Psychological Capital: Recognizing and Developing the HERO Within with Fred Luthans, Ph.D.

Psychological Capital: Recognizing and Developing the HERO Within

Fred Luthans, Ph.D.

Drawing from positive psychology, about 15 years ago Professor Luthans formulated what he termed Psychological Capital or PsyCap. He set the inclusion criteria for PsyCap resources to be based on theory and research, having a validated measure in the published academic literature, being state-like and thus open to development, and having demonstrated desirable impact. The positive psychological resources that met these scientific criteria were Hope (the will and the way), Efficacy (confidence), Resilience (bouncing back and beyond from setbacks), and Optimism (positive attributions and future expectations) or the HERO within. His PsyCap book (Oxford University Press, 2007, 2015) and numerous research articles provide a strong evidence-based positive approach to leadership effectiveness, performance improvement and well-being.

Positive psychological capital goes beyond human capital for improving one’s self and others attitudes, behaviors and, most important, performance and well-being. This webinar will provide the background, development techniques and application guidelines for  psychological capital or the HERO within. This Luthans PsyCap approach is receiving considerable attention throughout the world. He has been the keynote speaker  at academic conferences and conducted major management development programs, not only in the U.S., but also throughout Asia and Europe and in Australia and South Africa.

Fred Luthans received his BA, MBA and PhD from the University of Iowa. After graduation, he served for two years as a Captain in the U.S. Army where he taught psychology and leadership at West Point. He then spent his long academic career at Nebraska where he is University and Distinguished Professor of Management, Emeritus. A former President of the Academy of Management, Luthans has received numerous awards including the Academy’s Distinguished Educator and Lifetime Achievement Awards and the recent Omaha Chamber of Commerce Individual Contribution to Best Places to Work and Harvard Medical School Leadership Awards. He has been the editor of three journals and has several books and over 200 articles in the top academic journals. These publications have been cited over 52,500 times. He was a Senior Research Scientist for Gallup for 20 years and most recently has developed a three part webinar series for HUMANeX Ventures Inc. and is contributing as the Senior Fellow for the Positive Organizational Behavior Institute (POBI).