Psychology in Project Management
Positive psychology may be defined as the science of positive institutions, positive individual character or trait, and positive subjective kind of experience. In other words, it focuses on organizational and work issues by studying and applying positivity in improving the quality and effectiveness of life in various organizations. Interestingly, positive psychology has its topics overlapping into three main pillars, that is, positive traits, positive subjective experience and positive institution. The first pillar, positive trait, includes interests, wisdom, talents, values, creativity, courage, purpose, growth, meaning and character strength. The second pillar, positive subjective experience, encompasses well-being, pleasure, optimism, flow, positive emotions, hope and happiness. The last pillar, which is the positive institution, is tasked with facilitating the other two pillars and promoting human flourishing (Donaldson, & Ko, 2010).
Industrial psychology
Industrial psychology may simply be defined as a scientific study that relates human behavior at the workplace. In other words, it is the field of psychology which is tasked which the application of fundamental scientific psychological principles to workplace environments which makes work more productive and more fun. Its focus is on the assessment of organizational, group, and individual dynamics and making use of such results in the identification of solutions to existing problems in efforts of improving performance and well-being of both the employees and their organization. In essence, industrial psychology aims at providing answers to questions such as how is the decision making?, how effectively is communication used?, how do teams collaborate and interact?, among many others (Bauer, & Erdogan, 2012).
Psychology types in helping projects succeed
Positive Psychology
Sustainable and successful project management borrows studies from psychological perspectives. There is growing awareness that key to project success is the human behavior, which happens to be central psychological perspective in this regard. Therefore, the knowledge from the scientific area of positive psychology is paramount in studying fruitful and sustainable project management. To be specific, much attention is paid to the roles played by hope, optimism, and positive emotions (Van den Brink, 2013). As we all know, project success are more of being ‘problem focused’, and as such positive psychology concentrates on ways through which problems like stress in projects and risk management can be avoided. Therefore, to aim at succeeding in projects, a positive approached must be embraced as negative emotions might not be fruitful (Donaldson, & Ko, 2010). Given that projects encompass human resource organization, meaning human behavior is an essential component of all projects, and paying close attention to that element of project management is key to the success of projects (Van den Brink, 2013).
Industrial psychology
Whereas general psychology highlights individual behaviors in general, industrial psychology puts more emphasis on understanding the behavior of employees particularly in work settings. For instance, industrial psychology tries to help project managers select and recruit the individuals who would make them remain competitive and productive (Bauer, & Erdogan, 2012). It also evaluates ways through which organizations can do assessments and improvements to their employees including work and non-work factors which influence their effectiveness, happiness and well-being at the workplace. Industrial psychology also identifies not only the type of influence that work impacts on employees non-work happiness and behavior but it also exposes factors which motivates employees during their discharge of duties (Bauer, & Erdogan, 2012). All the above-explained concepts of industrial psychology can be duly executed by project stakeholders in their efforts to ensure that the projects succeed.
Psychology types in maximizing team performance
Several studies have indicated that organization units, comprised of departments and sections can significantly benefit from the facilitation of organizational processes and behaviors. For instance, employees’ engagement in an organization can be increased through the promotion of their strengths and psychological capital. Again, through the clear facilitation of authentic leadership would improve the organizational performance. More specific actions that aid both individual and team performances include coaching and mentoring, building and sustenance of optimal performance of the team, maximization of employee-job-organizational fit, optimization of family and work balance, promotion of organizational learning alongside continuous and consistent improvement (Donaldson, Csikszentmihalyi, & Nakamura, 2011).
Industrial psychology
Through the use of industrial psychology, certain tasks by managers including job analysis, development of proper employee selection systems, the design of performance appraisal mechanisms, development of systems for compensation, training and development initiatives and ways of solving talent management issues (Bauer, & Erdogan, 2012). The above task by any organization, borrowing from the concepts of industrial psychology will, to a great extent improve both individual and team performance of employees in an organization.
Use of psychology types
I would use this sort of psychology majorly in enhancing the behavioral aspect of employees to bestow a positive attitude and well-being. As such, a conducive work environment would be created to ensure that positive prevails in every task that I or my team are involved in. Human behavior is essential in having things done not only in the right way but also with the desired quality. Hence, positive psychology will always form part of our daily life. As such, it is advisable to take keen interest in ways through which positive psychology manifests such as humility, happiness, forgiveness and positive attitude.
Industrial psychology
The use of industrial psychology is far-reaching in every work element being carried out. Be it a project, research, studies or daily employment, industrial psychology offers in-depth analysis of various important aspects of successful work undertakings. In projects, for instance, I would try to do critical job analysis to ensure that every employee or team member is tasked with the job description that suits his/her professional qualifications and competence. By doing so, work output levels and quality would, to a bigger extent, be fruitful.
References
Donaldson, S. I., & Ko, I. (2010). Positive organizational psychology, behavior, and scholarship: A review of the emerging literature and evidence base. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 5(3), 177-191.
Van den Brink, J. C. (2013). How Positive Psychology can Support Sustainable Project Management. Sustainability Integration for Effective Project Management, 245.
Bauer, T. N., & Erdogan, B. (2012). Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology. Retrieved April 30, 2016, from http://nobaproject.com/modules/industrial-organizational-i-o-psychology
Donaldson, S. I., Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Nakamura, J. (Eds.). (2011). Applied Positive Psychology: Improving Everyday Life, Health, Schools, Work, and Society. Routledge.
