Self-Efficacy 1

The goal of this chapter is to provide a relatively brief overview of self-efficacy theory and the role of self-efficacy beliefs (or expectancies) on the performance of employees, including leaders and managers, in the workplace and in organizations. Research suggests that although work-related self-efficacy beliefs are generally good predictors of work performance, they probably are better predictors of performance on simpler tasks than of performance on more complex tasks. Strong self-efficacy beliefs may actually predict poorer performance when a person receives no or weak feedback on the task. Work-related self-efficacy beliefs are also negatively related to workplace anxiety and stress and positively related to employee engagement and commitment, all of which have been linked to job performance. This chapter also addresses leadership self-efficacy and the collective efficacy of groups and teams.