Background:

Entrepreneurs and corporate executives plan their personal and organizational goals based on their skills and available financial and human capital resources. However, psychological resources consisting of attributes such as character strengths, efficacy, resilience, and optimism are not usually considered intentionally when such professionals set goals. First introduced by Peterson and Seligman (2004), character strengths are defined as positive traits guiding individuals' behaviors, thoughts, and actions. Awareness and application of character strengths have been associated with goal progress and a higher level of well-being (Niemiec, 2012)

Aims

My paper aims to understand if the character strengths of entrepreneurs and corporate executives (business professionals) may be cultivated and applied for successful business goals pursuits.  It also proposes a framework for how character strengths may be used for long-term success and well-being.

Method

Literature review and an observational study (approved by IRB) conducted by interviewing successful business professionals.

Results

Awareness of character strengths in goal setting not only helped increase the chances for goal attainment but also contributed to business professionals’ well-being. The literature review of the existing research reveals that character strengths induce intrinsic motivation, which mediates goal progress and successfully allows one to face setbacks and barriers in goal pursuit. The observational study indicated that specific character strengths were not tied to specific goals, i.e., two people with different character strengths may achieve the same goals following their individual pathways.

Conclusion

My study confirms that while role models may inspire one toward the goal, emulating role models’ character strengths isn’t associated with goal success. However, being aware of one's character strengths, setting self-concordant goals, behaving in ways to amplify and cultivate strengths, and habituating those behaviors may significantly improve business professionals' chances of achieving their business goals. The proposed framework, informed by positive psychology concepts, attempts to highlight how the application of character strengths may maximize the chances of goal attainment and increase well-being for business professionals.