**2. Leader characteristics**

with the work of [1–3]). Bandura [4] proposed theories that relate human motivation and performance with individual behavior according to both the self-efficacy (SE) theory [5] and cognitive social theory [6–9]. In this chapter, we describe how important leader personal characteristics (self-efficacy (SE), hope (HP), optimism (OP), and resilience (RL)) influence the innovative work behavior of the team members, based on the evidence of our investigation. Self-efficacy is the capacity or personal conviction that the subject has the required behavior in order to produce a particular result in a situation, activity, or domain [8]. Hope is a positive motivational state energy goal-oriented ([10] p. 287). Optimism refers to relate positive future events with pertinent development reasons [11]. In addition, resilience is the capacity

From another part, innovation, recognized as a source of competitive advantage and success for the company, operates in an increasingly more intense and dynamic global competitive environment, in which the development of new products and processes compete [12–15]. In order to get both long-term survival and competitive advantage [16, 17], companies need to innovate. Innovation is an organization's capacity to improve its products and/or processes. But it too means its capacity to exploit the innovative potential of the innovative initiatives of its employees is an important element of organizational innovation, beyond the great technological advances [18]. These innovative initiatives also refer to as innovative behavior [19, 20]. Many academic works back the opinion that individual innovation helps achieve organiza-

Many empirical studies provide evidence on the positive effect of innovation on the performance, profitability, growth, and effectiveness of the company (e.g., [25, 26]). Innovative behavior also relates to the organizational culture [27]. The high-performance practices facilitate knowledge management and information exchange [28], while human resource practices focused in organizational learning are associated with a greater level of organizational inno-

Other important factor, organizational learning, is increasingly positioned as an initiative for survival [30]. The positive performance of an organization that learns, going beyond what is considered standard, has been demonstrated in several studies, which are found primarily in the professional literature in the fields of health, social services, and education [31–35]. The concept of organizational learning can be applied to business and nonprofit organizations,

In summary, the study establishes the relationships among the four variables set out above in order to determine the impact of the leader's characteristics on the innovative behavior of the team members, identifying the influence that the organizational learning capacity and

The chapter is organized as follows: the first part (Section 2) presents the very important leader's characteristics involved in the discussion, self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience. Then, we present the factors on other organizational levels, as the innovative individual behavior (Section 3), organizational learning capability (Section 4), and team member

schools, colleges, and universities, as well as service organizations [36].

exchange among team members have on it.

to recover quickly from the difficulties and go higher.

tional success [21–24].

vation [29].

168 Leadership

Organizational resources lead to a sustainable competitive advantage when they are valuable, rare, and inimitable and have no substitutes [37]. Resource and capacity theory recognize that human capital is among the most important resources in terms of improving performance [37–39]. However, in order to generate economic benefits from human resource, the company must assemble, integrate, and promote its capacities through the implementation of strategies that result in the differentiation of performance.

By paying attention to the positive psychological characteristics of their leaders, organizations can increase employee engagement, motivation, and important work outcomes. For example, the leader's positive psychological characteristics were positively related to feelings of followers' empowerment (in [40]) and, also, a positive relationship between the leaders' positivity and the followers' positivity and performance (see [41]). By paying attention to the positive psychological characteristics of their leaders, organizations can increase employee engagement, motivation, and important work outcomes. We mentioned four important factors according to positive psychology, about leader characteristics. They will be presented in the following discussion.

#### **2.1. Self-efficacy**

Self-efficacy (SE) is the person's conviction to success, regarding their capacity of motivation, exploitation of their cognitive resources, and definition of courses of action that executes a specific task ([5, 8, 42, 43]). In a specific sense, Wood and Bandura [44] propose that selfefficacy is the belief in one's own capacities in order to mobilize the cognitive resources, motivation, and courses of action required to support the demands of a particular task or objective.

In short, the effective performance of new and complex roles in any activity requires the individual to have enough confidence in his or her competences to play a role that covers wider and proactive activities in order to go beyond the traditional technical performance requirements [45, 46]. It is precisely this requirement, in relation to the organizational context, that self-efficacy develops its conceptualization and contribution.

Self-efficacy refers to a person's judgment regarding his or her own capacity to handle specific situations, allowing us to focus not only on the abilities of people but also on their beliefs in terms of what they are capable of doing, regardless of the skills each actually possesses [47, 48]. Empirical research has shown that people who feel capable of performing certain tasks do so better, persist in their efforts (even in the face of adversity), and are capable of better handling situations of change [49–51].

High self-efficacy in persons means that they motivate themselves; designate high goals for themselves, without waiting for others to impose them with challenging goals; opt to perform difficult tasks; welcome the challenges, which are considered as opportunities for growth; strive to achieve the objectives; and face strong obstacles [11]. In addition, problems such as insecurity, skepticism, social criticism, negative feedback, the obstacles, and setbacks have a relatively small effect on people with high self-efficacy [52].

In addition, the "reward system" can be adapted to increase the hope. When the rewards are related to specific actions, it shows that their actions directly influence its recognition, which can result in a higher motivation. Another approach is to give the individual access called "individual resources"; with a useful allocation of resources, individuals can better respond to changing situations and uncertainty and so achieve their goals in a more effective manner. The "strategic alignment" is also an important approach to improve the hope. This means aligning people with their strengths and talents, providing each individual a set of different possible ways to be successful at work. Last but not least, individuals can receive "special training" for the development of hope; these trainings should be practical, interactive, and participatory so that they are effective. An important aspect to be taken into account, when training hope, is to keep high levels of awareness, self-regulation, self-evaluation, and self-development of the individual to be truly oriented toward the

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Optimism (OP) is colloquially understood as the expectation of positive developments in the

In organizations, high levels of optimism means that individuals interpret future developments as positive, long-term, comprehensive, and dependent on themselves. Meanwhile, the negative events as dependent of external, temporary, and situational reasons are interpreted [69, 72].

However, too much optimism could create a nonpositive thinking that relates to all things negative to external factors, ignoring one's own errors, which would create an illusory burst of ego. Therefore, individual with high level of optimism should be realistic and flexible, self-disciplined, analytical of events, planner of contingencies and a preventive person [11].

Literature supports that optimism is positively related with the physical and psychological health and well-being, with the auto-adjustment and recovery (e.g., [73–78]). Also, optimism is positively correlated with the work performance [70, 78, 79] and with successes in sales and

Optimism can be improved to defy the pessimistic thoughts, by identifying and addressing the negative aspects and take them into account. It will encourage a more productive and positive attitude, which would create a more realistic optimism (Schneider, 2001; [81]). Through strategies of targets, individuals can be trained in construction of realistic and achievable goals, which can confidently experiment and succeed [11]. These authors point out that the optimism of the individual can, generally, be improved having compassion for

Usually, resilience is understood as the capacity to recover quickly from the difficulties, but it also means the performance improvement even more than until problems occur. Luthans,

the past, appreciation for the present, and looking for opportunities for the future.

future; however, the optimism within organizations is slightly different [11].

objectives.

**2.3. Optimism**

**2.4. Resilience**

leadership, among others (e.g., [41, 80, 81]).

The self-efficacy-performance relationship is clearly recognized by scientific community (e.g., [42, 43, 52]). Also, self-efficacy has demonstrated a positive impact in the workplace, which increases the motivation [52], the effectiveness of leadership [41, 53], the creativity [54], the making of moral and ethical choices (Youssef and Luthans, 2005; [55]) the career decision-making, the participation (Lam et al., 2002), the learning [56], and the project [41, 57–60].

### **2.2. Hope**

Hope (HP), according to Snyder et al. ([10] p. 287), is defined as a "positive motivational state that is based on a sense interactively derived from: 1) Agency (energy goals-oriented) successful and 2) path (planning to achieve goals) successful." The hope of individuals within an organization refers to the orientation toward goals. It sets goals, plans how to reach them, and puts the effort required to achieve them [11].

Originally, hope had been studied from the perspective of positive psychology, but it was not directly related to the organization. In this sense, hope was found to be positively related to academic and sports performance, physical and mental health, survival and the copying of beliefs and skills, and other aspects of life and well-being [61–66].

Since 2002, literature has been focused more on the organizational perspective of hope. In this regard, we found positive relationships between hope and organizational profitability [67]; also hope for entrepreneurs and their satisfaction with the property of the company [68]; also between the hope of the leaders and the profitability of their units, as well as satisfaction and retention of its employees [69]; and between the hope of Chinese workers and the performance described by the supervisor and the salary on merits [70]. On the other hand, the hope is related positively to the performance of employees, their job satisfaction, his happiness in the work, and its organizational commitment [71].

According to [11], hope can be improved through various approaches. One of these approaches is that of "individual goals": when individuals internalize the objectives, they become more committed to them; this commitment will increase their motivation, performance, and planning to achieve them. Another approach is the "goals"; this means designing goals that are well defined, measurable, and challenging but achievable. "Modular" is another way to improve the hope. It consists of breaking a complex goal in modules or small subgoals, easy to reach the ultimate goal. An approach is to increase the involvement of the person. When the individual receives power and autonomy to make decisions, he is not only encouraged but also flows a cognitive process that makes the person think that what seemed impossible is now possible.

In addition, the "reward system" can be adapted to increase the hope. When the rewards are related to specific actions, it shows that their actions directly influence its recognition, which can result in a higher motivation. Another approach is to give the individual access called "individual resources"; with a useful allocation of resources, individuals can better respond to changing situations and uncertainty and so achieve their goals in a more effective manner. The "strategic alignment" is also an important approach to improve the hope. This means aligning people with their strengths and talents, providing each individual a set of different possible ways to be successful at work. Last but not least, individuals can receive "special training" for the development of hope; these trainings should be practical, interactive, and participatory so that they are effective. An important aspect to be taken into account, when training hope, is to keep high levels of awareness, self-regulation, self-evaluation, and self-development of the individual to be truly oriented toward the objectives.

#### **2.3. Optimism**

High self-efficacy in persons means that they motivate themselves; designate high goals for themselves, without waiting for others to impose them with challenging goals; opt to perform difficult tasks; welcome the challenges, which are considered as opportunities for growth; strive to achieve the objectives; and face strong obstacles [11]. In addition, problems such as insecurity, skepticism, social criticism, negative feedback, the obstacles, and setbacks have a

The self-efficacy-performance relationship is clearly recognized by scientific community (e.g., [42, 43, 52]). Also, self-efficacy has demonstrated a positive impact in the workplace, which increases the motivation [52], the effectiveness of leadership [41, 53], the creativity [54], the making of moral and ethical choices (Youssef and Luthans, 2005; [55]) the career decision-making, the participation (Lam et al., 2002), the learning [56], and the project

Hope (HP), according to Snyder et al. ([10] p. 287), is defined as a "positive motivational state that is based on a sense interactively derived from: 1) Agency (energy goals-oriented) successful and 2) path (planning to achieve goals) successful." The hope of individuals within an organization refers to the orientation toward goals. It sets goals, plans how to reach them,

Originally, hope had been studied from the perspective of positive psychology, but it was not directly related to the organization. In this sense, hope was found to be positively related to academic and sports performance, physical and mental health, survival and the copying of

Since 2002, literature has been focused more on the organizational perspective of hope. In this regard, we found positive relationships between hope and organizational profitability [67]; also hope for entrepreneurs and their satisfaction with the property of the company [68]; also between the hope of the leaders and the profitability of their units, as well as satisfaction and retention of its employees [69]; and between the hope of Chinese workers and the performance described by the supervisor and the salary on merits [70]. On the other hand, the hope is related positively to the performance of employees, their job satisfaction, his happiness in

According to [11], hope can be improved through various approaches. One of these approaches is that of "individual goals": when individuals internalize the objectives, they become more committed to them; this commitment will increase their motivation, performance, and planning to achieve them. Another approach is the "goals"; this means designing goals that are well defined, measurable, and challenging but achievable. "Modular" is another way to improve the hope. It consists of breaking a complex goal in modules or small subgoals, easy to reach the ultimate goal. An approach is to increase the involvement of the person. When the individual receives power and autonomy to make decisions, he is not only encouraged but also flows a cognitive process that makes the person think that what seemed impossible is now possible.

relatively small effect on people with high self-efficacy [52].

and puts the effort required to achieve them [11].

the work, and its organizational commitment [71].

beliefs and skills, and other aspects of life and well-being [61–66].

[41, 57–60].

170 Leadership

**2.2. Hope**

Optimism (OP) is colloquially understood as the expectation of positive developments in the future; however, the optimism within organizations is slightly different [11].

In organizations, high levels of optimism means that individuals interpret future developments as positive, long-term, comprehensive, and dependent on themselves. Meanwhile, the negative events as dependent of external, temporary, and situational reasons are interpreted [69, 72].

However, too much optimism could create a nonpositive thinking that relates to all things negative to external factors, ignoring one's own errors, which would create an illusory burst of ego. Therefore, individual with high level of optimism should be realistic and flexible, self-disciplined, analytical of events, planner of contingencies and a preventive person [11].

Literature supports that optimism is positively related with the physical and psychological health and well-being, with the auto-adjustment and recovery (e.g., [73–78]). Also, optimism is positively correlated with the work performance [70, 78, 79] and with successes in sales and leadership, among others (e.g., [41, 80, 81]).

Optimism can be improved to defy the pessimistic thoughts, by identifying and addressing the negative aspects and take them into account. It will encourage a more productive and positive attitude, which would create a more realistic optimism (Schneider, 2001; [81]). Through strategies of targets, individuals can be trained in construction of realistic and achievable goals, which can confidently experiment and succeed [11]. These authors point out that the optimism of the individual can, generally, be improved having compassion for the past, appreciation for the present, and looking for opportunities for the future.

#### **2.4. Resilience**

Usually, resilience is understood as the capacity to recover quickly from the difficulties, but it also means the performance improvement even more than until problems occur. Luthans, Youssef, and Avolio [11] called it "recover and go beyond." This means that the individual, apart from recovering from an adverse situation, is able to return with an exceptional level of performance, which is higher than its normal performance level. **Figure 1** explains this process. It shows that performance level of 5 was normal during periods between moments 1 to 4. In the period between moments 4 and 5, the emergence of problems involves the consequent decrease in the performance to level of 1, and then radically increases the work effort. This effort does not stop at the level of routine operational performance, but it goes further: instead of again reaching 5 the normal level of execution, operations are now performed with benefits until level 8. It notes that the figures used in this graph are chosen randomly and do not have any statistical background; it is simply an illustration of the effect of "recovery and beyond."

The asset-centric strategies develop resources that can increase the probability of achieving positive results. One of these strategies is to develop human capital. This can be done through the transmission of culture and business values, as well as its structure, strategies, and processes, using policies of socialization, orientation, or rotation at work. This will result in the development of the education, experience, knowledge, skills, and capabilities. Other asset strategy is the development of social capital. This can be done through open communication, building confidence, authenticity and transparency, feedback and recognition, teamwork,

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The risk-focused strategies consist of confronting and efficiently managing high risk factors rather than avoid them. Luthans, Vogelgesang, and Lester [83] recommend to reduce the risks

The last way to improve resilience is to apply process-centric strategies. This means to iden-

In a competitive global environment, characterized by being both intense and dynamic, the development of new products and processes is increasingly becoming a key aspect of competition. Companies that enter the market faster and more efficiently than their competitors do so by offering products that closely meet the needs and expectations of their target consum-

Innovation is acknowledged as a source of competitive advantage and thus the success of the company. Similarly, different empirical studies have provided evidence of the positive effect of innovation on the company's performance in terms of profitability, growth, and effectiveness [25, 26]. Companies need to innovate in their quest for both long-term survival and com-

Innovative work behavior (IWB) can be defined as the set of all individual actions aimed at the. generation, introduction, and application of some beneficial innovation at any level of the organization [84]. Gebert [18] defines innovation as an organization's capacity to improve its products or processes and to exploit the innovative potential and highlights the significance of the innovative initiatives of employees as an important element of organizational innova-

IWB is also related to the organizational culture, as it can create commitment among the members of an organization in terms of establishing innovation as an organizational value and accepting the common norms related to innovation within the organization [27]. Some studies indicate, e.g., that so-called high-performance practices facilitate knowledge management and information exchange [28]. Various human resource practices that are aligned to promote learning are also associated with a higher level of organizational innovation [29] and

of the organization to prevent difficulties or to recover when difficulties are present.

tify, select, develop, use, and maintain the right asset mix to manage risk factors.

and efforts of balancing between the work and the enjoyment of life.

ers, thus significantly improving their competitive standing [12–15].

**3. Individual innovative behavior**

tion, beyond great technological advances.

organizational commitment [58, 85–87].

petitive advantage [16, 17].

The factor resilience (RL) is, then, an important factor for positive thinking and productive behavior, especially in times of difficulty and change. Luthans, Youssef, and Avolio [11] established that in this highly competitive, unpredictable, risky, and globalized world, resilience is becoming an important requirement at the level of the individual, the leader, and the organization.

Masten [82] found that there is a particular asset, which may contribute to greater resilience. These are cognitive skills, temperament, positive self-perception, faith, a positive attitude in life, emotional stability and self-regulation, a sense of humor and draw attention, i.e., the "attractiveness." Also, to increase resilience, are very important relationships; in this sense, Masten [82] highlights the importance of the care given to adults, effective parenting, the couple pro-social and regulatory standards, and collective effectiveness in the community, which give the individual the strength to "recover" the difficulty.

In the literature, resilience has been studied from the perspective of the development of clinicaland psychological subjects, especially in post-traumatic recovery and adaptation [11]. However, resilience is now also studying from the organizational point of view.

Luthans, Youssef, and Avolio [11] have found some ways to improve the resilience in organizations. These can be focused on assets, the risk, or the process.

**Figure 1.** Representation of resilience: "recover and go beyond".

The asset-centric strategies develop resources that can increase the probability of achieving positive results. One of these strategies is to develop human capital. This can be done through the transmission of culture and business values, as well as its structure, strategies, and processes, using policies of socialization, orientation, or rotation at work. This will result in the development of the education, experience, knowledge, skills, and capabilities. Other asset strategy is the development of social capital. This can be done through open communication, building confidence, authenticity and transparency, feedback and recognition, teamwork, and efforts of balancing between the work and the enjoyment of life.

The risk-focused strategies consist of confronting and efficiently managing high risk factors rather than avoid them. Luthans, Vogelgesang, and Lester [83] recommend to reduce the risks of the organization to prevent difficulties or to recover when difficulties are present.

The last way to improve resilience is to apply process-centric strategies. This means to identify, select, develop, use, and maintain the right asset mix to manage risk factors.
