leaders provide resources for quality education
The first category refers to the relationship between outer factors affecting education and the way that the education is realised in practice and provided to
students. The current educational policies regarding funding in universities were
reflected by the university leaders. They were aware of the pressure of doing
research and having students graduate:
‘The pressure within the public university environment has really focused
more and more around money. [Universities] have to be doing more research,
they have to be taking more students, they have to be generating more
programs.’
(American leader)

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73

‘At this level, in a university, those kinds of push for excellence and productivity make it pretty difficult to be I think a loving leadership model.’
(American leader)
Although they realised that the demands of competition and productivity can
make it more difficult to employ caring leadership in universities, the university
leaders could see their position and opportunities to utilise their leadership. They
seemed to consider themselves responsible for ensuring the high quality education and support for students.
‘I mean, your [the leader’s] job is to make life better for all the faculty and
students so they can do what they need to do: their research, their teaching,
and the students, so they learn and get their degree, go out there and make us
all proud. To do that, you got to be a leader.’
(American leader)
‘A lot of times, that requires that you’re going to make sure that the quality
of the education that the students get is going to be the highest possible.’
(American leader)
In practice, caring leadership appeared as a wish to guarantee as high a quality education for students as possible by using the available resources in a purposeful manner,
reallocating it to activities that would benefit students’ study processes (for example,
by decreasing teachers’ and professors’ administrative work), and enhancing the
spirit of everybody doing their share and their best for the students and the university.
‘We have to guarantee such resources that the quality of education is considerably better than it is now, that the operation is meaningful, and that we can
take the best possible care of students. That will also benefit work life.’
(Finnish leader)
‘I find it surprising that we have so much administrative work at the university… Teachers have to send emails to various pupils, and they do a little bit
of this and that? That’s administrative work. And if we had an employee to
do that work, it would be much more logical.’
(Finnish leader)
Caring leaders promote the sense of solidarity among
students and faculty
The second viewpoint expressed by the university leaders was related to the
atmosphere at the unit. They considered it important for the students’ study
success, commitment and overall satisfaction that the people at each unit and at
the university would share the sense of togetherness and solidarity.

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‘The caring that I have my organization, I got 700 employees, about 18,000
students, the caring I have is for all of them, and so, everybody gets treated
that way.’
(American leader)
‘You can have more family-orientation. We are only interested in our own
research and we hardly ever collaborate. I think that at the individual level,
you know, I think working with your own doctoral students, we can have
more personal caring relationship. The stress of competition is not good but
working with individual students and dissertations, that’s more satisfying,
working with students in the classroom.’
(American leader)
As the latter of the aforementioned data excerpts show, the sense of togetherness
was also seen as the answer to the ever-increasing pressures of productivity and
individual success. Working together could benefit not only students and the
faculty but the whole organisation. Moreover, the university leaders named actual
measures that they themselves used in practice in order to improve the spirit of
collaboration at their units. The leaders talked about treating everyone equally
and promoting open and informal interaction among the faculty and students.
‘Our community; we have students who are equal members of this work unit
in their own role, and we have the personnel… This [university] is quite a
world of its own compared to the normal units.’
(Finnish leader)
‘Management by walking around; and I think it is insane that teachers for
example sit in a separate cabinet away from students or where leaders sit on
a different table than employees. I can affect those daily situations in which I
can mold in the community and stick together with them.’
(Finnish leader)
‘We’re trying to re-develop the area around the university to build more
coffee shops, restaurants, bars, music places … I think that leadership is all
about getting people to feel connected and engaged… A research university
should make a very clear connection with the practical world of the community and the faculty and the students.’
(American leader)
According to the findings, the students’ study processes could be enhanced by
increasing open interaction and collaboration in units. Caring leadership thus
could be seen to be the means of setting an example by spending time with
people, discussing problems, and initiating actual proposals for actions, be they
small-scale collaborative actions such as the faculty and students having coffee at

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75

the same table, or larger scale measures, such as improving offerings within the
overall education environment. Thus, caring university leaders pay attention to
their followers’ and students’ overall wellbeing. They realise that a wellfunctioning unit with a good and inspiring spirit can offer the best premises for
students’ study success and, through this, the success of the whole unit and the
university as well.
Caring leaders perceive students as customers
The previous category described how the sense of solidarity could support
students’ study paths. The third category develops this thinking to the personal
level by seeing students as the customers. According to the results, the university
leaders’ way of perceiving students resembles a whole new way of defining
customership. It is not just demands expressed by the customers but merely
collaboration and desire to find out what is the best for them through reciprocal
interaction: students as customers are simultaneously seen as partners too. From
this point of view, caring leadership was considered a means of paying attention
to students as individuals, taking care of them at the personal level, and respecting them as the most valuable part of the university. The university leaders
expressed this idea as follows:
‘In academics, you need to be very careful that the students should come first.
And I think that’s a big difference between academics, a leader in academics
and a leader in industry. I really try to do what is best for the students first.
And then I try to do what is best for the faculty and the college.’
(American leader)
‘Here, where you don’t necessarily have a product, per se. You are not
making televisions, but the other thing is: What is the product of higher education? You might think the student, I’m saying, no. You can’t claim another
human being as your product. No, the curriculum is your product. I just refuse
to think, if you use business analogy and you’re a dealer, a car dealer. It’s not
the customer that’s your product, it’s your car. So, since when, if we look at
that, why not students are our customers.’
(American leader)
The university leaders described that when students are perceived as customers
of higher education, they can feel they are being supported and heard. Caring
leadership was manifested in personal relationships with students:
‘I have a good, direct, and open relationship with students. I hope, at least,
and sense that I am easily approachable and they come to discuss their problems and studies, and quite openly have confided in me.’
(Finnish leader)

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In addition to direct interaction with students, some university leaders
perceived their position as a possibility to support their followers, department
chairs, professors and other faculty, in creating the favourable relationship with
students and supporting them in their studies. Caring leaders thus could see their
support and guidance they provide to their followers as the way of supporting
students’ study processes.
‘[I want to] support the chairs really connecting with students.’
(American leader)
‘From time to time, I’ve sent them [the faculty] reminders about why we are
working here and how important it is to work together despite the fact that
your work loads are heavier because of the financial times but remember why
you’re here: It’s the students’ smile when they leave your office. You know
it’s working and reminding them of that ultimate goal.’
(American leader)
The way caring university leaders can show their support to their ultimate
customers, students, is to make sure that people working at the unit are aware of
the purpose of their work. This was also related to the question of respecting
students. One of the leaders described the situation by giving an example:
‘If you have an office and you open at 8, it’s not just good at all, not good for
the students, not good for the whole college, if you’re not there at 8 o’clock.
If there is no one there, we are not respectful to them.’
(American leader)
The leader continued with the example that he considered that it is also the caring
leader’s task to make sure that not only are his or her followers aware of their
responsibility for students and have accepted them as their customers, but also
that they have to find meaning in their jobs. If they still do not find their work
meaningful the leader’s task, for the sake of the students and the employee
himself or herself, is to help the employee find the meaning in the job or reconsider the job description.
‘If you say I don’t like my work, I’m just shuffling papers, then I can explain,
OK, there’s the reason why you’re shuffling this paper, because the students
need this, the students. Maybe there are some forms that students need. But
sometimes people are not in the jobs. You have an opportunity to identify that
like when you really explain why some things have to be done and still that
individual does not find it meaningful, then I would engage in little better
professional planning.’
(American leader)

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Factors behind students’ success
The results of this study complement our previous studies of factors directing
university students’ study processes (see, for example, Määttä and Uusiautti
2011a). We have previously described the teacher/student’s study process as a
sum of factors at the student’s personal level, the unit level and the overall regulations, values and cultural traditions that control education. Although they do not
explain a successful study process alone, their development and significance
should be paid more and more attention at universities.
Figure 4.1 illustrates the interconnectedness of students’ study processes and
factors affecting it. We consider caring leadership the fundamental enabling and
empowering element influencing all levels of study processes.
We analysed caring leadership in relation to students’ study success. At the
personal level, students’ study processes vary greatly depending on their backgrounds, starting points, study skills and the experiences they get during their
education. Students have certain abilities and habits related to their learning
history and experiences and that can strengthen their knowledge and self-efficacy.
This conception is either strengthened or dashed at the university (Biggs 1987;
Cassidy and Eachus 2000; Gettinger and Seibert 2002; Lindblom-Ylänne and

UNIVERSITY
COMMUNITY
- Studying atmosphere
- Student culture
- Outward circumstances
- University administration

UNIVERSITY TEACHER

Caring
Leadership as

- Teaching and mentoring
skills
- Scientific and pedagogical
proficiency
- Engagement in teaching

STUDENT’S
STUDY
PATH
STUDENT

CURRICULUM

- Abilities, habits
- Studying skills
- Motivation
- Relevant foreknowledge
- Learning goals
- Inner criteria for learning
- Studying – other areas
of life

- The basic task and
profession of the
discipline/art
- Skills and knowledge that
have to be learned
- Goals for learning
- Evaluation of
learning

the Empowering
Element

Figure 4.1 Core factors affecting students’ success (adapted from Määttä and Uusiautti,
2011: 52).

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Pihlajamäki 2003). On the other hand, we want to emphasise students’ motivation,
which reflects in their way of seizing studies and persistence (Allen 1999; Mäkinen
2000). Certainly, outer rewards matter too. Receiving positive and encouraging
feedback about one’s own progress is important as it improves one’s receptiveness
to new learning experiences and tolerance of failures, whereas a perceived feeling
of insufficiency and a poor performance level, as well as teachers’ inadequate
guidance and disinterest, decrease motivation (Pajares 2001).
The viewpoint presented here also included an interesting notion; namely,
university leaders talked about considering students as customers. From the
students’ perspective, this means that they are valued and noticed at the university. They received support and guidance when needed and felt respected as an
important part of the university. In addition to sufficient support and guidance,
there are other means to enhance students’ wellbeing too. Studies should also be
in balance with other areas of life; interesting hobbies, good human relationships
and family life, versatile and relaxing leisure time act as a good counterbalance
to studying (see, for example, Lowe and Gayle 2007). Some university leaders
talked about mutual free-time activities that could be provided at or nearby the
campus. Participating in these kinds of activities would also increase student
engagement. For example, Kuh’s (2003) framework for student engagement is
based on five benchmarks: level of academic challenge, enriching educational
experiences, supportive campus environment, student-faculty interaction and
active and collaborative learning. Therefore, it seems that engagement is one
basic concept when considering successful studying.
Naturally, everyone also perceives success in studies subjectively and evaluates
personal achievements in different ways (Maddux 2002). Expectations for the
future affect greatly how people react on changes and challenges (Carver and
Scheier 2002) and there are various strategies that lie behind the one that leads to
active and meaningful studying. From the perspective of university students’
success, it seems that caring leadership can function as a means to support students
at their personal level and enable them to find and employ their personal characteristics, talents and strengths in the best possible manner during their studies.
The leaders in this research talked about the sense of solidarity and communality among the faculty and the students. At the unit level, the educators’ pedagogical and scientific professionalism, curricula, and the atmosphere and
conditions of the unit (see Määttä and Uusiautti 2011a; Uusiautti and Määttä
2013) can be named as the core factors. Consequently, if the students were
regarded as customers, the curriculum was named the product. It should fulfill the
promises of education and thus be cutting-edge. Basically, the curriculum
provides both teachers and students with a clear goal. It answers the questions of
what kind of expertise students will have after graduating from the training
program and what kinds of courses are included in their studies.
Five stages can be distinguished in curriculum work (see Alaoutinen et al.
2009): (1) to define the basic task and profession of the education/discipline/art,
to evaluate the need for education; (2) to define required competencies and

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79

general goals of teaching; (3) to define the model of curriculum; (4) to define the
goals, contents, workload and methods for study entities and units; (5) to
determine the communication in the curriculum; and (6) to evaluate the curriculum and the proficiency produced by it and its constant development. Learning
goals in the curriculum tell what students are expected to know after taking a
certain study unit and they also direct working and the way learning, teaching and
studying are being evaluated.
When pursuing the valued outcomes, students need special support and guidance. What became highlighted here was the importance of equal and open interaction between the faculty and students. This is how the idea of perceiving
students as customers was manifested in leaders’ thinking; their customership
implication appeared as a reciprocal relationship with students. Likewise, a positive atmosphere was emphasised as a crucial element.
More detailed lists of the nature of support and guidance have also been
compiled (for example, Haapaniemi et al. 2001). Määttä (2012) has divided the
resources of a good supervisor into four dimensions that constitute the four
fundamental features of supervision: (A) Will: a supervisor’s commitment to
supervision; (B) Knowledge: substance knowledge and/or the mastery and ability
to comprehend the overall structure; (C) Actions: ensuring that the contents meet
the scientific quality requirements; and (D) Proficiency: positive and supportive
supervision methods and personality. The emphasis that each element is given
varies according to a supervision situation. Nor does the emphasis always remain
the same. A supervisor can emphasise different features depending on his or her
own style and on a student’s work habits and needs. Supervision is not likely to
succeed if one of the aforementioned resources is completely missing.
Many characteristics of a university community either enhance or hinder
students’ smooth processes. A study atmosphere can vary from open and vivid
dealings between students and teachers and other personnel to distant, minimal
and formal relationships between the above-mentioned groups. Indeed, the meaning of informal student-faculty contacts and learning outcomes has been noted
already three decades ago (see Pascarella 1980). Finding studying meaningful is
shown to have a positive relationship with students’ perceptions of academic
atmosphere at the unit (see, for example, Kezar and Kinzie 2006; Mayya and Roff
2004; Pimparyon et al. 2000).
Ultimately, the completion of an academic degree is a student’s responsibility
because even the most skillful teacher cannot learn on a student’s behalf. Yet, teaching skills and teachers’ abilities to be in an appreciating interaction with students
and to guide students make a salient impetus in university education. This was also
noted by the university leaders. Today’s good university teachers bear the responsibility both for their disciplines and are concerned for their students’ success.
An ideal education institution naturally covers the outward conditions as well,
including studying facilities and their location, the number of teachers in proportion to the number of students, social, economic and health services, library
services (the availability of books, opening times, etc.), ICT facilities and their

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sufficiency, the length of studying days, the accumulation of lectures versus even
division by weekdays and time. It is a known fact (see, for example, Greenwald
et al. 1996) that a broad range of resources are positively related to student
outcome (see also Atjonen 2007). Indeed, this resembles the third perspective
brought out by university leaders in this study. As the funding of universities
strongly depends on the number of graduates, research programs and publications, in other words measurable outcomes, the pressures of productivity is high.
The university leaders in this study considered these outer factors hindering the
realisation of caring leadership but considered it as the basic principle for making
decisions that would benefit the students the most and allocating money for
purposes that would ensure them with as high-quality education as possible.
Toward the adulthood success
In the modern world student groups are more heterogeneous than ever (see, for
example, San Antonio 2008; Zhao et al. 2008) and thus their study processes
should be paid attention to more than ever. Consequently, university educators’
work is demanding and important, and requires resources, time and concentration. Caring leadership in higher education can enhance the students’ study
processes by highlighting some fundamental principles of higher education.
Daniel Goleman (2006: 81) has wisely said: ‘Leading a school to create a
warmer and more connected school culture need not mean sacrificing academic
rigor. Instead, socially intelligent leaders help schools better fulfill their main
mission: teaching’. This concerns every level of education. Also, based on the
results of our studies, we would like to continue Goleman’s thought by adding that
by using the leadership position for fulfilling the teaching mission, caring leaders
also boost students’ success. It can have a far-reaching influence on their consequent success as workers, too, when entering adulthood and work life. Indeed now
it is time to turn eyes on the exogenous factors of success in adulthood.

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Chapter 5

Success and the influence of
exogenous factors in adulthood

Introduction
This chapter continues the analysis of the top workers’ biographies. We learned
in the last chapter that many factors in childhood can lead to the right track in the
light of the process of success at work. However, there are many elements in
adulthood life too that can influence the process.
The first purpose of this chapter is to discuss the role of social relationships in
success at work. Especially interesting is to make comparisons with research on
happy and long-lasting marriages and solutions that top workers have considered
functional. Are there commonalities between these groups?
Second, we glance at the significance of hobbies. In positive psychology the
role of activities that provide refreshment and pleasure has been long acknowledged. In this book we will view how the top workers describe the importance of
their hobbies for their success at work.
Finally, we will discuss the role of leadership. Can leaders enhance employees’
chances of success at work? What if they themselves could also benefit from the
capability of enhancing employees’ chances of success?

A successful combination of work and marriage
When moving further from the school world, dating and romantic relationship
begin to take place. In this section we will discuss how success at work is
connected with family and marital life. The relationship between work and
family life has been studied mostly from the perspective of negative conflict
(Greenhouse et al. 1987). It is obvious that the interplay between these two areas
of life has positive consequences (Barnett 2004; Leiter and Durup 1996), and the
positive experiences and solutions are also worth studying (see, for example.
Mahoney 2002).
The combination of work and family life has been increasingly studied since
women started to work outside the home (Barnett 2004; see also Aryee et al.
2005). At the same time, in the past few decades, men have been spending more
and more time attending to housework and childcare (Barnett 2004). In Finland,

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social policies have also been used to encourage the possibility of combining
work and family (Salmi 2004b). Indeed, financial matters are essential to this
phenomenon (see, for example, Barnett 2004; Barnett and Lundgren 1998).
Barnett and Lundgren (1998) illustrate issues that spouses need to solve when
making work-related decisions. Fundamentally, the decisions are based on
economic and social factors and, for example, on gender-related attitudes to
work. In addition, the situation in a workplace (for example, the continuation of
employment) and individual factors play their respective roles in decisionmaking. In an ideal situation, spouses reflect upon their own and each other’s
biological, psychological and economic needs. They may end up with an arrangement whereby (1) both work full-time, standard work schedules; (2) both work
full-time, non-standard work schedules; (3) one works full-time, one works
reduced hours; or (4) both work reduced hours (Barnett and Lundgren 1998).
From the marital point of view, whether or not spouses work together (i.e., in the
same workplace) is also significant.
However, the most significant issue, from our point of view, is to understand
the question of combining work and family as related to wellbeing and overall
happiness and success. Special attention was being paid to how the Employees of
the Year solved this question as well as to the descriptions of the long-married
couples’ successful solutions. Salmi (2004a, 2004b) suggests that the most
productive perspective would be the one that reflects the phenomenon from the
perspective of the entirety of life.
The interaction between work and family
The interaction between individuals’ work and family responsibilities has
become a concern of practical as well as theoretical significance (Clark 2000).
According to Berscheid (2006), an understanding of human behaviour has
suffered because of the propensity to forget the fact that people live in a net of
human relationships for their entire lives and that most behaviour takes place in
the context of human relationships. When studying successful behaviour, it is
important to examine how environmental factors and people’s mutual relationships affect the development of self-concept (Caprara and Cervone 2006;
Magnusson and Mahoney 2006).
In addition, Aspinwall and Staudinger (2006) note that many human strengths
are based on the person’s relationships with others; in other words, they are relational or collective by nature. For example, one’s ability to understand and cope
with various problematic life situations is strengthened if one has an opportunity
to discuss the problem at hand with a close friend, swap opinions and reflect on
the issues from new perspectives.
Social roles play a significant part in an individual’s life. Frone (2003) refers
to family-work balance in this matter. Imbalance between social roles may
produce stress that further affects different areas of life as well as the individual’s
health and wellbeing. Most studies have focused on the work-family conflict;

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however, Frone (2003), for example, defines work-family balance as a lack of
conflict or interference between work and family roles.
According to Clark’s (2000) theory about work and family balance, people are
daily border-crossers between the domains of work and family. The theory
addresses how domain integration and segmentation, border creation and
management, border-crosser participation, and relationships between bordercrossers and others at work and home influence work-family balance. Concepts,
such as permeability, flexibility and blending are used to describe the border
between work and family. Permeability refers to the degree to which elements
from one domain enter the other. Flexibility is the extent to which a border may
contract or expand depending on the demands of one domain or the other. When
a great deal of permeability and flexibility occurs around the border, blending
both work and family creates a borderland that cannot be called by either domain
(Clark 2000).
In considerations of the connection between work and family, it is important to
reflect both on how work influences family life and the kind of influence that
family life has on work (Frone et al. 1992; Gutek et al. 1991), whether it is
strengthening or conflicting (see, for example, Aryee et al. 2005). The hypothesis
of the strengthening effect of multiple roles (see, for example, Rantanen and
Kinnunen 2005) is of great contemporary interest as it concerns both genders – as
well as other family members. Recent studies have shown that it is not just about
making compromises but, for example, that positive paternal involvement influences the multiple domains of children’s lives from birth through adolescence
(see, for example, Hawkins et al. 2008).
We combine here the results of two independent studies in order to reflect the
successful combination of work and family, and to discover the kinds of solutions
that are adopted by couples who have been married for more than ten years
(Määttä 2005) and by the top workers who have been nominated as Employees
of the Year in their own occupation (Uusiautti 2008). By uniting these two
perspectives, the purpose is to give a unique description of how both family and
work roles can be combined in order to facilitate success both at work and in
family life.
The magnitude of shared worlds
Crucial among solutions employed by happily married couples in relation to their
time division between work and family was their willingness to make compromises in the face of different kinds of aspirations and foci. This can be defined as
the magnitude of their shared world. It covers all the thoughts, feelings, activities
and happenings that spouses share. The magnitude of this world depends on the
extent to which spouses occupy the other worlds, and how much and in what way
they appreciate and value their relationship compared with their other activities,
such as their own friends and hobbies, and whether or not these activities are
common between them. The solidity of a relationship derives from mutually

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shared activities; the stronger and more frequent the interaction between spouses,
the more solid their relationship will be. Nevertheless, solidity does not result
from activities that suppress or fail to appeal to either one of the spouses.
Shuttling between work and family was one of the salient issues disclosed by
the Employees of the Year. Everyone had to make choices and come up with solutions of some kind in relation to this matter. The best situation was when a balance
was found between these two areas of life. Thus, the Employees of the Year
considered their intimate relationships and family as one of the most important
factors enhancing their success at work. Some differences could be found in the
top workers’ experiences of how work and family could be successfully combined.
These solutions depended a great deal on whether the couple had children or not.
The balance between family and work according to
long-lasting and happily married couples
Married couples could be divided into three categories based on the time they
spend together and the feeling of togetherness they share. The first one represents
an intimate, family-oriented relationship that can be called ‘Our Marriage’. The
spouses had a strong affinity to each other; they were well integrated and spent
their spare time with their family, made decisions together, and were willing to
make the effort to solve and/or avoid disagreements. Their relationship was
epitomised emotional intimacy; they enjoyed each other and being together.
‘Our happiness is often based on work as we are surely able to collaborate.’
‘The existence of the other is unquestionably important, and we are able to
support each other.’
‘A shared hobby makes us closer, and it is nice to discuss the subject at home
with your spouse.’
This is in line with previous research as well. It has been found that the perceived
superiority of one’s own marriage is also strongly related to marital satisfaction
(Buunk and van der Eijnden 1997).
The second category consists of couples that are happy together but as individuals. This kind of marriage of two individuals can be described as ‘Our
Marriage of Two Individuals’. They are integrated, but they tend not to avoid
disagreements and do not endeavour to achieve a consensus. They spend a great
deal of their leisure time together and have a high opinion of each other, but they
also have personal interests outside of the family, such as their work. Despite
being interdependent, they also emphasise their independence.
‘We got married 12 years ago and being a wife of a traveling worker, I have
to be strong-minded and believe, hope and love, forgive, and stretch, too… To
be honest, sometimes it is nice for both of us to be alone from time to time.’

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The third relationship model represented a marriage that lacked interdependence
or shared activities. This kind of relationship could be called ‘The Marriage of
Two Individuals’. There was no communication between the individuals, and
they were unwilling to make compromises in conflict situations. These kinds of
couples tended to stay together because of habit and convenience or because of
their inability or reluctance to start divorce proceedings. They might have thought
that this way of life would perhaps be better than living alone.
‘My husband is a workaholic, whose home is his workplace – I am a mother
whose home is her whole life. External issues, happenings, or people have
not threatened our marriage; but time and everyday life have flattened and
faded the flush of love. We have seldom been anywhere together because we
have children and “we do not have time”.’
Work-family balance from the perspective of employees of the year
Combining work and family is mostly instantiated through the organisation of
schedules. In everyday life, this has to do with the number of hours that one
works and how much time is being spent at home with family. The Employees of
the Year alluded to various solutions based on their situation at home: whether
they had children and of what age; whether their spouses worked; or whether they
even had a spouse. The results introduce three categories with examples of the
top worker’s decisions concerning work-family balance.
Family-oriented top workers made decisions in relation to organising more
time with their small children. One top worker had a brilliant career before having
children but stayed at home while the children were very young. Returning to
work was difficult and the emotions were inconsistent. The support and conversational companionship that her spouse provided was the most important factor
enhancing her return to work. This top worker had also discussed her work
openly at home, which had consciously made these two areas of life apparent to
all of family members.
‘I thought that both my work and being at home were important. The whole
rigmarole, which lasted ten years when the children were small, is something
that I do not even remember well. And eventually, it did not matter whether
you were at work or at home. I think that my spouse’s support and our communication were significant. He is smart and does not want to control my life.
I allow every family member to become acquainted with my work because
I wanted them to be part of it, and vice versa, in a way that my work would
not be an area of life that my family knew nothing about. And I hope that this
has enriched their knowledge of work life too.’
The other top worker had a business of his own and worked from home. The
reason for this arrangement was that he wanted to be available for his children

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while also making a living. He became highly appreciated in his field, but his
work never threatened his family as he always considered his family as the first
priority. He emphasised that these two areas of life should be in balance. Of
course, this negatively affected the family’s incomes, but on the other hand, this
top worker preferred having his life in his own hands and did not want to sell his
principles for money.
‘Basically, I have been at home all the time. When the children came home
from school, I was here... But sometimes, it was financially tight. I have never
wanted to work day and night. I can surely stretch but I do not want to sacrifice all my life for work. People should understand that too and not just strive
for profits all the time. People should think about what they want to do with
their lives.’
The relationship between work and family can also be described with the use of
models that focus on multiple roles. The hypothesis of the burdening effect of
multiple roles is based on an assumption of scarcity. Accordingly, the resources
that an individual possesses are limited thus, multiple roles exhaust these
resources. This implies that the resources spent at work diminish those that can
be used at home and vice versa. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the
hypothesis of the strengthening effect. According to this, an individual’s
resources tend to recur and increase particularly as a result of new roles.
Consequently, both roles (work and family) are seen as enhancing capacity in
both areas of life. This aptly describes the previous top workers’ actions.
Two of the top workers had positive experiences with the combination of work
and family – ‘having them both’. Both of them were dedicated to a demanding
job with irregular working hours. The solution to combine work and family was
twofold: firstly, they wanted to give priority to their small children, and secondly,
they planned their schedules in unison with their spouses. As they had irregular
working hours, they tried to adjust their schedules with their spouses in a way that
either one of them was at home with their children during their free time.
Therefore, everything was based on mutual agreement, and they were strict about
prearranged schedules.
‘When my children were young, we had a system. They were in part-time day
care, only ten days a month. I spent all my days off at home, as did my
spouse, though not at the same time as I did. It went quite well like that. And
we spent a lot of time with our children.’
‘We made the effort to plan schedules together. I had irregular working hours but
my spouse had standard ones. He was at home during my busiest seasons at work.’
Indeed, couples who value and strive for egalitarian relationships are often faced
with new challenges upon the birth of their first child (Koivunen et al. 2009).

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Although combining work and family in this way may seem difficult, the
Employees of the Year were content with their solutions because they enabled
both spouses to work and take care of the home. Barnett and Hyde (2001) champion such solutions as they are of the opinion that versatile roles (i.e., work and
family roles) benefit our psychological, physical and social health; and this is true
for both sexes. A strong commitment in one role does not inhibit a similar
commitment in the other.
Additionally, this solution has an effect on several other processes too: the
family’s income level increases, the experiential spheres of both spouses widen
and the chances to succeed increase. Last, but not least, their work and family life
experiences become similar.
Notwithstanding, some of the Employees of the Year wanted to keep these
areas of life separate from each other; they were clearly ‘work-oriented’. They
had the possibility to concentrate on their careers and their spouses took care of
the home. They emphasised that the solution was jointly agreed with their
spouses and that their spouses understood the nature of their demanding job.
‘I have not had any problems… My spouse is at home and this is a sort of a
back rest for me, enabling me to work. And I have had support and encouragement from home and my spouse takes care of everything at home so well.
I do not have to worry about whether everything is fine at home or not. I can
concentrate on my work fully.
My family has been understanding; even the kids have, in their own way…
I am married to my work as much as I am to my spouse.’
One of the top workers was in a similar situation but he had no children. He too
had a demanding job with irregular working hours, which could have been be a
strain on the relationship. However, that was not the case as his spouse was in a
similar situation, having started a new business and being busy with that. The
irregular rhythm of life was thus a matter of course for them and they did not
consider it problematic or burdening to their relationship.
One of the top workers was single so he did not have similar experiences, nor
did he have solutions to consider like his Employees of the Year counterparts.
Instead, he found it occasionally difficult to separate work and leisure as his
present circumstances meant that it was relatively easy to dedicate himself
completely to work; work days tended to be prolonged and some tasks were done
at home. This shows that spouses and families do not only demand time and effort
but they also require balance and contentment that does not involve work.
Ability to compromise
One thing was certain; all Employees of the Year had succeeded in their work and
were rewarded for excellence. Additionally, they considered consensus and
concordance with their spouses more important than enhancing their careers as

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feelings of guilt frequently pervaded their thoughts when they worked long days
instead of being at home. Further reflection on the data on married couples
revealed that the only common feature was that they had been married for a long
time, over ten years, whereas marital happiness and satisfaction varied according
to their mutual appreciation and respect for their marriage and togetherness. This
appreciation and respectful attitude toward each other and their relationship
appeared to connect the two studies.
Whereas the married couples were categorised according to those who were
tightly bonded to each other and those who lived together but as individuals, the
top workers were located between the dimensions of family-oriented and workoriented individuals. In considerations of successful marriage, on the one hand,
and a successful combination of work and family, on the other, one fundamental
dimension comes to the fore namely, the ability to compromise.
It is not easy to draw conclusions of marital happiness from Employees’ of the
Year narratives. Who would not want to succeed at both work and family life?
This is, however, easier said than done. The solutions may vary but fundamentally it is all about finding one that satisfies both spouses. There is no single
model, however. It is crucial to determine the kinds of compromises that spouses
are willing to make and whether one has different hopes and emphases than the
other. The ability to be realistic is also relevant here; the understanding that one
cannot have everything appears pertinent to success in both work and marriage.
Thus, the ability to take pleasure in the achievements and best sides of work and
family life eases the compromises. It is the ability to bend and adjust – without
forfeiting anything of primary value. None of the top workers wanted to become
a martyr in the process of making compromises. It was not about neglecting
oneself but a realistic and practical weighting of the possibilities and promises of
life. The level of intrinsic motivation that the Employees of the Year experienced
in their work due to favourable working conditions (such as the experience of
meaning, responsibility for outcomes and knowledge of results) may also have
enhanced their ability to make compromises and appreciate the other at home and
in the marriage (see, for example, Oh and Lewis 2009).
Combining work and family responsibilities is a topic of considerable current
interest, which also concerned the Employees of the Year. Many theories describe
career-related solutions more as individual decisions (Barnett and Lundgren
1998), not as shared with spouses or the family as a whole. Employees of the
Year disagreed with this; they thought that it was crucial to make career-related
decisions together with their families. All solutions were unique, varying from
equal division of labour between spouses to a situation in which one was working
and the other took care of the home. Regardless of the solution, the main point
was that it was made jointly by considering the aspirations and situations of both
so that neither partner had to sacrifice his or her career for the other. The same
phenomenon can also be seen as a prerequisite for a successful marriage. Couples
who made an effort to listen to each other and who tried to find a common ground
appeared happiest.

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A study conducted in Sweden (Evertson and Nermo 2007) suggests that
compromises relating to the sharing of housework remained unusual; despite the
increasing involvement of women in work outside the home they continue to
perform the majority of household tasks, and a woman’s economic dependency
on her spouse is related to her share of the housework – this may also lead to
decreased levels of marital satisfaction (see also Koivunen et al. 2009).
Furthermore, for men in the dual-earner couples, the relationship satisfaction was
associated with positive family-to-work spillover whereas satisfaction with the
housework arrangement was related to women’s positive spillover. With both
men and women engaging in more non-traditional gender roles in work and
family domains, there is great need to understand the impact of these roles on
each domain (Perrone et al. 2009).
Having a family does not prevent one from also having a successful career. It
seems that more important is the readiness to make compromises and to take both
spouses’ hopes into consideration. According to our interpretation, the most plausible
and successful solution is not necessarily to share all duties equally. Neither do the
spouses have to always be together. Both spouses can maintain some level of individualism in marriage (see also Frisco and Williams 2003; Judkins and Presser 2008).

Time for hobbies
In considerations of wellbeing and success at work, hobbies and free-time activities often take the backseat. Leisure is not considered as important as other areas
of life, such as work and family life. Moreover, Csikszentmihalyi (2008: 159)
asks cleverly why people usually would like to work less and spend more time in
leisure given that: ‘on the job people feel skillful and challenged, and therefore
feel more happy, strong, creative, and satisfied. In their free time people feel that
there is generally not much to do and their skills are not being used’.
In this section, we want to analyse the importance of hobbies and leisure for
success at work. Our fundamental assumption is that the pleasure of doing and
positive emotions are quite important to one’s holistic, daily wellbeing – and freetime activities offer an excellent context for these experiences. One reason for
this is that activities done in free time are usually voluntary; people do what they
find enjoyable (Carruthers and Hood 2005).
Likewise, positive psychology wants to pay more attention to the significance
of hobbies from the point of view of deriving pleasure and positive emotions.
Positive emotions are connected to physical health (for example, the prevention
of physical stress symptoms), mental health (for example, positive coping strategies), and social health (for example, friendships and social support), which refers
to the fact that happy people are more likely to build happy and reciprocal human
relationships than unhappy people (Carruthers and Hood 2005).
The conclusion is that if one’s hobby provides positive experiences and thus
enhances happy and balanced life, it will also promote success at work – indeed,
physical, mental and social health are needed in work life too. This is also

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acknowledged in many workplaces internationally, as McGillivray’s (2005)
shows that health and fitness programmes, for example, now make up a significant component of wider organisational wellness or workplace wellness
programs – although their positive influence seems to focus more on physical
health than on mental health (see, for example, Griffiths 1996). Instead, Tuomi
et al. (2001) find that in addition to favourable work characteristics (such as
autonomy and opportunities for personal development), support for physical
activities and hobbies, as well as possibilities for development and training both
at work and during leisure, influence higher work ability and, furthermore, higher
quality of work and the enjoyment of staying in one’s job. Among older workers,
these features were also connected to active and meaningful retirement.
Myers and Diener (1995: 15) remind us in their study on ‘Who is Happy?’ that
while work provides this ‘sense of pride and belonging to a group’, which helps
‘people construct their social identity’, work is not always satisfying; people can
become overwhelmed or underwhelmed. The type of flow described in earlier chapters of this book is not always guaranteed in top workers’ jobs either. Therefore, a
life-balancing hobby can become an important part of the life of successful people.
Hobbies provide counterbalance
However, the significance of leisure was not completely absent from top workers’
narratives. The Employees of the Year tried to unwind from their arduous work
schedules and emphasised the significance of a good hobby. Hobbies were seen
not only as a counterbalance to work but also as an activity that provided
resources for work. Notwithstanding this, counterbalance was no less important;
in fact, a positive relation between feeling recovered during leisure time and job
performance over time has been proven (Binnewies et al. 2009).
For one top worker, a hobby turned into a profession; he was a handicraft artist.
In this case, his hobby had considerably influenced his career choices. According
to this top worker’s interview, he had never been interested in studying and
schooling. Instead, he enjoyed practical stuff. Therefore, after compulsory education, he found it natural to have his artistic hobby as a profession.
‘Basically, I chose my occupation after somehow finishing basic education.
Not then however, who, at least not I, would think that handicraft could be or
become a profession. You know, I did not like going to school, so I saw an
opportunity there. I could have a better occupation by entering this side door
without studying. I did not want to go to school at all. I had been doing this
ever since my early childhood, because my dad had a small hobby carpenter’s
shop. I did quite a lot of work there.’
Three other top workers described their hobbies and recognised the importance
of these hobbies in their lives. Those who mentioned their hobbies seemed to take
them seriously. Hobbies can enrich work, offer a balance to demanding work or
become an option for an alternate profession.

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For example, the priest enjoyed reading and writing both novels and poems in
his leisure time. This also enhanced the writing skills needed for his work, such
as writing sermons, speeches, articles, etc. In addition, the priest found that reading both professional and fiction works was very important for his profession.
However, writing was the priest’s most important hobby. It also offered a loophole in case a change of profession felt sensible at some point.
Another top worker described her long-term commitment to voluntary work.
She considered this hobby as a counterbalance for work. Furthermore, as her
retirement age was quite close at the time of the interview, she also regarded
voluntary work as her prospective substitute for paid work. After retirement, she
was planning to devote her time to voluntary work.
A third top worker had a different kind of hobby; he sang and played in a band,
even gigging. However, this hobby had benefitted his work too because it had
brought him publicity and coverage. Through his band, he participated in the
planning of the theme year for his union; he composed a theme song, etc. Partly,
he thought that all this activity could have played a role in him being rewarded
Employee of the Year. At the same time, he recognised all the other benefits,
some more important than others (such as wide social networks), for his day job.
‘2005 was the theme year. And I participated quite a lot in the planning. So
I was very visibly a part of this thing. And I have this band too. Our band
composed the theme song….’
Hobbies can expand your competence
The aforementioned descriptions seem to speak to the importance of good
hobbies as a component of success at work. A good hobby does not only help to
relieve work-related pressure or direct thoughts away from work; it can have
other, even surprising, benefits for work and life outside work. Hobbies provide
resources for coping, but they can also help create and maintain social relationships and networks, as the third example above gives reason to believe.
In addition, hobbies may provide a way of increasing one’s competence, skills
or knowledge in a pleasant manner. As with any other employees, top workers’
expertise develops incrementally and skills learned in leisure can eventually
boost learning and development at work in a considerable manner. Achor (2010)
talks about a ‘Zorro circle’, referring to ways in which we can achieve goals in
jobs, careers and personal lives. By first limiting the scope of efforts and accumulating resources, knowledge and confidence to expand the circle, success can be
achieved. This progress is similar in all hobbies; even if you jog as a hobby, you
will have to gradually build your physical stamina, learn how to regulate your
speed and select suitable clothes so that it can become pleasant and rewarding.
The same behaviour can be adapted for work and, if the hobby employs similar
skills used at work, it seems natural to think that the benefits are multiplied.
Hobbies also help to regulate negative emotions and moods as they ignite and
strengthen positive emotions. In addition, hobbies are often social in nature and

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are usually enjoyed with other people. Therefore, they strengthen social relationships and provide support from a social perspective (Reed and Buck 2009).
Perhaps relating to the point of view of success at work, it is important to note
that employees can adopt new useful skills, widen awareness and self-knowledge,
or even create better social networks. All these can help them face and seize challenges and opportunities at work and in life in general (Carver et al. 2009).

Caring leaders encourage employees to succeed
Next, we want to turn our attention to leaders and their chances of enhancing or
supporting employees’ success. We argue that leaders have the possibility of
creating such work conditions and atmosphere as enhance positivity in workplaces. This viewpoint is based on our studies on the ideology of love-based
leadership; but in this section we will focus on it from the particular viewpoint of
success.
The role of emotions in the leadership process has attracted increasing interest
in recent years and leaders’ emotional expressions are typically more important
to followers than the objective content of their communication (see Glasø, and
Einarsen 2008). Emotions and emotional intelligence can even be considered as
the heart of effective leadership.
Furthermore, an ethic of caring establishes a moral touchstone for decisionmaking as opposed to guiding principles that one blindly follows (Hoyle 2002).
It has also been argued that when leaders consistently exhibit love, forgiveness
and trust in relationships their employees respond with increased commitment
and loyalty.
Bass (2000) describes the important role that emotions play in contemporary
leadership by contrasting ‘transactional’ leaders with ‘transformational’ leaders.
Traditional transactional leaders focus more on mutual transactions and the
exchange of rewards for performance and efforts between the employee and the
employer instead of considering affective experiences. Transformational leaders
project a vision that their followers believe in, inspire and support the followers,
and make them feel wanted and valuable to the organisation. The latter leadership
type corresponds to our conception of a loving leader.
Current understanding that wellbeing is not only valuable because it feels good
but also because it has beneficial consequences makes a loving management
imperative in the workplaces. According to Rego et al. (2011), fostering organisational virtuousness (for example, through honesty, interpersonal respect and
compassion; combining high standards of performance with a culture of forgiveness
and learning from mistakes) improves employees’ affective wellbeing and promotes
a more committed workforce. Considering these findings and mirroring the growing
contributions of positive psychology (for example, Buss 2000; Gable and Haidt
2005; Seligman et al. 2005), it seems clear that a ‘positive-people-management’
perspective should be considered internationally by both practitioners and scholars
(see Calori 1995).

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Sensitive and loving leaders develop a culture that demonstrates concern for
individual needs in the workplace (Fairholm and Fairholm 2000), but consider
and support their followers’ personal lives as well (Ransford et al. 2008). Yet,
an organisation in which employees are happy should also make a profit in the
economic sense. However, these two factors are not mutually exclusive. It has
been shown that effective leaders are sensitive and responsive to their followers’ needs by providing advice, guidance, as well as emotional and instrumental
resources, by supporting employees’ creativity, initiative, autonomy and the
desire to meet new challenges and develop and acquire new professional skills,
thus enhancing their self-worth and self-efficacy (for example, Popper and
Amit 2009).
Happiness not only results in a quantitative improvement by increasing efficiency but also a qualitative one by making a better product or outcome by virtue
of pride, belief and commitment to one’s job. Happy employees exhibit higher
levels of job-related performance behaviours than do unhappy employees
(Wright 2004).
Therefore, emotions are also given prominence in leadership (Campbell 2007).
It has also been stated that authentic leaders are ‘as guided by the qualities of the
heart (passion and compassion) as by the qualities of the mind’ (Avolio et al.
2004: 805).
Love in leaders’ work can also be considered from the perspective of the interpersonal nature of emotions. According to Fischer and van Kleef (2010), it is
indisputable that emotions are mostly reactions to other people, that emotions
take place in settings where other people are present, that emotions are expressed
toward other people and are regulated because of other people: therefore, the
elicitation of love by understanding other people as the cause, target or third-party
observer of these emotions is necessary for leaders.
How do leaders describe love-based leadership?
Finnish and American university leaders (for example, deans, department heads,
etc.) were interviewed as a part of the Love-Based Leadership research project.
They maintained that their role in turning a vision about the state or future of the
organisation or work unit into reality was very satisfying when they could attain
a caring leadership style. On the other hand, the process of attaining caring leadership did not necessarily have to be that lengthy or be related to a vision. Some
university leaders found positive experiences in their daily work, and derived a
feeling of success from the smallest accomplishments:
‘I think that I get plenty of positive experiences, and they keep me going as
an employee. Without these experiences, I couldn’t do this job, really. At
times, I’m quite frustrated … so sometimes you can enjoy the simplest
successes.’
(Finnish leader)

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Likewise, they described taking active and prompt action when they saw something that should be done or corrected:
‘Three people were emailing each other quite blood-and-thunder messages,
and so I intervened. It seemed to me that I had to solve it and we did, at least
for a while.’
(Finnish leader)
‘It’s action, all right. You don’t just sit there and ponder, like, oh my God,
what am I going to do? You just go over there and say, hey, what’s wrong,
what are we doing wrong? … and say, this is what I understand we’re doing
wrong. You go and make it right. It’s all about action. So I think that’s the
thing I probably did best.’
(American leader)
Leaders’ actions brought about the types of positive feelings that one may experience after active, motivated and engaged effort. In addition, when a leader handles
issues in an active way, he or she simultaneously sets an example for followers
who may find the action energizing. One of the leaders noted this as follows:
‘When I was a dean at XXX University, I actually had breakfast in XX, lunch
in the middle of the state, and dinner at the far end of the state. And I came back
that night. Once my staff knew what I was doing that day, it energized them.’
(American leader)
The third category covers experiences of success that relate to working for
others or for the common good. Leaders can consider their position as an opportunity to enhance work conditions and employees’ positive development and
thriving – this can improve their own wellbeing too, not to mention the efficiency of work units.
‘I was the person in this faculty who attended every meeting and brought out
the faculty’s and students’ voices. I noticed that afterwards everything turned
out as I had hoped, so I could say I succeeded in that way.’
(Finnish leader)
‘I guess the greatest successes that come to mind first have something to do
with organizational development and the handling of conflicts among staff.
Having discussions with people and reorganizing duties within the organization, I have made at least half a dozen people so happy that they are never
absent. And they sort of find their work valuable and meaningful and feel that
they are being heard and treated well, and they feel good. I think these things
make me proudest.’
(Finnish leader)

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101

What was emphasised in these interviews was a sort of humane, caring leadership, the core of which was the leader’s authenticity and self-knowledge. One of
the US interviewees talked about servant leadership; another referred to caring
leadership; and a Finnish leader described it as dialogic leadership. However, this
kind of leadership was seen as a means of achieving benefit for all.
Employees’ success is the leader’s success as well
The findings here are in line with those of Kinnunen et al. (2008) who maintain
that increasing the rewarding aspects of work is an effective means of both
reducing staff turnover and increasing engagement among leaders. Moreover,
Schunk and Pajares (2005) have noted that a positive perception of one’s efficacy improves one’s performance and wellbeing in numerous ways. The positive experiences of leadership reported in this study can also be compared with
those described in a study by Hakanen et al. (2008). They find that job resources
(for example, autonomy, immediate feedback and rewards) are crucial to true
wellbeing and motivation at work, or work engagement, as it is sometimes
called.
When everyone in a team is excited and inspired by the task and reaches for a
common goal, a successful outcome may produce the most delightful experience
(see also Losada and Heaphy 2004). Naturally, workplaces are replete with problems and conflicts, and the purpose is not to turn a blind eye to these facts. Rather,
we seek to highlight the power of positive experiences. Seligman (2002: xi–xii)
has wisely stated: ‘There is not a shred of evidence that strength and virtue are
derived from negative motivation…. Experiences that induce positive emotion
cause negative emotion to dissipate rapidly. The strengths and virtues function to
buffer against misfortune and against psychological disorders’.
The leaders in our study emphasised working for the good and the use of reciprocal feedback practices that enhance positivity in others (see also Avey et al.
2011). This view shows the significance of caring leadership in action; it may be
directly connected to productivity among followers as a result of leaders creating
a positive and encouraging working environment; it may also have this effect
among leaders themselves (see, for example, Hoyle 2002).
‘I try to empower my team of chairs. They’re the ones that I really want out
there leading… So I try to work through them, and I’ve spent a lot of time
pruning that group, developing that group, trying to coach those people. And
I see their success as really my success.’
(American leader)
Leaders’ flow as the booster of everyone’s success
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2008) begins his comments on flow at work by saying
that ‘Like other animals, we must spend a large part of our existence making a

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living’ (p. 143), but continues ‘Because work is so universal, yet so varied, it
makes a tremendous difference to one’s overall contentment whether what one
does for a living is enjoyable or not’ (p. 144). He is talking about an ultimate
phenomenon that can occur in various areas of life; that is an autotelic experience; a total feeling of becoming absorbed by one’s doing and which contributes
to one’s perception of satisfaction with life.
The concept of flow starts to be quite a familiar one among researchers of
behavioural sciences, and yet, it is extremely adjustable with new positively
toned research trends such as, for example and especially, under the umbrella
paradigm of positive psychology (Hakanen et al. 2008; Isen and Reeve 2006;
Snyder and Lopez 2002). In this section, we discuss the phenomenon in workplace environments through a new leadership concept, love-based leadership,
and analyse the connection between flow and success at work. The viewpoint is
unique; here, we address the state of flow through leaders’ experiences. The
ultimate purpose is to view how the positive work conditions can occur in
workplaces, how leaders can enhance this kind of absorption to work, and how
leaders’ flow is connected to the overall satisfaction and wellbeing at
workplaces.
Our purpose here is to analyse the concept of flow from the point of view of
positive psychology and its core concepts, happiness, wellbeing and positivity.
This particular study focused on the positive experiences and the manifestation of
flow as a part of love-based leadership. Csikszentmihalyi’s (2008) list of the eight
elements of flow was used when analysing the leaders’ positive experiences
because it also provides illustrative examples of the multidimensional nature of
flow; being absorbent in one’s doing consists of many factors and flow can occur
for numerous reasons. In order to be called flow, one or more of the following
elements should typify the experience.
Challenging activity that requires skills
In flow it is important that one’s skills and abilities match the work at hand. It has
been shown that the optimal work experience can lead to high motivation and
activity in work. A leader’s work is something that obviously has high psychological demands (Kinnunen et al. 2008) and, as a result, it can provide numerous
varied opportunities for high-level use of one’s skills. However, not everyone is
a leader instinctively but one has to find the position suitable to oneself. This fit
was emphasised by the leaders.
‘Well, I think some people don’t really like the political dimension of leadership. And I think your reason for going into leadership has a lot to do with
that. But I think that some people don’t feel comfortable in the political role.
They don’t feel comfortable in the public eye.’
(American leader)

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103

‘You as a leader have to have quite a strong self-esteem with what you are
doing. Always when leading other people you face the fact that everyone is
not satisfied and you have to make difficult decisions. That is your job.’
(Finnish leader)
Indeed, leadership is a strength (Seligman et al. 2005) that is more peculiar to some
people than others. The leaders interviewed in our study referred to the political
nature of leadership and that one being in such a position has to feel comfortable
in it. From this perspective, the position can be seen as a combination of leadership
strengths, categorised by Rath and Conchie (2008) as execution (making things
happen), influence (selling ideas inside and out of the organisation), relationship
building (being the glue that holds teams together), and strategic thinking (focusing on the big picture and the future). When the leader’s skills match with these
kinds of challenging activities involved in leadership work, flow can occur.
Merging of action and awareness
As mentioned earlier, flow occurs as experiences of being absorbed. This means
that one concentrates fully on what one is doing instead of thinking about something
else; the level of the focus of attention at work is the key in this element of flow
(see, for example, Gardner et al. 1989). Clarity of goals and immediate feedback,
which will be discussed next in this section, lay the foundation of this experience.
‘It’s action, all right. You don’t just sit there and ponder, like, oh my God,
what am I going to do?’
(American leader)
University leaders described events like this by talking about processes they
had followed persistently or about the nature of their action as leaders. Their
workload is, naturally, heavy, which means that they have to consciously
focus on their tasks at hand. The leaders in this study described taking active
and prompt action when they saw something that should be done or
corrected. At their best, these actions provided leaders with satisfactory
work experiences.
‘I was really happy that I handled that issue so quickly.’
(Finnish leader)
Clear goals
In flow, one always knows what has to be done, and an enjoyable job always has
clear goals (see also Maier and Brunstein 2001). The work leaders doing is
special by nature when it comes to the goals of their work. Often they are the ones

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who have to define or have the possibility of defining the goals not only of their
own work but for that of their followers too.
‘I have a particular vision of what a research university should be like. I’ve
tried to invest in activities that will make the vision more real.’
(American leader)
The university leaders in the data described situations that had successful endings
or outcomes due to them having used their leadership skills. They were able to
give many examples of such situations or chains of events in which the foci or
goals of the action were at the center. These kinds of positive experiences were
described as follows:
‘It is a long process finding the right direction. When we are able to discuss
and change course in a direction that leads to a good outcome and we are all
satisfied with it; those are the best experiences of success.’
(Finnish leader)
Immediate feedback
In addition to the fact that one knows what has to be done (the goals), flow always
requires information about how well one is doing. Immediate and clear feedback
should be, therefore, received usually from the activity itself, allowing the person
to know he or she is succeeding in the set goal (see, for example, Jackson and
Marsh 1996), whereas maintaining flow in an unresponsive work unit can be difficult or impossible. Positive feedback received from others was very much appreciated. However, regardless of how positive or negative the feedback provided by
co-workers was, more important is that it should be given in context and related to
their actions. The university leaders liked positive feedback because it boosted
intrinsic motivation (see also Isen 2001; Isen and Reeve 2006; Ryan and Deci
2000).The fact that feedback had to correspond the university leaders’ intrinsic
conception of their work tells us that the leaders could also provide feedback to
themselves. Actually, this is in line with the conditions of flow too.
‘So, I had almost hundred percent positive feedback all the way. It’s flattering;
they don’t even know what they’re talking about.’
(American leader)
Concentration on the task at hand
After the merging of action and awareness, distracting issues do not bother when
doing the task at hand. Leaders emphasised the ability to focus on the person
coming to talk to you or on the event they have to handle as leaders. The ability

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105

to exclude distractions was seen as important in leader’s work, especially when it
came to the love-based action. This means that leaders wanted to show their
concern and willingness to understand and to see the employee’s perspective by
being present in the situation of talking with others.
‘You have to be able to be present in situation.’
(Finnish leader)
The leaders also expressed their willingness to do their share and raise the spirit
at the work unit by showing the way through their own work:
‘Once my staff knew what I was doing that day, it energized them.’
(American leader)
On the other hand, the process of attaining caring leadership can emerge from
very small accomplishments in leaders’ work:
‘It doesn’t have to be anything more than just finishing some paper or email.’
(Finnish leader)
All of the afore-mentioned examples show the range of elements in leaders’ work
requiring concentration. In addition, they show that if the leaders find the pleasure
from accomplishing these tasks, and if they openly show their excitement to their
followers, the positive state can contribute to the work spirit of the workplace.
Perceiving this positive outcome can act as a significant component of flow as well.
The paradox of control
The most enjoyable experiences allow people to exercise a sense of control over
their actions. This means that rather than thinking of the actual doing, they feel
the possibility of control. In a leadership position, it can manifest itself as a
leader’s perception of how action can influence in the big picture; the feeling of
power can even become addictive. The leader’s feeling of capability and being in
the right job assures about the leader’s proficiency – and the feeling of control.
‘So, we’d meet and talk about how things are to move and I don’t go on down
and telling people that this is the way it’s gonna be. You know, I want them
to know that the whole pattern needs to flow through the organization.’
(American leader)
Transformation of time
One of the most common descriptions of optimal experiences is the perception of
time and how it does not seem to pass in a way that it ordinarily does. Many

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people have experienced these changes in time. This was common to the university leaders too, but merely through the realisation that leadership was something
demanding and time-consuming, and that in order to be a good leader one has to
become free ‘from the tyranny of time’ (Csikszentmihalyi 2008: 67).
‘Good leadership takes time. You just can’t do it, you can’t be on a clock.’
(American leader)
This notion was also manifested through negative leadership experiences. The
leaders reported how they would like to have more time to do their work properly,
especially in people management.
‘I think a good leader needs to spend time and talk with people and also listen
to them. You know, not just talk at them.’
(American leader)
The loss of self-consciousness
The loss of self-consciousness is an interesting part of flow because it eventually
leads to increased self-awareness. The foundation of the loss of self-consciousness is in the clear goals, stable rules and suitable challenges and, therefore, they
involve a low risk of the self being threatened.
‘I think every leadership position that I’ve had just made me feel more alive.’
(American leader)
At the same time, when being wrapped up in one’s doing, flow requires a very
active role for the self. This means that in order to fully employ one’s abilities,
and even exceed one’s skills, one has to have a good self-conception, a profound
understanding of one’s self (see also Mäkikangas 2007). When considered from
the point of view of leadership, this idea actually comes close to the concept of
authentic leadership. The university leaders described the meaning of authenticity
and self-awareness as follows:
‘You lead people more or less with your personality.’
(Finnish leader)
Could leaders’ flow be spread among employees?
Why is it necessary to study flow and, better yet, why study leaders’ flow? The
first reason is that whenever people are in flow, they report it as a much more
positive experience than the times they are not in flow (Csikszentmihalyi 2008).
In addition, Csikszentmihalyi (2008) reports that managers and supervisors
would experience flow at work more frequently than, for example, clerical or

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107

blue-collar workers. Therefore, our leader data functioned well as the foundation
of analysing flow states from the point of view of success at work. However, we
also wanted to expand the perspective and contemplate whether leaders’ flow
could also contribute to the success of others at work.
The reason is that we wanted to analyse its manifestation in relation to the
caring leadership. As the previous descriptions of flow-like leadership experience
showed, as the leaders surfaced caring leadership practices and their experiences,
they also described enjoyment in leaders’ work.
Earlier in this chapter, we defined caring leadership as ‘a process accomplished
successfully through the exercise of one’s leadership; individual successful
events and the accomplishment of everyday duties; the leader’s own actions that
promote mutual good; and timely feedback given in context’ (see also Uusiautti
2013). This all leads to the ‘perceived meaningfulness’, one of the basic tenets of
positive psychology (Seligman 2002), and one connected to flow as well, enhancing people’s productivity, engagement (Hakanen et al. 2008), problem-solving
skills (Carver and Scheier 2005), wellbeing (Judge et al. 1997) and stability
(Kinnunen et al.2008).
Most importantly, flow is also involved with one’s skills, which is also closely
connected with the sense of meaningful doing. Actually, the connection between
the finding of one’s strengths and perceived happiness is based on the feeling of
meaningfulness (Seligman 2002).
Furthermore, the emergence of flow is dependent on how well one has recognised one’s strengths, thus being a question of self-awareness and authenticity.
To find pleasure from leadership and act in a love-based manner as a leader, one
has to be ready for self-disclosure and increasing self-awareness (Gardner et al.
2005). Love-based leadership might contribute to leaders’ work by providing
them with positive experiences, initial excitement and perceived successes as
well as a positive means to contribute, for example, to the work unit performance,
employee retention and job satisfaction as was shown in Peterson and Luthans’s
(2003) study on hopeful leaders. Such positive action described in this section
can, at its best, enhance optimism, hope, perseverance, wisdom, happiness and
creativity – and flow.
The salient conclusion is, however, that love-based leadership might contribute
not only to leaders’ optimal performances, but also to employees’ work by
providing them with positive work experiences, initial excitement and perceived
successes. These enhance positive feelings in the workplace (see also Isen and
Reeve 2006), which are vital for the emergence of flow states.
Through this kind of leadership, leaders set an example at the workplace; they
can encourage employees to seize new challenges boldly and not back away from
the challenges (see, for example, Diener, Oishi, and Lucas, 2009) in order to find
the meaning in their work. According to the ideology of love-based leadership,
leaders can enhance employees’ ability to utilise their own strengths through various love-based leadership practices in the workplace. The fundamental assumption is that leaders can act as guides, motivators and examples, as well as

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organisers of meaningful and enthusiastic doing at work (see also Rutledge
2009). This is how everyone can achieve top performances and the sense of using
their abilities to the fullest.
Our viewpoint here also offers one way of analysing the positive impact leaders
may have on performance challenges facing today’s organisations (see also
Peterson and Luthans 2003). Caring leaders try to find the road to better work
conditions, development, performance, contentment, higher motivation, and the
sense of self-efficacy in themselves and their employees – because success is also
about a sense of meaning and pleasure, the best manifested by the state of flow.

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Chapter 6

The road to success – why pursue
success at work?

Introduction
Every human being’s life abounds with promises and opportunities, and strengths
and positive resources are not attributable only to certain people. Happiness and
satisfaction must be understood as the outcome of a process of interaction
between individual characteristics and aspirations on the one hand, and social
relations and macro-social structures on the other hand (Haller and Hadler 2006).
In this chapter, we will sum up the offering of the book. First, we want to
introduce the narratives of top workers. The purpose is to highlight the processual
nature of success: to determine the core human resources and how to use human
strengths and resources for one to develop into an expert. We will introduce the
main characteristics of participants’ careers (an analysis of their narratives). After
that, we present the meta-narrative of Employees of the Year on the basis of
narrative analysis. We will conclude the processual viewpoint by looking at the
connection between resources and expertise development in the light of success
at work.
In previous chapters we introduced our viewpoints, which focused on the
phenomenon of success. The analysis has proceeded from childhood to adolescence, and from school to work life, not forgetting life outside work. Our
outlook has shown the fundamental positive approach to human development
and the meaning of recognising strengths. In this final chapter, we want to highlight two important concepts related to all previous viewpoints. Firstly, what
can be done with love when considered as one of the fundamental tenets of
positive psychology and flourishing, and how is it related to the process of
achieving success? Secondly, how can we connect the idea of love with success
and happiness?
We will recollect the main ideas of the previous chapters in the conclusion; we
will take a glance at the role of love in the human being’s lifespan and various
areas of life and show the connection with successful development. Following
this, we will move on to happiness and wrap up the analysis on the connection
between success and happiness.

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How to describe successful career processes?
The careers of successful employees can be described on the basis of different
career models and types. By considering Driver’s (1982) divisions (linear, steady
state and spiral), it became clear that career types among the top workers were
quite dissimilar. One has had a linear career, similar to climbing up a ladder.
Someone else’s career appears to have been steadier, as his or her career-related
choices presented more like a long-term commitment to his or her occupation
and work, as well as diverse areas of mastery, and less striving for promotion.
Some of the top workers’ careers were both spiral and linear, that is, careers that
thrive on alteration and new tasks and, at the same time, have a forward-moving
trajectory.
The police’s, priest’s, psychologist’s and artisan’s careers exemplified a linear
progression, even though they had proceeded without any major side-tracks in
their professions (cf. Inkson and Amundson 2002). It appeared that they had
educated themselves into their profession, enhanced their professional skills
through various in-service educational opportunities, and worked in positions that
were relevant to their profession. On the other hand, the nurse and farmer had
either educated themselves for a different occupation or previously worked in a
different field and ended up in their present occupations through various life
phases. However, all top workers could be described with the metaphor of growth
whereby a career is understood as something organic, and one is constantly developing and learning (Inkson and Amundson 2002).
An optimistic attitude is the most essential
factor in success at work
Finding an occupation that fits
In terms of actual career-enhancing factors, the top workers were able to point
to several considerations that they believed were salient. Interestingly, these
factors did not vary much between occupations. In the process of achieving
success at work, willingness to accept new challenges appeared to be an important factor. Additionally, top workers kept their professional knowledge up to
date by in-service education and especially by voluntary education, often in their
leisure time.
Still, not all of them aimed for a higher position in the hierarchy, but they could
pursue developing their professional skills, getting more diverse work tasks, or
learning entirely new fields of know-how. Additionally, these matters were
considered to enhance their work motivation and ability to cope. At its best, a
workplace provides employees with the possibilities to develop, find meaning for
life, and achieve social, emotional, and mental wellbeing (Snyder and Lopez
2002; see also Sennet 2004).

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Obstacles and misjudgments
Above all, the most special characteristic among Employees of the Year was
their positive attitude, a characteristic common to all informants. In the face of
conflict, they did not give up. Instead, they saw such situations as a good time to
reassess their occupational skills and, if necessary, to become further educated
and develop. Thus, conflict situations were seen as problems that had to be
solved.
Major obstacles were represented as conflicts experienced in the workplace.
Employees of the Year emphasised the importance of good relationships in the
workplace – not only between co-workers but also vertically between employees
and employers. Other more concrete obstacles, such as fire on the firm’s premises
or not passing an entrance examination, were confronted more realistically and
with an optimistic attitude.
Misjudgments were mainly specific to the period of their youth. These kinds of
sidetracks could be, for example, studying for an occupation that later turned out
to be unsuitable. With the aid of relevant counselling, educators may wish to
consider whether these misjudgments could be avoided. On the other hand,
misjudgments of this kind can often be useful; it is not always a waste of time
because the perspective gained from travelling on byways can actually be a valuable experience.
To sum up, top workers’ career processes were not characterised by actual
failures per se; rather, it was all about acting in a constructive way and considering those situations as opportunities for skills development.
Metaphors as analyzing tools
In order to aptly describe someone’s experience, it is necessary to find ways of
expressing this experience. This can be, for example, by using a metaphor to
describe the experience by contrasting it with something familiar. Random,
multidimensional or ambiguous phenomena can be transformed into conscious
constructions that crystallise experiences into a culturally understandable form. A
metaphor can be defined as a manner of speech in which a certain concept can be
used for clarifying the meaning of some other concept (Inkson and Amundson
2002). Therefore, the use of metaphors in research resemble a high-level analysis
of the nature of the research target.
As the Employees of the Year were also interviewed through the narrative
method, their life stories formed narratives. Narratives and metaphors function as
the foundation of creativity in language and thinking – this idea can be employed
to represent phenomena in a new light. In a metaphor, a phenomenon is named
with a familiar word. While in poetry metaphors are merely used as aesthetic
tools, in science metaphors are used for the purpose of explaining research
targets.

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Naturally, there are certain limits; it is relevant to consider when a metaphor
helps one to see the phenomenon in a new and fruitful manner. The danger is that
a metaphor simplifies and presents a stereotypical picture of the phenomenon.
Next, we will introduce the process of becoming a top worker with a metaphor of a road. The purpose is not to try to fit top workers’ lives into one mould
but, instead, to present various illustrations of possible roads that all lead to
success.
Metaphors can be divided, for example, into four categories. The first category
concerns metaphors that are connected to the passing of time (the past, present
and future). In these metaphors, people can, for example, imagine themselves at
various points on the time continuum.
Second, archetypical metaphors represent common metaphoric images. Inkson
and Amundson (2002) name ten archetypical metaphors that describe careers:
1 Journey: seeing the career as a passage on the career path leading to a certain
destination;
2 Heritage: committing to a career as something inherited from one generation
to another;
3 Fit: thinking that work life and people have certain forms and the purpose is
to find a fit;
4 Seasons: the career is seen as a series of carefully defined phases, such as
spring, summer, fall and winter;
5 Growth: the career is seen as something organic that includes constant development and learning;
6 Creative work: the career is seen as something that is self-built or constructed, a sort of work of art;
7 Network: the career is seen collectively, closely connected to the norms of
the group;
8 Resource: this way of seeing the career originates from the concepts of
management of human resources; careers are connected to economic and
organisational planning;
9 Story: when the career is seen as a story, the narrative form and the creation
of meaning are emphasised;
10 Cultural phenomenon: the career is seen as the reflection of our cultural
context.
Third is theatre metaphors in which people are regarded as the actors in the drama
of work life. The fourth type is role metaphors, which make it possible to try
various roles and find the most suitable ones for descriptive purposes.
For example, one Finnish researcher used the metaphor of the patchwork quilt
to describe the biographies of her research participants. Here, the metaphor of the
road describes the process of becoming a top worker; the road goes uphill and
downhill, it contains curves and straightaways, intersections, rest areas and sidetracks. It is also quite common to compare life to a journey.

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The ups were relatively easy to track from the stories of the Employees of the
Year. These could be divided into factors showing direction in one’s occupation
and development in one’s work. Nevertheless, finding differences between downs
and sidetracks was more challenging. For example, many of us have encountered
problems that put us in difficult situations. Usually, the situation necessitates
some sort of decision to be made. Crossroads, therefore, are not always related to
downs, setbacks or problems but can occur in the middle of a straight, good journey. Moreover, an uphill can turn into a downhill after finding a solution proves
successful and choosing the right direction at the intersection.
Amundson (2005) has also used metaphors in problem-solving. He highlights
that a metaphor is a very efficient means of separating the problem from the
person himself of herself; the metaphor externalises the problem and moves it to
a new level. Metaphoric images help with understanding what the situation is
really about. The same concerns research; metaphors help with interpretations of
the nature of the phenomenon studied.
Four roads to success at work
Success at work is not a temporary state but, rather, a process. This process will
now be described through the narratives of the Employees of the Year. The road
to success begins from childhood and then branches into four separate roads
before uniting again at the end.
Employee of the year: the journey begins
The journey begins from the childhood and adolescence of the Employee of the
Year. His parents encourage him to study and work, and support his choices.
They do not want to force him to choose a certain occupation but give important
advice: keep a resilient attitude towards work. How does the story continue? We
enter a crossroads that leads in four directions.
Road 1: straight ahead
At school, different occupations are introduced to our employee, but he does not
make his decision based on that. Instead, as a youngster, he has already formed
an idea about his field of interest, mostly due to his admiration of his relatives’
career examples and life choices.
After completing compulsory education, he applies to a school that could
prepare him for his dream occupation. However, things do not always go according to plan and he does not get into his desired school. Along the road, he finds
traffic signs that lead him to an alternative path: he discovers a different road
leading to the occupation corresponding to his dream.
The road takes him on to working life. This is a very significant phase in his
life, although getting used to work schedules and the requirements of different

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tasks takes some time. He is an enthusiastic worker with a great desire to
learn. He looks for more and more responsibilities in order to enhance his
career. To advance and meet his challenges he continually educates and develops himself.
He appreciates work that provides opportunities to develop his workplace and
himself. New challenges keep him interested and he constantly seeks opportunities to take on additional responsibilities. Transitions into positions and taking on
new tasks are important road signs on his road to success.
However, his road is not always like a smooth highway; he encounters some
bumpy gravel when he confronts obstacles and failures. He has a special way
of managing this situation; he sees these difficulties as challenges. The desire
to work well and engage with work lie in his attitude. He wants to be totally
dedicated to his work and feels driven to accomplish all the tasks he has
started.
Naturally, his dedication is shown in long work days and total concentration at
work. This is possible since his spouse takes care of the family. While the decision on this division of labour has been made jointly, he still experiences some
compunction; surely, he realises that the more time he spends at work, the less
time he has to spend with his family.
Hobbies are important to this Employee of the Year. He may also make professional use of skills acquired in his leisure time; a hobby may even offer an alternative occupation. However, being aware that there is an option might be more
important than actually using that option.
The road of the Employee of this Year clearly goes straight ahead. He has
become an innovative and enthusiastic leader or supervisor in his professional
field, wanting to devise new solutions and to develop work for the benefit of all.
This is why he has been nominated Employee of the Year. His work has been
valued.
After this reward, the Employee of the Year continues along the same way; he
seeks new challenges or possibilities to get promoted. He is not likely to change
his occupation.
Road II: driving on all the lines
This employee has determined his occupational field early on. He gets into a
school of his choice and applies himself. He even goes to his local career counselling office to be sure of his occupational choice. Moreover, he takes up work in
places that prepare him for his dream field, and this confirms to him that he is
going in the right direction.
After his studies, he receives the position of his dreams and is an extremely
diligent and devoted worker. His transition from school to work is not easy, but
it is made easier by a mentoring system in the workplace as well as a supportive
and open-minded work community. The employee advances in his career from
one project to another and faces challenges that seem overwhelming afterwards.

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This suits his way of working. He also studies during his career, both at work
and during his leisure time. Opportunities for further education are considered
‘ups’ in his road whereas conflicts between co-workers are seen as ‘downs’. He
finds these situations particularly stressful but still tries to work persistently
because he likes his area of work. Changing jobs may, however, be the only
option because he needs to be surrounded by a good work atmosphere.
Openness and giving and receiving feedback are important to him. However, he
thinks that positive feedback is believable only if it is consistent with his own
perceptions.
One of the most crucial decisions concerns combining work and family life
because he wants them to be in balance. This is challenging because of his
demanding work. The spouses often adjust their schedules in a way that allows
both to work and to be at home, especially when their children are small.
As a result of his dedication the employee climbs the ladder to higher and
higher positions. He is then nominated Employee of the Year. This is an important leg in his journey, confirming that he has chosen the right road.
His hobby represents both a counterbalance to work and a valuable leisure
activity. At the end, when he retires, a good, long-term hobby could turn out to
be surprisingly significant because it might offer a way to direct his energy to
things he is interested in.
Road III: choosing the safe mid-way
At school, this Employee of the Year received some career counselling, but it was
not of much help to him. He is not at all sure of what he wants to do and goes to
vocational school after deliberating with his friend. After a few sidetracks, he
finds a route to the right way in military service.
At the beginning of his career he works in different positions. He is interested
in his field and eagerly learns new skills. After a few years, he lands himself a
position that seems to be right for him. Being promoted is less important to him
than working autonomously and developing himself and his work. He enjoys
working and is good at it. He also thinks that good social relationships are valuable at work. He likes to brainstorm with colleagues. In addition, he reveres
giving and receiving feedback.
This Employee of the Year also invests in his family life. He wants to combine
work and family, especially when children are young. Thus, successful scheduling with his spouse brings plenty of joy and enhances his success.
This top worker thinks that the Employee of the Year nomination results from
his diligence and appreciation for his work, but he also recognises the significance of social relationships behind the nomination.
Following his nomination, his road goes on as it did before. He has never
considered a career change and is unlikely to do so in the future. He has found
the right way; by obtaining new skills and proficiency, the rest of his journey
remains interesting.

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Road IV: from byways to the interstate
After compulsory education this employee finds himself at a fundamental crossroads. He does not have a clue where he should be heading when he is already
supposed to have made a decision about his vocational education. In career counselling, the only assistance he receives is to select between general upper secondary education and vocational school, which is of no help. He has to do something,
so he goes to vocational school. Soon, he realises that he does not fit into his field
of study. He travels on several byways until, at some point, he finds a signpost
that leads him to the right direction. This kind of signpost could be found during
non-military service, a gap year or summer job.
Driving on byways is not a complete waste of time because he matures and
gains a better perspective on life along the way. Critically, he must have enough
strength to search within and listen to himself. Finding the right road is important;
ultimately, however, this can be the result of coincidence or happenstance.
Finally, the employee begins work in a job that he feels is most suitable. He
enhances his professional skills with various courses and further education. He is
also anxious to participate in in-service education. Keeping his work content
interesting is of great importance to him. He approaches his work systematically
and deepens his knowledge by gaining new areas of expertise.
Good social relationships enhance his career journey and he considers a
supportive work environment and the open flow of information important to work
satisfaction and coping. Still, conflict situations can occur and he sees them as
especially stressful and motivation-diminishing. Other obstacles might present
themselves too. The time might come to think about what would be the best solution and way forward.
The employee does not have children; work plays such a major role in his life
that distinguishing between work and leisure time sometimes seems impossible.
Hobbies present a way to concentrate on something other than work.
His road has come to the point where he is nominated Employee of the Year
because of his talents and dedication. He will continue along this path, because
he has found – after wandering aimlessly in his early life – a field that really suits
him and that allows him to use his talents and act innovatively.
The remainder of the journey
The career of the Employee of the Year does not end with this nomination; nor
does this mean that there is nothing left to achieve. Instead, this top worker
continues to seek new challenges and develop his professional skills. He will not
change his occupational field although working is not always a bed of roses. He
has found the right way.
Therefore, seeing the finishing line looming up could represent a difficult phase
for the Employee of the Year. Letting go of the work to which he has been
devoted and that has played a major role in his life will not be easy. Firstly, he

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has to admit that he is getting older. As retirement nears, one has to cut back on
work tasks and start planning for life after work. If there were no life outside
work, retirement could appear intimidating and seem like the end of the journey.
But as an Employee of the Year he will know how to deal with life after work;
he will regard it as a challenge and an opportunity to find another successful road
for the rest of his journey.
What do the stories reveal to us?
Success at work is not a temporary state but, rather, a process; the top workers’
careers were not equally logical, organised, controlled and phased. Instead of
career planning, the concept of career skills could be relevant in describing the
career journeys of these rewarded employees. This means that their careers are
seen as expedient and built on the basis of a process in which they have been
active and innovative in their search for the most suitable routes to proceed
(Amundson 2005).
There are a number of felicitous ways of describing and analysing the top
workers’ career processes. For example, according to Baltes and Freund’s (2006)
selection-optimisation-compensation (SOC) model, development through the
whole lifespan has three fundamental processes. The combination of these
processes is an efficient and versatile mechanism that individuals, groups and
societies can use in order to achieve higher action levels and to control future
challenges. The rewarded Employees of the Year had selected an occupation that
was the best fit for them, they had optimised their talents and professional skills,
and when it came to compensation, they were able to, for example, change their
plans in order to successfully handle challenging or conflict situation.
Gardner et al. (2001) encourage people to look at their work from three
perspectives: the mission (the nature of the work and why society pays for doing
this particular work – what the work’s meaning is), the standards (what kind of
performance is expected for this particular work and what kind of employee can
best perform this work), and the identity of the work (what the ethical and moral
features of the work are and how they are justified). This is precisely the kind of
reflection in which the Employee of the Year nominees constantly engaged
during their careers.
Then again, the ability to consciously control behaviour when needed has been
seen to be an essential prerequisite for the functioning and wellbeing of human
beings. People with this ability, such as the Employees of the Year, are persistent,
flexible, and are more prone to positive emotions than negative ones and to
handle the stressful situations in life efficiently (Baltes and Freund 2006).
In many ways, the Employees of the Year were quite different from each other
as we would expect from people with unique characteristics. All things considered, the core success factor is that you have an optimistic attitude toward work
and to life in general, as well as toward yourself; without faith in yourself, there
is no point in trying to succeed. Maddux (2002) sums up the recipe for success in

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the following brilliant way: ‘This truth is that believing that you can accomplish
what you want to accomplish is one of the most important ingredients – perhaps
the most important ingredient – in the recipe for success’.

On the connection between human resources
and expertise
The careers of top workers appeared process-like, similar to the development of
expertise. No doubt, all top workers participating in our studies were also experts
in their fields. Expertise is a concept that generally refers to the special know-how
of different professions (Sim and Kim 2010), although the understanding of the
nature of expertise is shown to vary, for example, by nationality (Boudreau et al.
2001; Germain and Ruiz 2009). Experts are people who possess the ultimate
skills and knowledge of their own field. They usually have long working experience and are able to apply their professional ability in practice. Thus, a certain
amount of education and work experience is usually required to become an
expert.
Although becoming an expert is an individual process, common features in that
process are the pursuit of employing topical information about how to develop
one’s own work, a reflective approach to work, strong self-direction and selfassessment. For example, Marie-Line Germain’s Generalized Expertise Measure
(see, for example, Germain and Ruiz 2009) includes 16 items that describe the
core of expertise. There are five objective items that are categorised as evidencebased items, while the remaining 11 items are subjective in nature and are categorised as self-enhancement items because of their behavioural component.
The emphasis on self-enhancement or subjective items seems clear and this is
the core of our discussion. There are many reasons, and various elements of
expertise, such as a sense of coherence, strong self-esteem and a sense of competence, which seem to prevent employees from burning out; instead, the path to
wellbeing, according to Kalimo et al. (2003), is based on strong internal personal
resources and challenging work.
However, development toward expertise does not consist only of the use of
human and social resources. According to Luthans et al. (2004) knowing ‘who I
am’ is as equally important as ‘what I know’ and ‘who I know’. The researchers
call it ‘positive psychological capital’ and claim that by focusing on personal
strengths and good qualities, employees’ confidence, hope, optimism and resilience can be developed. Self-confident and optimistic employees are open to
development and focused on gaining higher levels of expertise, and are thus able
to perform more effectively.
When the aim is to analyse people’s opportunities for achieving success, happiness and positive work experiences, human resources are one possible way of
approaching the issue. They also form the basis of developing expertise. Our
understanding is that the basis of success and wellbeing at work can be illustrated
as four fundamental human resources, each considered valuable and important

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keys to happiness and wellbeing at work and life and the development toward
greater expertise and success:
1

2

3
4

Positive feelings enhance intellectual thinking and problem-solving skills,
decrease defensive attitudes, deliberate, improve memory and helpfulness.
Therefore, they function as an employee’s emotional resources at work.
Good interaction skills such as empathy, flexibility, patience, care and interest are significant social resources that support the creation and preservation
of good and close relationships.
Features such as willpower, self-regulation, self-appreciation and inner motivation are regarded as cognitive resources.
The fourth dimension is action. At its best, employees may experience joy of
work, work drive, empowerment and reach the experiences of flow when
they are riveted by tasks where their expertise is employed, where they have
the possibility to develop on a level where they are ready to work to the
limits of their talents. Here, these kinds of resources are referred to as functional resources.

When a human being is able to get the most of his or her resources, he or she is
likely to get positive feedback and recognition from others, succeed and experience heightened self-appreciation. The employee wants to develop and strives in
order to perform better. Through this kind of professional development, the
employee notices his or her success and abilities and can become an active expert
who expects good things to happen – in other words, this employee is optimistic.
We claim that this kind of positive cycle lays the foundation for finding happiness
at work as it represents the true opportunity of self-fulfillment at work and a
positive path.
Happiness and satisfaction must be understood as outcomes of an interactive
process between individual characteristics and aspirations, on the one hand, and
social relations and macro-social structures, on the other hand (Haller and Hadler
2006). Kinjerski and Skrypnek (2006) have listed factors that are associated with
individuals’ experiences of spirit at work. These factors can also be considered
essential in definitions of love for work:
1
2
3
4
5

Leaders and senior members who inspire employees through their leadership
and example;
A strong organisational foundation that includes a shared vision, mission,
purpose and an intention to contribute to the overall good of society;
Organisational integrity and work that is aligned with its mission and
purpose;
Positive workplace culture, including a positive physical space for employees to work in;
Positive connections between all members and a sense of community in the
organisation;

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6
7

Why pursue success at work?

Opportunities for members to pursue professional and personal growth and
to fulfil their own personal mission through work; and
Appreciation and regard for the contributions made by its members
(Kinjerski and Skrypnek 2006: 290–291).

Kinjerski and Skrypnek’s description is interesting as it presents only one reference on physical working conditions (the positive physical space for employees
to work in) while the others refer to inspiration, mission and purpose, good intention and integrity, as well as to positive culture and inter-worker connections,
including appreciation. Opportunities to develop oneself professionally and
personally, for their part, also strengthen positive feelings toward work.
The use of resources and development and positive experiences at work can
develop into ‘love for work’. Love for work resembles voluntary altruistic or
helpful acts that have the potential to enhance organisations, otherwise referred
to as organisational citizenship behaviour. Individuals may make voluntary
contributions that go beyond specific task performance or the psychological
contract with the employer and these behaviours are intended to help people and
the organisation.
But how do you find love for work? How do you enjoy work so much that you
can honestly say that you love it? From where can we draw this positive state – or
better yet, where does this love come from? How can one grow into such a person
who knows his or her weaknesses and strengths and believes in his or her opportunities and talents? We will now sum up our findings from our love research.

Love – the greatest of all
In previous chapters, we referred to love in many connections throughout this
book. Our fundamental assumption is that love, in the sense we represent here, is
a manifestation of balanced development, satisfaction and acceptance of oneself,
and of an optimistic attitude toward the others and the surrounding environment.
The very first form of love in a child’s life is parental love expressed by the
child’s parents (Määttä and Uusiautti 2012). Parents have the main responsibility
for rearing their children but they can do it in a way that enhances positive development. Parental love secures children’s wellbeing and positive development in
at least two ways: 1) by setting safe boundaries and 2) constructing self-esteem.
Children need experiences of success, appreciation and encouragement, but
equally important is that children have distinct and safe limits. Parental love
appreciates the child and does not abandon the child even when his or her behaviour causes disappointment and trouble. Successful rearing does not clear the
obstacles of life but helps children learn to confront, tolerate and overcome the
inevitable difficulties. Parental love prepares the child for the future and attitudes
toward the world – all people and phenomena in it – are learned from home. This
was very apparent in top workers’ autobiographical narratives as well. Every
parent can be loving and thus provide their children with the first requisites for

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125

finding their strengths, appreciating themselves, and being open to the opportunities the world offers them.
Along with parental love, children may receive care and support from their
grandparents (Maijala et al. 2012). In many families, a grandparent is an important member of the family and the family network (see, for example, Harper and
Ruicheva 2010; Johnson 1998). Grandparenthood involves various roles and
dimensions that affect how grandchildren are raised and nurtured. Grandparenthood
is part of the lifespan whereby grandmothers and grandfathers receive a significant amount of resources from their grandchildren and create a good and harmonious life. Grandparenthood can be dissected into the supporters and connectors
of intergenerational relationships. Usually, grandparenthood is perceived positively (Powdthavee 2011) although grandparenthood itself has changed dramatically over the decades (Sciplino et al. 2010). Grandparenting can enrich life in a
way that enhances the wellbeing of grandparents themselves and promotes their
successful ageing. Furthermore, grandparents’ roles are also developmentally
beneficial, not only to grandchildren and their parents but also to grandparents
themselves (see Thiele and Whelan 2006). Fundamentally, the most important
task in grandparenting is the ability to act as a grandparent – in other words, to
love as a grandparent (Maijala et al. 2012).
Indeed, top workers talked about parents and grandparents who had encouraged them, supported them, or acted as role models along their paths to success
at work. In addition, their stories showed that other types of close relationships
were crucial to their development such as, for example, friendships.
Plato (see Irwin 1979) and Aristotle (1981) contemplated what friendship was
all about and what characteristics a friend should possess. The phrase ‘platonic
friendship’ harks back to Ancient Greece and refers to a non-sexual friendship
(Leone and Hawkins 2006). As friendship is based on free choice, there have to
be reasons that people are encouraged to build friendships and reasons that
make them worth cherishing (Schmalenbach 1977/1922). Overall, friendship
has acquired a whole new meaning in modern everyday life (Lindgren 2012;
Pahl 2000).
In psychology, special attention has been paid to the selection of friends (for
example, Van de Bunt 1999), how friendship is born (for example, Hallinan
1979), and what kind of people become friends (Fisher 1982). There are several
theories about selecting friends. According to reinforcement theory, we like
people who reinforce us and our behaviour (Patterson 2007) whereas the investment models say that we enjoy being with people we can benefit from (Rusbult
et al. 2007). Friends share, for example, the same age and similar attitudes and
basic values. Friendship offers companionship and support that can be emotional,
practical and material (Allan 1989) – and therefore, friendships and love from a
friend can enhance one’s success and happiness in numerous ways.
We spend a great part of our lives in school, at various education levels. Also,
success processes described by top workers included rich and diverse memories
from school years. We have paid much attention to the role of caring teacherhood

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on the road to success and, indeed, the love manifested by teachers cannot be
underestimated. The ethics of caring concerns teaching (Gilligan 1982) and, in
fact, caring has been discussed as the central aim and method of education (see
Burns and Rathbone 2010; Noddings 1988). A teacher’s ethical caring means
genuine caring, aspiring to understand and make an effort in terms of pupils’
protection, support and development. Because of this pedagogical caring, a
teacher especially pursues pupils’ potential to develop and thus help them to find
and use their own strengths.
For decades, this kind of pedagogical love has been considered the core factor
in the definition of good teacherhood, though the characteristics of a good teacher
have always included various features. Features such as the ability to maintain
discipline and order, set a demanding goal level, and the mastery of substance
have been especially emphasised (see, for example, Davis 1993; Hansen 2009;
Zombylas 2007). Consequently, even teacher education has focused more, for
example, on teachers’ didactic skills, as well as the ability to teach subjects and
maintain social order (see, for example, Jakku-Sihvonen 2005). However, education and teaching aimed at bringing out personalities cannot succeed without a
loving attitude (Haavio 1948). Indeed, Haavio (1948) has highlighted the moral
nature of pedagogical love; pedagogical love is addressed to every learner regardless of his or her various outer abilities, features, appearance, behaviour or
personality traits. Pedagogical love is a way of teaching. Love appears in teaching
as guidance toward disciplined work, but also as patience, trust and forgiveness.
The purpose is not to make learning fun, easy or pleasing but to create a setting
for learning whereby pupils can use and develop their own resources and proceed
at the maximum of their own abilities. A teacher’s love for a pupil embodies the
continuous trust that there is more to a learner than is shown on the surface. For
instance, in situations in which a learner’s progress is slow or tangled, a loving
teacher takes care that the learner does not lose trust in his or her own learning in
times of frustration (see, for example, Hatt 2005; van Manen 1991; Äärelä 2012).
In adulthood, partner selection and mutual life after finding a suitable life
companion are topical. The form of love changes to romantic love. Seligman
(2002) distinguishes the capacity to love from the capacity to be loved. People
with a secure love style find it relatively easy to get close to others, and they do
not worry about being abandoned or someone getting too close (Seligman 2002).
Myers and Diener (1995: 15) point out that ‘Throughout the Western world,
married people of both sexes report more happiness than those never married,
divorced, or separated’. Seligman (2002) claims that romantic love is more of a
potential factor of happiness than is job satisfaction, for example. This is also
important for the analysis of success. In Chapter 4, we showed that regardless of
solutions, people did not want to achieve success at the expense of other. This
does not feel right; but it has nothing to do with true happiness either.
We now come to work. All previous forms appear to set the foundation for love
for work (Uusiautti and Määttä 2011). Love for work invokes conflicting
emotions. Because of love for work, people stretch and enjoy the results of their

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127

diligence. However, love for work can become enervating and can completely
consume one’s energy. Work, joy of work and success at work are, at best, the
spice of life and the most satisfying feeling.
Love for work provides the means for individual and societal development.
Positive concepts that describe wellbeing and happiness at work are relevant
highlights in discussions of the positive effects of work. Thus, work can become
not only the most satisfying element in life (Csikszentmihalyi 2008) but also add
focus and purpose in life – and is thus closely connected to happiness.
In all, successful development does not only mean success at work, but we
want to highlight the holistic nature of success thinking, especially from the point
of view of happiness. Still, love and happiness are quite personal matters.
According to our studies, love ultimately appears as actions: giving, caring,
responsibility and respect. Love can become an important source of satisfaction,
a creator of vigour and energy, and the footing of success.

Not just survival then, but flourishing!
Shawn Achor (2010: 3) started his book on finding success and performance at
work by criticising the common belief: ‘If you work hard, you will become
successful, and once you become successful, then you’ll be happy’. As the previous chapters have shown, success does seem to require hard work. Yet, it is
possible to see the connection between success and happiness. Achor argues that
happiness comes first, which then leads to success. He bases his viewpoint on
results from many other studies that happy people work more and better, are more
efficient and, by being happy, they are also friendly and helpful; consequently,
they help the whole organisation to succeed.
While his conclusions are correct, this is not quite the same viewpoint we want
to offer. Our studies show that success and happiness go hand in hand. We will
discuss this in detail at the end of this chapter. But the key point is that the discovery of human strengths, a balanced life, satisfaction and support can lead a person
to a path that is not only filled with feelings of happiness and a meaningful life
but also shows the way to success.
In Chapter 2, we presented a theoretical introduction to the elements of
success. The selection of certain concepts, such as (intrinsic) motivation, work
engagement, self-efficacy and positive strategies, was deliberate as the purpose
was to explore the possible connection between success at work and human
wellbeing.
More than four decades ago, Hall and Lawler (1970: 272) stated that:
‘Successful integration of the individual with the organization can come about
where the job behaviors that lead to satisfaction of such higher-order needs as
autonomy, achievement, esteem, and self-fulfillment also lead to high performance’. Fostering organisational virtuousness (for example, through honesty,
interpersonal respect and compassion; combining the high standards of performance with a culture of forgiveness and learning from mistakes) improves

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Why pursue success at work?

employees’ affective wellbeing and promotes a more committed workforce
(Rego et al. 2011). In practical terms, this is illustrated in the phenomenon ‘the
joy of work’ (Varila and Lehtosaari 2001). It is a state experienced when an
employee works as an engaged subject who can actively and comprehensively
use his or her skills. In addition, the feeling of having found work that is suitable
for oneself is essential. It is possible to define two kinds of joy of work: the
passive one can be described as contentment with the relationship between one’s
actions and reality. Thus, the joy of work is like an assessment. The active joy of
work results from active behaviour and is merely an inner feeling. The joy of
work can be a steady state, an overall happiness. However, it can also be experienced as a captivating emotion when it actually resembles the experience of flow.
Is there a connection between success and happiness?
First, we want to highlight an interesting theory of personal happiness.
Dr Seligman (2002) distinguishes three levels in happiness: 1) pleasure and
gratification, 2) embodiment of strengths and virtues, and 3) meaning and
purpose. He (Seligman 2002: 160) states that:
while the pleasant life might bring more positive emotion to one’s life, to foster
a deeper, more enduring happiness, we need to explore the realm of meaning.
Without the application of one’s unique strengths and the development of
one’s virtues towards an end bigger than one’s self, one’s potential tends to be
whittled away by a mundane, inauthentic, empty pursuit of pleasure.
The point suggested by Seligman is profound and far-reaching. He argues that
through the use of signature strengths, people can have a meaningful life. Having
a meaningful life is therefore connected to authentic happiness. Why are people
happy when they utilise their strengths? The answer is because they have a sense
of ownership and authenticity, and feelings of excitement, invigoration, joy, zest
and enthusiasm (Seligman 2002). When people experience such positive
emotions and have the desire to employ these strengths, they also feel happy.
Likewise, instead of focusing on problems and stress-factors of today’s work
life, we wanted to focus this conceptual review on the positive sides of human
behaviour, development and success (see also Almost and Spence Laschinger
2002; Spence Laschinger et al. 2004). Figure 6.1 illustrates the interconnectedness of the elements introduced above.
The fundamental idea of this illustration is that success is 1) dependent on
certain factors, 2) necessitates action, and 3) manifested through certain
outcomes.
The first section of the diagram means that success in any area of life can
consist of various elements that can be roughly divided into individual-bound
factors and context-bound factors. They form the preconditions of success.
However, success is not a state that will miraculously materialise; it requires

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129

PRECONDITIONS
OF SUCCESS
Individual-bound
factors:
- Intrinsic motivation;
- Wide/profound
competence;
- High-level/steady
performance;
- Positive strategies.
Context-bound
factors:
- Opportunities/
limitations;
- Expectations;
- Demands/
obligations.

ACTIVITIES OF
SUCCESS WITHIN
THE INDIVIDUAL –
CONTEXT
INTERACTION
- Using one’s
strengths;
- Seizing
opportunities;
- Pursuing personal
development.

CONSEQUENCES
OF SUCCESS
- Positive emotions
and attitudes
toward oneself
and others;
- Sense of meaning
and purpose.
- HAPPINESS AND
WELLBEING.

Figure 6.1 The elements of success and their interconnectedness (Uusiautti, 2013).

action. Likewise, certain motivational and contextual factors play a salient role in
the process as they are also closely connected to a sense of capability or selfefficacy (see for example, Duda and Nicholls 1992). When it comes to positive
development and the background factors of success, we have concluded that
‘experiences and events taking place in childhood and adolescence can be crucial,
or at least, direct people in a right direction’ (Uusiautti and Määttä 2013: 69). So
the push toward to success can be a sum of many factors engendering a sense of
purposeful doing and, consequently, a sense of finding the right path. It means
that when the individual-bound and context-bound features are synchronised (see
also Magnusson and Mahoney 2006), the individual can seize the opportunities,
use his or her strengths, and actively pursue personal development. What then is
the result? Success in this perspective is manifested as positive emotions and
attitudes, which means a good feeling of oneself, one’s capability, and one’s
place in the world. This kind of sense of purpose and meaning are the core of
happiness (see Seligman 2002).
In sum, success is considered a combination of feelings of expertise, competence, accomplishments, top performances, and the use of positive strategies (see
Uusiautti 2008, 2013; Uusiautti and Määttä 2010, 2011) within a particular
context. Therefore, success is not defined as the achievement of a certain goal or
position in life (for example, becoming a top pianist or a CEO). It is achievable
by anyone who discovers his or her strengths, finds the motivation to use them,
applies positive strategies, but also realises the opportunities and limitations of
the context. This viewpoint does not turn a blind eye to mistakes, hardships or
poor conditions. The question is merely about the realisation that success can be

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Why pursue success at work?

understood positively as a means of positive development and a route to wellbeing and happiness at their fullest; moreover, success requires action and personal
effort. Although success has context-bound features, it is also quite individualistic when seen as a manifestation of personal growth, effort and good outcomes.
Let us take an example. In order to be able to examine someone’s success, one
has to be competent in that particular area – for example, school mathematics.
Competence and the ability to learn are not sufficient; one also has to have the
motivation to learn and use mathematics. Then, in order to be successful at mathematics, one has to perform well in that area. The fourth dimension adds a longitudinal aspect to success, that being positive strategies. In order to be successful
in mathematics one has to possess the necessary skills to optimise one’s development by aiming to learn as widely as possible to become a straight-A student in
maths or in order to figure out a difficult task. All this happens in context; the
person can be encouraged, supported, taught and mentored by parents, friends,
relatives or teachers. The school can apply a mathematics curriculum that
enhances the mathematics enthusiast’s skills, and he or she seizes the opportunities to utilise this maths talent. Success in maths can eventually lead to positive
feelings about oneself as a whole and ignite an optimistic attitude toward one’s
chances and the future; mathematics could also be something one can continue to
work with in later life. This is the foundation of success. When these areas
overlap, the individual can develop and grow to his or her fullest, use his or her
strengths, have positive experiences and have a sense of purpose in life. For the
aforementioned mathematics enthusiast, being able to learn about maths and
using mathematical talents, finding pleasure and joy from learning and working
with maths, and then finding it important and meaningful, can provide him or her
with positively-toned success that becomes a source of happiness that can be
found by finding strengths and interests and actively applying them in life.
Happiness as the by-product of the pursuit of success
It seems, therefore, that from the viewpoint presented here, success is connected
to happiness. Why is it important to talk about happiness? Happiness is not only
important to individual people themselves, but it also benefits society as a whole
(Gilpin 2008). According to numerous studies on happiness, happy people have
been shown to be open, courageous, trusting and helpful (Seligman et al. 2005;
see also Gilpin 2008); friendly and non-materialistic (see, for example, Fishbach
and Labroo 2007; Otake et al. 2006; Polak and McCullough 2006); and cooperative, pro-social, benevolent and ‘other-centered’ (Lyubomirsky et al. 2005). The
positive feeling of using one’s strength is ultimately connected to authenticity.
This is where strengths and authentic experiences are connected to happiness and
wellbeing. But they are also connected to another phenomenon, namely, success.
Evidence suggests that happy people perform better at work than those who
report low wellbeing. Furthermore, happy workers are better organisational citizens because they help other people at work in various ways (see Diener and

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131

Seligman 2004). Happiness can be directly translated into engagement, productivity and satisfaction – the wide definition of productive work (see Prewitt 2003).
Likewise, according to Lyubomirsky et al. (2005), positive affect is associated
with multiple positive outcomes, including better performance ratings at work,
higher salaries and improved health.
Like happiness, success is a subjective, personal experience, and personal
achievements are evaluated in different ways (Maddux 2002). However, this
theoretical analysis on success sought to highlight that we need to understand the
cognitive and motivational processes that maintain and even increase positive
spirits and emotions important for, for example, problem-solving skills, innovative action (Isen 2001; 2003) and happiness (see also Lyubomirsky 2001;
Ojanen 2001).
Luthans et al. (2004: 49) call for the recognition of the full force of the importance of human factors in meeting the tremendous challenges faced in work life
now and in the future. Germain and Ruiz (2009) point out that an expert is not
only someone who knows information but also someone who is able to apply and
transfer knowledge. Moreover, the goal of today’s occupational education should
at least be the development of the expertise of trainees. We agree with Mikucka
(2013: 259) that ‘good work, work that fits human needs, does not have to be the
luxury of the rich classes and the rich developed societies’. Indeed, our purpose
is to contribute to this discussion by highlighting the significance of various
human resources to the singular employee’s abilities to not only confront the
challenges set by work today, as well as in the future, but also to develop, experience expertise, success and, consequently, to find fulfillment in his or her work.
Better yet, on the basis of what we have learned from the top workers, the ability
to express oneself as one really is can be seen as crucial when work becomes a
labour of love.

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pp. 355–367

Notes on the authors

Satu Uusiautti (left) and Kaarina Määttä (right)

Satu Uusiautti, Ph.D. has worked as a researcher at the University of Lapland.
She is an Adjunct Professor in Educational Psychology at the University of
Helsinki, Finland. Her personal research interests are in positive psychology and
human strengths, happiness, success and wellbeing in life in general but especially in diverse work and education contexts. Her latest publications include
How to Study Children? Methodological Solutions of Childhood Research
(edited by S. Uusiautti and K. Määttä, Lapland University Press, Finland, 2013)
and Many Faces of Love (K. Määttä and S. Uusiautti, Sense Publishers, 2013).

Notes on the authors

137

Kaarina Määttä, Ph.D. is the Professor of Educational Psychology at the Faculty
of Education, University of Lapland, Finland. During her career she has supervised over 50 doctoral theses, written hundreds of articles and dozens of textbooks, especially about love, human strengths, early childhood education and
student guidance, and teacher training and teacherhood. Her latest publications
include Obsessed with the Doctoral Theses: the Supervision and Support in the
Phases of Dissertation Process (edited by K. Määttä, Sense Publishers, 2012),
Early Child Care and Education in Finland (edited by K. Määttä and S. Uusiautti,
Routledge, 2013), and Sámi Education (authored by P. Keskitalo, K. Määttä and
S. Uusiautti, Peter Lang, 2013).

Index

abilities 13
absenteeism 34
absorption 10, 13, 14, 31
accomplishments 45, 46, 99
achievement(s) 6, 7, 17, 42, 58, 127
Achor, S. 8, 127
Ackerman, P.L. 13
action-related attributes 18
action(s): of good supervisors 79; intrinsic
attribution 11; love as 127; merging
awareness and 103; pedagogical 68; and
success 123; wellbeing-promoting 69
active jobs 10, 16
adaptation 35, 44
adaptive creativity 37–8
adherence 9
adjustability 58
Adler, P.T. 9
adolescence see childhood and adolescent
experiences
advice 63, 99
affect 6, 7
affection 67
altruistic acts 124
Amundson, N.E. 116, 117
analysis of narratives 21
analyzing tools: metaphors as 115–17
Anderson, N. 38
anxiety 60
appreciation 49; of beauty and excellence
37, 42; of challenging work 29–32;
child’s need for 124; of families 2;
of marriage and marital happiness/
satisfaction 94; of work 13, 119
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) 69
archetypal metaphors 116
Argyle, M. 30
Aristotle 125

Arnold, J. 30, 44, 65
Arnold, K.A. 51
Aspinwall, L.G. 88
atmosphere 12, 48, 51, 73, 79
attachment 58, 68
attitudes: about future and future
occupations 63; change in 2; home
influence 59; imbibing brisk 65–7;
and persistence 39; proactive 32, 44;
respectful marital 94; and success at
work 114–15; towards opportunities 33,
see also positive attitudes
attributes: of top workers 18–19
authentic leadership 106
authenticity 36, 39, 43, 44, 101, 106,
107, 128
authority (pedagogical) 67, 68, 70
autonomous motivation 9
autonomy 6, 11, 15, 30, 33, 34, 58, 96,
101, 127
autotelic experience 102
awareness: merging action and 103; of
one’s strengths and weaknesses 9, 44,
65; of the real consequences of work
15; of reality 8
Baltes, P.B. 14, 35, 121
Barnett, R.C. 88, 93
Bass, B.M. 98
Baum, N. 2
beauty 37, 42
behaviour 12, 16; conscious control
of 121; context and 15; positive 58;
positive organisational (POB) 22;
understanding 88
belief(s) 8, 11, 72
belittlement 49
benefit value 11–12

Index
Berscheid, E. 58, 88
big optimism 8
biological aspects 16
blending 89
border crossers (family-work) 89
Boreham, N. 48
boundaries 124
Bradbury, T.N. 22
bravery 36, 39, 40, 45, 50
‘broaden-and-build’ model 6–7
Brown, K.W. 51
Caldwell, C. 71
capability 47, 105
career(s): -related hardships 64; change
119; choices 59–64, 65, 96, 117, 118;
counselling 61–4, 65, 66, 118, 119, 120;
enhancement 65, 114; metaphors 116;
orientation 2; skills 121; types 114
caring 66, 123, see also ethics of caring
caring leadership 98–108
caring teacherhood 67–76, 126
Carver, C.S. 14, 44
causal thinking 10
challenge(s) 47, 49; expectations and
reaction to 14; and performance 11, 15;
willingness to accept new 114; workrelated 10, 15, 29–32, 102–3
change: in attitudes 2; developmental 14;
societal 16, 63; willingness to tolerate 38
character 66
child-centred upbringing 66
childhood and adolescent experiences
57–67
civic skills 6
clarity 71, 103–4
Clark, S.C. 89
climate 49
co-workers 30, 33, 48, 104
cognition 12
cognitive skills 10
coherence 122
colleagues 12
collective competence 48
comfort 71
commitment 6, 70, 71, 72, 98
communal experiences 47–8
communal factors 49, 50
communication 9, 91
community 123
compassion 67, 98
compensation (SOC model) 14

139

competence 9–10, 11, 12–13, 15, 47, 48,
66, 97–8, 122, 130
competition 73
competitions: selection of employees of
the year 18
compromise(s) 58, 89, 91, 93–5
concentration 10, 13, 80, 104–5, 118
Conchie, B. 103
concrete accomplishments 45, 46
confidence 66, 122
conflict situations 13, 31, 38, 115, 120
consistency 65
consummate passion 34, 50–1
contentment(s) 30, 32, 33, 102
contextual factors 12, 15–17, 35, 129, 130
control: of behaviour 121; leadership and
105; parent’s belief in child’s sense of 65,
see also perceived control; work-control
cooperation 30
coping 10, 44, 58, 88, 95, 97, 114, 120
core skills 29–30
counselling 115
counterbalance: hobbies as a 96–7
courage 36, 38, 39–40, 65
Covey, S.R. 14
Covington, M.V. 12
‘creative work’ metaphor 116
creativity 11, 36, 37–8, 115
credibility 9
crossroads 117, 120
Cruce, T. 71
Csikszentmihalyi, M. 1, 95, 101, 102, 106
cultural norms 14
‘cultural phenomenon’ metaphor 116
curiosity 36, 38, 46
curriculum/work 78–9
customers: perceiving students as 75–6
data-driven categorisation: of success 49
Deci, E.L. 9
decision-making: ethics of caring 72, 98;
family-oriented workers 91; issues for
spouse in work-related 88; participation
15; prudence in 42
dedication 13, 31, 43, 118, 119, 120
demands 16
depression 8
design (AI process) 69
destiny (AI process) 69
development 33, 35; opportunities for
15, 33, 47, 96, 124, see also personal
development; positive development;

140

Index

professional development;
self-development
developmental change 14
developmental processes 16, 57
developmental stages 10
diachronic perspective 35
dialogic leadership 101
Diener, E. 1, 2, 6, 50, 96, 126
diligence 43, 119
diligent colleagues 12
disappointments 60
discipline 126
discover (AI process) 69
dispositional optimism 8
distractions 105
divergent creative reasoning 38
Dixon, R.D. 71
dream (AI process) 69
Driver, M.J. 114
Eccles, J.S. 11
education 33, 47; goals 59; good practices
71; ideal institutions 79–80; in-service
and voluntary 114, 120; occupational
131; socioeconomic factors and
achievement 58; solidarity among
students and faculties 73–5, see also
further education; higher education;
teacher education
educators: imbibing optimism from 65–7
effective leadership 72, 98, 99
efficiency 6, 11, 51, 72, 99, 100
egalitarian relationships (marital) 92
emotional expressions 98
emotional intelligence 72, 98
emotional intimacy 90
emotional resources 99
emotional rules 42
emotions 72; in leadership process 98,
99; regulation of 9–10; and social
intelligence 40, see also negative
emotions; positive emotions
empathy 9, 67, 123
employees: needs and motivation 12;
spreading flow among 106–7
Employees of the Year 23n; criteria for
17–19, see also ‘top workers’ study
empowerment 71, 77, 101, 123
encouragement 65, 98–108, 124
energy 13, 38
engagement 65, 131, see also student
engagement; work engagement

enthusiasm 13, 31, 128
equality 12
esteem 127
ethics of caring 67, 72, 98, 126
events: negative 8, 34, 69; optimism and
experience of 8
example setting 74–5, 100, 123
excellence 37, 42
excitement 48, 107, 128
execution 103
expectation value 11, 12
expectations 7, 8, 12, 14, 16, 32, 50, 71, 78
experiences: of the importance of work 15;
qualitative research 1; of success 44–51,
69, see also negative experiences;
positive experiences
expertise 15, 18, 47, 67, 122–4, 131
failures 118
fairness 12, 36, 40–1, 47–8
faith in oneself 121
family 2, 32, 58, 59
family-oriented relationships 90
family-work balance 88–9, 90–3, 119
family-work interaction 88–93
favours 48
feedback 15, 119
Feldt, T. 6
financial success 2
Finnish married couples study 21–2
Finnish social policies 87–8
Finnish workers 2, 33, see also ‘top
workers’ study
Fischer, A.H. 99
‘fit’ metaphor 116
flexibility 11, 15, 38, 58, 68, 69, 89,
121, 123
flow 6, 7, 10, 13–14, 31, 46, 49, 96, 101–7, 123
forgiveness 36, 41, 68, 71, 98
Fredrickson, B.L. 1, 6, 7, 34, 70
free-time activities 65, 78, 95
Freund, A.M. 14, 35, 121
friendship 32, 61, 125
Frone: M.R. 88, 89
functional resources 123
further education 119, 120
Gable, S. 5
gap year 63–4
Gardner, H. 13, 121
gender 14
gender roles 95

Index
Germain, M.-L. 131
Gillham, J. 7
Gilligan, R. 65
goal orientation 38
goal theories 11
goal value 11–12
goal-oriented action 68
goals 7, 12, 14, 35, 44, 51, 59, 70, 103–4
Goleman, D. 80
good deeds 48
good human beings 68
grandparents 125
gratification 128
gratitude 37, 42
group level success 6
group work 38
‘growth’ metaphor 114, 116
guidance 76, 79, 99
guilt 60, 94
Hackman, J.R. 15
Haidt, J. 5
Hakanen, J. 101
Hall, D.T. 127
hands-on experiences 45
happiness: at work 30; caring teacherhood
70, 71; curiosity and 38; and efficiency
6, 72, 99; hedonic treadmill theory 14;
interaction and 113, 123; levels of 128;
love for work 127; marital 90, 94, 126;
mindfulness and 51; modesty and 41;
perceived 51, 107; studies/research 2,
5–6; and success 6, 127, 128–31
The Happiness Advantage 8
hardships 64
Hare, W. 67, 70
Harjunen, E. 67
health 8, see also mental health; physical
health
health and fitness programmes 96
healthy work 51
Healthy Work Model (HWM) 6
hedonic treadmill 14
‘heritage’ metaphor 116
high expectations 71
high performance 51, 127
high performance cycle 11
high performance jobs 15–16
high self-efficacy 13, 39, 51
high standards of performance 98
high work engagement 34, 51
higher education 70–6

141

higher-order needs 127
hobbies 11, 32, 58, 78, 95–8, 118, 119, 120
holistic perspective 32
home 2, 58, 59
honesty 98
hope 6, 7, 8, 34, 37, 43, 45, 60, 70, 122
hopeful leaders 107
housework 95
human resources 122–4, 131
humanistic work values 51
humanity 36, 40
humility 70
humour 37, 43
Hyde, J.S. 93
identity: competence and well-developed
9; of work 121
idols 61
imagination 65
immediate feedback 14, 30, 101, 103, 104
in-service education 114, 120
income 2, 92
independence 38, 90
indifference 10
individual factors 49, 50
individualism 95
informal organisations 15
information-seeking 38
Inkson, K. 116
inner direction 38
inner drive/motivation 9, 123
inner processes 16, 57–8
innovations 38
innovativeness 7, 131
inspiration 13, 31
instrumental resources 99
intelligent thought 49
interaction: and development 16; familywork 88–93; happiness and satisfaction
113, 123; pedagogical 67; skills 9, 123
interdependence 48, 90
interesting content 33, 120
interest(s) 65, 123
interviews (‘top workers’ study) 20
intrinsic motivation 7, 9, 11, 34, 51, 94
investment models 125
invigoration 128
Isen, A.M. 1, 7
Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Model 30
job resources 30, 101
job satisfaction 107, 120, 126

142

Index

‘journey’ metaphor 116
‘journey’ narratives 117–21
joviality 43
joy 6, 49, 128; of work 7, 31, 46, 123, 128
justice 36, 40–1, 48, 67
Kalimo, R. 122
Kanfer, R. 13
Karasek, R. 10, 16
Karney, B. 22
Kaufman, H.G. 15
Kezar, A.J. 71
kindness 36, 48
Kinjerski, V. 124
Kinnunen, U. 34, 101
Kinzie, J.L. 71
knowledge 13, 14, 36, 37–9, 47, 62, 65, 77,
79, 97, 114, 120, see also self-knowledge
Krueger, D.W. 8
Kuh, G.D. 78
Latham, G.P. 11
Laubach, M. 15
Lawler, E.E. 127
leadership 6, 36, 40, 41, 123, see also
caring leadership; caring teacherhood
learned helplessness 8
learned hopefulness/optimism 8
learning: environments 71; from mistakes
63, 98; life-long 35, 63; love of 36, 38,
46; motivation for 130; relationships 67
leisure 95, 97
Lent, R.W. 39
Lerner, R.M. 66
life crises 10
life management 35
life satisfaction 6, 7, 8
life situations 32, 51, 88
life-long learning 35, 63
lifespans: positively behaving people 6, 16
limitations 14, 16
linear careers 114
listening to oneself 64, 65
little optimism 8
Locke, E.A. 11, 14
Lopez, S.J. 59
love 36, 58, 67, 71, 72, 98, 124–7; of
learning 36, 38, 46; pedagogical 67, 68,
70, 126; for work 123–4, 126–7
Love is a Story theory 22
love-based leadership 99–101, 107
Love-based Leadership – An
Interdisciplinary Approach 22

low-esteem 49
loyalty 71, 98
Lubart, T.I. 37
Lundgren, L. 88
Lutgen-Sandvik, P. 49
Luthans, F. 8, 22, 107, 122, 131
Lyubomirsky, S. 7, 131
Määttä, K. 21, 79
McGillivray, C. 96
Maddux, J.E. 121–2
‘magnitude of shared worlds’ 89–93
Magnusson, D. 16, 57
Mahoney, J.L. 16, 57
Mäkikangas, A. 66
marital happiness 90, 94, 126
marital relationships 89–90, 92
marital satisfaction 90, 94, 95
marriage 87–95
Our Marriage of Two Individuals 90
The Marriage of Two Individuals 91
mastery 8, 9, 30, 69
materialistic values 2
maximal performance 13, 49
meaning 47, 128
meaningful life 128
meaningful retirement 96
meaningful study 71, 78, 79
meaningful work 11, 31, 76
meaningfulness 107
mental aspects 16
mental health 32, 60, 95, 96
metaphors 115–17
mindfulness 51
misjudgements 115
mission 121, 123
mistakes 63, 98
Mitchell, T.R. 12
modesty 36, 41–2
Moller, A.C. 9
moods 6
moral courage 39
moral nature: of pedagogical love 126
moral valuations 1
motivation 13, 14, 129; autonomous 9;
inner 123; intrinsic 7, 9, 11, 34, 51, 94;
and persistence 39; students 78;
and success 10–12; to learn 130;
variety in 17, see also work
motivation
multiple roles 92
mutual respect 67, 71
Myers, D.G. 2, 50, 96, 126

Index
narrative analysis 21
narrative research 20–1
narratives 115
National Research and Development Centre
for Welfare and Health of Finland 33
negative emotions 6, 97, 101
negative events 8, 34, 69
negative experiences 62, 106
negative factors 49, 50
‘network’ metaphor 116
networks 48, 58, 97, 98, 125
norm-dependent: human strengths as 35
obligations 16
obstacles 50, 60, 64, 115, 118, 120
occupational education 131
Ojanen, M. 43
Oldham, G.R. 15
open-mindedness 36, 37, 38, 44, 46, 118
openness 119
opportunities 14, 16, 29, 32, 49; for
development 15, 33, 47, 96, 124; for
further education 119
optimism 6, 7–8, 14, 31, 34, 38, 43, 44, 66,
114–15, 121, 122
optimization (SOC model) 14
order 126
organisational commitment 6
organisational culture 71
organisational integrity 123
organisational virtuousness 98, 127–8
Our Marriage 90
outcomes: and expectations 8, 11, 12;
work-related 15
outer processes 16, 58
ownership 128
Pajares, F. 101
parental love 124–5
parental relationships 58
parental support 59–60, 65
parents: and the acquisition of positive
values/attitudes/behaviours 58; advice
from 63; belief in child’s sense of control
65; imbibing optimism from 65–7
participation: decision-making 15
passive jobs 10
passivity 8
‘patchwork quilt’ metaphor 116
paternal involvement 89
patience 68, 123, 126
patriotism 61
pedagogical authority 67, 68, 70

143

pedagogical interaction 67
pedagogical love 67, 68, 70, 126
pedagogical professionalism 78
pedagogical tact 68, 70
perceived autonomy 58
perceived control 6, 10
perceived happiness 51, 107
perceived meaningfulness 107
perceived success/failure 34, 51
perceptions of occupations 65–6
performance(s): ability to recognise good
42; challenge and 11, 15; happiness and
130; high standards 98; mastery and
9; motivation and 9; rewards and 12;
self-efficacy and 101; success and good
12–14, see also high performance
permeability 89
perseverance 8, 37, 38
persistence 9, 11, 14, 36, 39–40, 44, 45,
46, 121
person-environment system 16, 57
personal development 15, 96, 127, 129
personal experiences: of success 45–7
personal history 16
personality 1, 11, 13, 32, 38, 43, 51
perspective 36, 38–9
pessimism 8
Peterson, C. 8, 35
Peterson, S.J. 8, 107
phenomenon: in metaphors 115–16
physical courage 39
physical health 32, 95, 96
physical working conditions 124
planning 10
Plato 125
platonic friendship 125
pleasure 6, 128
poetry metaphors 116
political nature of leadership 103
Polkinghorne, D.E. 22
positive atmosphere 48, 79
positive attitudes 31, 32, 42, 51, 58, 115,
129, see also hope; optimism
positive development 2, 16, 32, 57–8, 65,
66, 100, 124, 129
positive emotions/feelings 1, 6–7, 51, 66,
69, 95, 100, 101, 107, 121, 123, 129
positive expectations 8
positive experiences 6–7, 11, 13, 32–4, 51,
61, 62, 64, 92, 99, 104
positive factors 49, 50
positive feedback 78, 104, 119, 123
positive learning environments 71

144

Index

positive organisational behaviour (POB) 22
positive parental relationships 58
positive paternal involvement 89
positive people-management 98
positive psychological capital 122
positive psychology 1, 5–8, 22, 34, 65, 66,
95, 98, 102, 107
positive strategies 14
positive values 58
positive working environments 101
positivity 22, 43, 101
possibilities 16
power 11
practical experiences 66
praise 65
prejudices 66
pride 7, 42, 70, 72
proactive attitudes 32, 44
problem-solving 7, 10, 107, 123, 131
processual nature of success 6, 113, 114–22
production 2
productivity 15, 71, 73, 74, 80, 101, 107, 131
profession-specific attributes 18, 19
professional development 18, 123
professional expertise 15, 18
professional knowledge 114
professional proficiency 32, 51
professional skills 120, 121
professional standards 18
proficiency 32, 51, 79, 105, 119
prudence 36, 41, 42
psychological capital 122
psychological courage 39
psychological states 15, see also mental health
Putnam, D. 39
qualitative research 1
quality education 71, 72–3
quality performance 14
questionnaires (‘top workers’ study) 19–20
Quick, J.C. 51
Rath, T. 103
reactive people 32
realism 94
realistic optimism 8, 43, 50
reciprocal feedback 101
recognition 123
Reeve, J. 7
reflection 30
reflective approach 122
reflective practice 69

regard: positive 7
Rego, A. 98
regulation: of emotions 9–10; of goal
direction 35, see also self-regulation
reinforcement theory 125
Reivich, K. 7
relationship building 103
relationships 49; and development 58;
family-oriented 90; marital 89–90, 92;
positive learning environments 71;
positive parental 58; social 33, 40, 97,
98, 119, 120; social resources supporting
123; strengths based on 88; students’
success 78; teacher-student 67, 75; work
and family life 87–95; in the workplace
30, 33, 40, 115
relatives 61
reliability 9
reliability issues (‘top workers’ study) 21
religiousness 37, 42, 61
research: work-related 1
resilience 8, 14, 44, 69, 122
‘resource’ metaphor 116
resources 49; acquisition of necessary
10; of good supervisors 79; leadership
provision of 72–3, 99; multiple roles,
and the individual’s 92, see also human
resources; job resources
respect 67, 71, 94, 98
responsibility 11, 15, 71
responsiveness 65, 99
results 2, 38, 126
retirement 96, 97, 121
reward(s) 12, 30, 32, 34, 101
risk-taking 65
‘road’ metaphor 116–17
‘road’ narratives 117–21
role metaphors 116
romantic love 126
Ruiz, C.E. 131
rules 16, 42
Ryan, F.J. 69
Ryan, R.M. 9, 51
safe boundaries 124
Salmi, M. 88
Salovey, P. 40
satisfaction 6, 11, 15, 71, 131; of higherorder needs 127; interaction and 113,
123, see also job satisfaction; life
satisfaction; marital satisfaction
Schaufeli, W.B. 13

Index
Scheier, M.F. 14, 44
Schneider, S.L. 8, 50
schools: careers counselling 61–4; tools
for employing strengths-based
approaches 68–70
Schunk, D.H. 101
science metaphors 115
‘seasons’ metaphor 116
selection-optimisation-compensation
(SOC) model 14, 121
self-appreciation 123
self-assessments 68–9, 122
self-awareness 8, 98, 106, 107
self-conception 9, 106
self-confidence 122
self-consciousness 106
self-determination 11
self-determination theory 15
self-development 15, 58
self-directedness 65
self-direction 122
self-efficacy 8, 12, 13, 32, 34, 39, 47, 51,
65, 71, 77, 101
self-enhancement 122
self-esteem 12, 30, 49, 58, 60, 122, 124
self-fulfillment 123, 127
self-image 13
self-knowledge 8, 67, 98, 101
self-regard 49
self-regulation 36, 41, 42, 123
self-worth theory 12
Seligman, M.E.P. 1, 8, 35, 37, 45, 46, 47,
69, 101, 126, 128
sensitive leaders 99
sensitive upbringing 66
sensitivity 9, 68
servant leadership 101
shared worlds 89–93
Shimai, S. 41
sidetracks 64, 115, 117
signature strengths 41, 69, 70, 128
Simonton, D.K. 37
situational flexibility 69
skills 13, 14, 15, 97; balance between
work-related expectations and 32,
50; challenging activity that requires
102–3; professional 18, 119, 121, see
also career, skills; civic skills; cognitive
skills; core skills; interaction, skills
Skrypnek, B.J. 124
Snyder, C.R. 59
social connection 66

145

social inclusion 49
social influences 12
social intelligence 36, 37, 40, 41, 44, 47
social policies (Finnish) 87–8
social problem-solving 10
social reality 10
social relationships 33, 40, 97, 98, 119, 120
social roles 9, 88
social skills 1, 40, 65
social support 30, 49, 98
socially intelligent leaders 80
societal changes 16, 63
socioeconomic factors 58
solidarity 73–5, 78
spiritual life 61
standards 18, 98, 121
Staudinger, U.M. 88
stereotypes 66
Sternberg, R. 22, 37
stimulating tasks 12
‘story’ metaphor 116
strategic thinking 103
strength(s): awareness of one’s 9, 44, 65;
based on relationships with others 88;
caring teacherhood and discovery of
pupil’s 67; dynamic contexts 35; and
happiness 107, 128; leadership as a 103;
positive feeling as a source of 1; of top
workers 34–44, see also signature strengths
strengths-based approaches: in schools 68–70
stress/stressful experiences 1, 10, 88, 95,
119, 120, 121
student engagement 71, 78
students’ study success: caring
teacherhood 70–6; factors behind 77–80
study atmosphere 73, 79
subjective experiences 6
success: associations 2; concept analysis
1–2; definitions 2; as fullest expression
of mastery 8; and happiness 127,
128–31, see also students’ study success
success at work: career orientation 2;
definition 9; encouragement from caring
leaders 98–108; factors contributing
to 9–17, 21–2; hobbies 95–8; human
resources and expertise 122–4; love
124–7; positive psychology 1, 5–8;
processual nature of 6, 113, 114–22,
see also ‘top workers’ study
successful behaviour 88
successful marriage 94
Sundvall-Huhtinen, A. 63

146

Index

supervisor/mentor 49, 79
support: marital 91; parental 59–60, 65;
students’ success 75, 76, 79; workrelated 48, see also social support
supportive work environments 120
Swedish housework study 95
synchronic perspective 35
systematic working 46, 120
tact 68, 69, 70
talents 11
tasks 12, 15
teacher education 126
teacher-student relationships 67, 75
teacherhood (caring) 67–76, 126
team-based experiences 47–8
teamwork 6, 30, 36, 41, 47, 49
temperance 36, 41–2
theatre metaphors 116
Theilheimer, R. 71
Theorell, T. 16
thriving 66, 100
time: transformation of 105–6
time metaphors 116
togetherness 73, 74, 90, 94
tolerance 38
‘top workers’ study 17–21; challenging
work 29–32; childhood and adolescent
experiences 57–67; data and analyses
19–21; experiences of success 44–51;
family-work balance 90, 91–3; hobbies
96–7; human strengths 34–44; marital
happiness 94; participants 17–19, 20;
positive experiences 32–4; processual
nature of success 114–22
transactional leaders 98
transcendence 36–7, 42–3
transformational leaders 98
treadmill 14
Triangular Theory of Love 22
triumphs 49
trust 6, 43, 68, 71, 98, 126
trust-building 67
try-harders 34
Tugade, M.M. 34
Tuomi, K. 96
Turner, N. 6
turning points 64
typical performance 13
upbringing 58, 59–60, 66, 124
ups and downs 117, 119

values 2, 51, 58, 59, 65
van Kleef, G.A. 99
van Manen, M. 67, 68
variation 33
versatile roles 93
vigor 8, 13, 31
virtues 35–44, 128
voluntary acts 124
voluntary education 114
voluntary work 97
Von Wright, M. 70
Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation Model of
Marriage 22
warmth 65
weaknesses 9, 44, 65
Weiner, B. 11
wellbeing 6, 7, 11, 13, 34, 44, 47, 50, 51,
69, 95, 98, 100, 101, 122, 128
White, R.W. 9
Wigfield, A. 11
will 14, 79
willingness: for teamwork 48; to accept
new challenges 114; to compromise,
in marriage 89; to educate oneself 47;
to stay in the same job 34; to tolerate
change 38; to understand employee’s
perspective 105; to work well 13
willpower 123
wisdom 36, 37–9
work: ability to develop 31; core
dimensions of 15; joy of 7, 31, 46, 123,
128; love for 123–4, 126–7; marriage
and 87–95; meaningful 11, 31, 76;
success at see success at work
work context 12, 15, 16
work engagement 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 30,
31, 34, 51, 101, 107, 123
work environments 12, 34, 101, 120
work life 1, 62, 63, 95
work motivation 1, 7, 10, 12, 15, 30, 32,
51, 101, 102, 114
work-control 2, 10, 11, 15–16, 46
work-oriented employees 93
work-related research 1
working conditions 33, 100, 124
workplace culture 12, 123
workplace wellness programmes 96
wrong choices 64
zest 36, 39, 40, 46, 128
Zorro circle 97