Composing the Reflected Best-self Portrait: Building Pathways for Becoming Extraordinary in Work Organizations

We present a theory of how individuals compose their reflected best-self portrait, which we define as a changing self-knowledge structure about who one is at one’s best. We posit that people compose their reflected best-self portrait through social experiences that draw on intrapsychic and interpersonal resources. By weaving together microlevel theories of personal change and macrolevel theories of human resource development, our theory reveals an important means by which work organizations affect people’s capacity to realize their potential.