Abstract
Orientation: The orientation of this study is towards strengths use and deficit improvement and the relationship with engagement.Research purpose: To (1) determine whether adapted versions of the Strengths Use and Deficit Improvement Questionnaire (SUDIQ) and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) are valid and reliable, (2) determine the relationship of the SUDIQ dimensions in the nomological net, and (3) test a structural model.Motivation for the study: To gain a better understanding of the outcomes of following a balanced approach within a sport coaching context.Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional research approach was used. An availability sample (N = 364) of teachers occupying roles as sport coaches from various schools across three provinces in South Africa was used. Structural equation modelling was used to test the factor structures and the structural model.Main findings: The results indicated a valid factor structure for the adapted SUDIQ and UWES. Relationships between the SUDIQ dimensions and job and personal resources were positive and significant. Individual strengths use was the strongest predictor of engagement. Individual deficit improvement and organisational strengths use were also significant predictors. Organisational deficit improvement did not significantly predict engagement.Practical/managerial implications: Evidence suggests the adapted SUDIQ and UWES can be utilised effectively in a sport coaching environment. Organisational strengths use is also important in managing engagement levels of sport coaches.Contribution/value-add: Valid and reliable measures were provided for use in a sport coaching environment. It substantiates the outcomes that can be gained by following a combined approach based on strength and deficit.
Highlights
In traditional organisational and people development approaches, the majority of organisations have focused their attention towards the improvement of employee deficits
Individual items were used as indicators. This was done primarily to ensure valid factor structures for the adapted instruments used in the study, namely the Strengths Use and Deficit Improvement Questionnaire (SUDIQ) and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES)
The objectives of this study were to test the structural models of adapted versions of both the SUDIQ and the UWES, to relate organisational strengths use and organisational deficit improvement to job resources, and individual strengths use and individual deficit improvement to personal resources, and to prove structural paths between organisational strengths use and organisational deficit improvement, as well as between individual strengths use and individual deficit improvement and work engagement
Summary
In traditional organisational and people development approaches, the majority of organisations have focused their attention towards the improvement of employee deficits These organisations have sought to secure insight into the so-called flaws and weak points of their people, as a means of identifying areas of insufficiency that need to be redressed and rectified (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001). The DBA has long served organisational and individual development, a modern perspective has emerged that promotes the idea of a more balanced predilection on which the strengths and potential of human beings are focused (Linley, Joseph, Harrington & Wood, 2006; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Wood, Linley, Maltby, Kashdan & Hurling, 2011). This approach is very much in line http://www.sajip.co.za doi:10.4102/sajip.v39i2.1160
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