Thread by @whiffofreshair

We often hear people saying x, y, z person has found his / her "calling". So what does it refer from a Management perspective ? Explaining here with the help of some seminal research in this area. 1/n

As per Harzer and Ruch (2012) a work can be called a "calling" based on people's frequency of use of signature strengths at work.
Signature strengths are those character strengths that are most essential to who we are. 2/n

Character strengths refer to a desire, a disposition to act or a feeling that involves the exercise of judgment that leads to a recognizable human excellence or human flourishing. 3/n

There are 24 commonly accepted character strengths viz., Appreciation of Beauty, Kindness, Bravery, Citizenship, Leadership, Love Creativity, Love of Learning, Curiosity, Modesty and Humility, Persistence, Forgiveness and Mercy, Perspective, Prudence Fairness,. 3/n

Gratitude, Hope, Self-Regulation, Social Intelligence, Spirituality, Humour, Integrity, Judgment, Zest. 4/n

Harzer and Ruch found that more the application of signature strengths at work, more the positive experiences of people and more people are likely to refer to their work as "calling". 5/n

Another feature of work being a "calling" is if one is in Flow. Flow as defined by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, is the mental state in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment (aka "The Zone"). 6/n

It's the sweet spot region in which the highest challenges are met with the highest skills as per the graph below !

So have you found your "calling" at work !?! 7/7

@threadreaderapp compile