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BEYOND SKILLS: THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF SELF-ESTEEM AND LEARNING AGILITY IN SUSTAINING CAREER SUCCESS

Year 2025, Volume: 10 Issue: 2, 531 - 550, 12.12.2025
https://doi.org/10.54452/jrb.1682932

Abstract

Today's workplaces, characterized by rapid technological advancements and increasing complexity, require professionals to develop new skills and demonstrate higher levels of adaptability continuously. Successful career transitions, therefore, depend significantly on individuals' capacity to abandon outdated practices and embrace new competencies. Particularly among those in leadership positions, the ability to learn swiftly from experience and maintain resilience amid uncertainty has become essential for sustainable career success.
This study investigates the relationship between learning agility and career adaptability, specifically examining the mediating role of self-esteem. Results reveal a positive and significant relationship between learning agility and career adaptability. Among the dimensions of career adaptability, "confidence" exhibited the strongest correlation, while "concern" showed the weakest. Moreover, a moderate correlation was found between learning agility and self-esteem, particularly within the self-liking dimension. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that self-esteem partially mediates the relationship between learning agility and career adaptability.
From a managerial perspective, these findings highlight the necessity for organizations to integrate training programs aimed at enhancing psychological flexibility, self-esteem, and adaptive capabilities. Additionally, incorporating validated assessments of learning agility and self-esteem into performance appraisal systems can help organizations identify and nurture leadership potential more effectively.
The study offers significant theoretical contributions to understanding the interplay between psychological factors and career adaptability in dynamic workplaces. Future research directions include exploring the influence of demographic factors, conducting cross-cultural comparative studies, and employing longitudinal approaches to strengthen the generalizability and applicability of the findings.

References

  • Bandura, A., Walters, R. H. (1977). Social learning theory (Vol. 1, pp. 141-154). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  • Bosson, J. K., & Swann Jr, W. B. (1999). Self-liking, self-competence, and the quest for self-verification. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25(10), 1230-1241. https://doi.org/10.1177/014.616.7299258004
  • Brougham, D., & Haar, J. (2018). Smart technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, and algorithms (STARA): Employees’ perceptions of our future workplace. Journal of Management & Organization, 24(2), 239- 257. https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2016.55
  • Burke, W. W., & Noumair, D. A. (2015). Organization Development: A Process of Learning and Changing (3rd ed.). Pearson Education. https://doi.org/10.4324/978.131.5662739
  • Cai, Z., Guan, Y., Li, H., Shi, W., Guo, K., Liu, Y., & Hua, H. (2015). Self-esteem and proactive personality as predictors of future work self and career adaptability: An examination of mediating and moderating processes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 86, 86-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.10.004
  • Chai, D. S., & Kong, L. T. (2017). The effects of learning agility on career adaptability: A moderated mediation analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 99, 23-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.12.002
  • Coetzee, M., Ferreira, N., & Potgieter, I. L. (2020). Facets of career agility as explanatory mechanisms of employees’ career adaptability. African Journal of Career Development, 2(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.4102/ ajcd.v2i1.17
  • De Meuse, K. P. (2019). A meta-analysis of the relationship between learning agility and leader success. Journal of Organizational Psychology, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.33423/jop.v19i1.1151
  • De Meuse, K. P., & Harvey, V. S. (2021). Learning agility. In K. Gravett (Ed.), The age of agility: Building learning agile leaders and organizations (pp. 1-23). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030- 62213-0
  • De Meuse, K. P., Dai, G., & Hallenbeck, G. S. (2010). Learning agility: A construct whose time has come. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 62(2), 119-130. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019831
  • DeRue, D. S., Ashford, S. J., & Myers, C. G. (2012). Learning agility: In search of conceptual clarity and theoretical grounding. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5(3), 258-279. https://doi.org/10.1111/ j.1754-9434.2012.01444.x
  • DeRue, D. S., & Wellman, N. (2009). Developing leaders via experience: The role of developmental challenge, learning orientation, and feedback availability. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(4), 859–875. https:// doi.org/10.1037/a0015317
  • Gerni, G. M., & Denizli, A. A. (2021). Öz yeterliliğin kariyere uyum sağlama becerilerine etkisinde proaktif kişiliğin aracı rolü. Doğuş Üniversitesi Dergisi, 22(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.31671/dogus.2021.01
  • Haenggli, M., & Hirschi, A. (2020). Career adaptability and career success in the context of a broader career resources framework. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 119, 103414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jvb.2020.103414
  • Hartung, P. J., & Cadaret, M. C. (2017). Career adaptability: Changing self and situation for satisfaction and success. Psychology of Career Adaptability, Employability and Resilience, 15–28. https://doi. org/10.1007/978-3-319-66954-0_2
  • Hirschi, A. (2018). The fourth industrial revolution: Issues and implications for career research and practice. The Career Development Quarterly, 66(3), 192-204. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12142
  • Johnston, C. S. (2018). A systematic review of the career adaptability literature and future outlook. Journal of Career Assessment, 26(1), 3-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/106.907.2716679921
  • Lombardo, M. M., & Eichinger, R. W. (2000). High potentials as high learners. Human Resource Management, 39, 321–330. https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-050X
  • McCall, M. W., Lombardo, M. M., & Morrison, A. M. (1988). Lessons of experience: How successful executives develop on the job. Simon and Schuster.
  • Mitchinson, A., & Morris, R. (2014). Learning about learning agility. Center for Creative Leadership. Retrieved from https://www.ccl.org
  • Orth, U., Robins, R. W., & Widaman, K. F. (2012). Life-span development of self-esteem and its effects on important life outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(6), 1271–1288. https://doi. org/10.1037/a0025558
  • Parola, A., & Marcionetti, J. (2022). Positive resources for flourishing: The effect of courage, self-esteem, and career adaptability in adolescence. Societies, 13(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc13010005
  • Rosenberg, M., Schooler, C., Schoenbach, C., & Rosenberg, F. (1995). Global self-esteem and specific self- esteem: Different concepts, different outcomes. American Sociological Review, 141–156. https://doi. org/10.2307/2096319
  • Rudolph, C. W., Lavigne, K. N., & Zacher, H. (2017). Career adaptability: A meta-analysis of relationships with measures of adaptability, career behaviors, and outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 17-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.09.002
  • Rudolph, C. W., Zacher, H., & Hirschi, A. (2019). Empirical developments in career construction theory. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 111, 65-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2018.12.003
  • Salmela-Aro, K., & Nurmi, J. E. (2007). Self-esteem during university studies predicts career characteristics 10 years later. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 70(3), 463–477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2006.12.001
  • Savickas, M. L. (2013). Career construction theory and practice. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (2nd ed., pp. 147–183). Wiley.
  • Savickas, M. L. (2013). The theory and practice of career construction. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (pp. 147–183). John Wiley & Sons.
  • Savickas, M. L., & Porfeli, E. J. (2012). Career Adapt-Abilities Scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countries. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(3), 661–673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jvb.2012.01.011
  • Tafarodi, R. W., & Swann Jr, W. B. (2001). Two-dimensional self-esteem: Theory and measurement. Personality and Individual Differences, 31(5), 653–673. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00169-0
  • Yuen, M., Yau, F. M., Tsui, J. Y. C., Shao, S., & Tsang, J. T. Y. (2021). Career adaptability, self-esteem, and social support among Hong Kong adolescents: A longitudinal study. Journal of Career Development, 48(5), 475-487. https://doi.org/10.1177/089.484.5319861692
  • Zacher, H., Ambiel, R. A., & Noronha, A. P. P. (2015). Career adaptability and career entrenchment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 88, 164–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.03.004

YETENEKLERİN ÖTESİNDE: KARİYER BAŞARISININ SÜRDÜRÜLMESİNDE ÖZSAYGI VE ÖĞRENME ÇEVİKLİĞİNİN KRİTİK ROLÜ

Year 2025, Volume: 10 Issue: 2, 531 - 550, 12.12.2025
https://doi.org/10.54452/jrb.1682932

Abstract

Günümüz işyerleri, hızlı teknolojik ilerlemeler ve artan karmaşıklık ile karakterize olup, profesyonellerin sürekli olarak yeni beceriler geliştirmesini ve yüksek adaptasyon yeteneği göstermesini gerektirmektedir. Başarılı kariyer geçişleri, bu nedenle, bireylerin eski alışkanlıklarını terk etme ve yeni yetkinlikleri benimseme kapasitesine önemli ölçüde bağlıdır. Özellikle liderlik pozisyonundaki bireylerde, deneyimden hızlı bir şekilde öğrenme ve belirsizlik karşısında dirençli olma yeteneği, sürdürülebilir kariyer başarısı için kritik bir unsur haline gelmiştir. Bu çalışma, öğrenme çevikliği ve kariyer uyumluluğu arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemekte ve özsaygının aracılık rolünü araştırmaktadır. Sonuçlar, öğrenme çevikliği ile kariyer uyumluluğu arasında pozitif ve anlamlı bir ilişki olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Kariyer uyumluluğunun boyutları arasında "özgüven" en güçlü ilişkiyi gösterirken, "endişe" en zayıf ilişkiyi sergilemiştir. Ayrıca, öğrenme çevikliği ile özsaygı arasında, özellikle özseverlik boyutunda, orta düzeyde bir ilişki bulunmuştur. Yapısal denklemler modeli analizleri, özsaygının öğrenme çevikliği ve kariyer uyumluluğu arasındaki ilişkiyi kısmi olarak aracılık ettiğini göstermektedir. Yönetimsel açıdan, bu bulgular, organizasyonların psikolojik esneklik, özsaygı ve adaptif yetenekleri artırmaya yönelik eğitim programlarını entegre etmeleri gerektiğini vurgulamaktadır. Ayrıca, öğrenme çevikliği ve özsaygının doğrulanmış ölçümlerini performans değerlendirme sistemlerine dahil etmek, organizasyonların liderlik potansiyelini daha etkili bir şekilde tanıyıp geliştirmelerine yardımcı olabilir. Bu çalışma, dinamik işyerlerinde psikolojik faktörler ile kariyer uyumluluğu arasındaki etkileşimi anlamaya yönelik önemli teorik katkılar sunmaktadır. Gelecek araştırmalar, demografik faktörlerin etkisini, kültürlerarası karşılaştırmalı çalışmalar yapmayı ve bulguların genellenebilirliğini artırmak için uzunlamasına yaklaşımlar kullanmayı içermektedir.

References

  • Bandura, A., Walters, R. H. (1977). Social learning theory (Vol. 1, pp. 141-154). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  • Bosson, J. K., & Swann Jr, W. B. (1999). Self-liking, self-competence, and the quest for self-verification. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25(10), 1230-1241. https://doi.org/10.1177/014.616.7299258004
  • Brougham, D., & Haar, J. (2018). Smart technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, and algorithms (STARA): Employees’ perceptions of our future workplace. Journal of Management & Organization, 24(2), 239- 257. https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2016.55
  • Burke, W. W., & Noumair, D. A. (2015). Organization Development: A Process of Learning and Changing (3rd ed.). Pearson Education. https://doi.org/10.4324/978.131.5662739
  • Cai, Z., Guan, Y., Li, H., Shi, W., Guo, K., Liu, Y., & Hua, H. (2015). Self-esteem and proactive personality as predictors of future work self and career adaptability: An examination of mediating and moderating processes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 86, 86-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.10.004
  • Chai, D. S., & Kong, L. T. (2017). The effects of learning agility on career adaptability: A moderated mediation analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 99, 23-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.12.002
  • Coetzee, M., Ferreira, N., & Potgieter, I. L. (2020). Facets of career agility as explanatory mechanisms of employees’ career adaptability. African Journal of Career Development, 2(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.4102/ ajcd.v2i1.17
  • De Meuse, K. P. (2019). A meta-analysis of the relationship between learning agility and leader success. Journal of Organizational Psychology, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.33423/jop.v19i1.1151
  • De Meuse, K. P., & Harvey, V. S. (2021). Learning agility. In K. Gravett (Ed.), The age of agility: Building learning agile leaders and organizations (pp. 1-23). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030- 62213-0
  • De Meuse, K. P., Dai, G., & Hallenbeck, G. S. (2010). Learning agility: A construct whose time has come. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 62(2), 119-130. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019831
  • DeRue, D. S., Ashford, S. J., & Myers, C. G. (2012). Learning agility: In search of conceptual clarity and theoretical grounding. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5(3), 258-279. https://doi.org/10.1111/ j.1754-9434.2012.01444.x
  • DeRue, D. S., & Wellman, N. (2009). Developing leaders via experience: The role of developmental challenge, learning orientation, and feedback availability. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(4), 859–875. https:// doi.org/10.1037/a0015317
  • Gerni, G. M., & Denizli, A. A. (2021). Öz yeterliliğin kariyere uyum sağlama becerilerine etkisinde proaktif kişiliğin aracı rolü. Doğuş Üniversitesi Dergisi, 22(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.31671/dogus.2021.01
  • Haenggli, M., & Hirschi, A. (2020). Career adaptability and career success in the context of a broader career resources framework. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 119, 103414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jvb.2020.103414
  • Hartung, P. J., & Cadaret, M. C. (2017). Career adaptability: Changing self and situation for satisfaction and success. Psychology of Career Adaptability, Employability and Resilience, 15–28. https://doi. org/10.1007/978-3-319-66954-0_2
  • Hirschi, A. (2018). The fourth industrial revolution: Issues and implications for career research and practice. The Career Development Quarterly, 66(3), 192-204. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12142
  • Johnston, C. S. (2018). A systematic review of the career adaptability literature and future outlook. Journal of Career Assessment, 26(1), 3-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/106.907.2716679921
  • Lombardo, M. M., & Eichinger, R. W. (2000). High potentials as high learners. Human Resource Management, 39, 321–330. https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-050X
  • McCall, M. W., Lombardo, M. M., & Morrison, A. M. (1988). Lessons of experience: How successful executives develop on the job. Simon and Schuster.
  • Mitchinson, A., & Morris, R. (2014). Learning about learning agility. Center for Creative Leadership. Retrieved from https://www.ccl.org
  • Orth, U., Robins, R. W., & Widaman, K. F. (2012). Life-span development of self-esteem and its effects on important life outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(6), 1271–1288. https://doi. org/10.1037/a0025558
  • Parola, A., & Marcionetti, J. (2022). Positive resources for flourishing: The effect of courage, self-esteem, and career adaptability in adolescence. Societies, 13(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc13010005
  • Rosenberg, M., Schooler, C., Schoenbach, C., & Rosenberg, F. (1995). Global self-esteem and specific self- esteem: Different concepts, different outcomes. American Sociological Review, 141–156. https://doi. org/10.2307/2096319
  • Rudolph, C. W., Lavigne, K. N., & Zacher, H. (2017). Career adaptability: A meta-analysis of relationships with measures of adaptability, career behaviors, and outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 17-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.09.002
  • Rudolph, C. W., Zacher, H., & Hirschi, A. (2019). Empirical developments in career construction theory. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 111, 65-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2018.12.003
  • Salmela-Aro, K., & Nurmi, J. E. (2007). Self-esteem during university studies predicts career characteristics 10 years later. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 70(3), 463–477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2006.12.001
  • Savickas, M. L. (2013). Career construction theory and practice. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (2nd ed., pp. 147–183). Wiley.
  • Savickas, M. L. (2013). The theory and practice of career construction. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (pp. 147–183). John Wiley & Sons.
  • Savickas, M. L., & Porfeli, E. J. (2012). Career Adapt-Abilities Scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countries. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(3), 661–673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jvb.2012.01.011
  • Tafarodi, R. W., & Swann Jr, W. B. (2001). Two-dimensional self-esteem: Theory and measurement. Personality and Individual Differences, 31(5), 653–673. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00169-0
  • Yuen, M., Yau, F. M., Tsui, J. Y. C., Shao, S., & Tsang, J. T. Y. (2021). Career adaptability, self-esteem, and social support among Hong Kong adolescents: A longitudinal study. Journal of Career Development, 48(5), 475-487. https://doi.org/10.1177/089.484.5319861692
  • Zacher, H., Ambiel, R. A., & Noronha, A. P. P. (2015). Career adaptability and career entrenchment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 88, 164–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.03.004
There are 32 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Business Administration
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Tuba Nur Kalyoncu 0009-0009-7981-0391

Müge Leyla Yıldız 0000-0001-7618-4529

Submission Date April 24, 2025
Acceptance Date November 20, 2025
Publication Date December 12, 2025
Published in Issue Year 2025 Volume: 10 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Kalyoncu, T. N., & Yıldız, M. L. (2025). BEYOND SKILLS: THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF SELF-ESTEEM AND LEARNING AGILITY IN SUSTAINING CAREER SUCCESS. Journal of Research in Business, 10(2), 531-550. https://doi.org/10.54452/jrb.1682932