What is so Special About Exceptional Software Professionals?

This paper concerns differences in action styles and psychological well-being between exceptional and average software professionals. A field study with 33 exceptional and 80 average software professionals was done. The study shows that exceptional persons are neither more planful nor more goal oriented than their colleagues. But they experience a higher psychological well-being. Additionally, exceptional software professionals show less irritation/strain when their goal orientation is high, while there is no association between goal orientation and irritation/strain in average software professionals. Consequences for the selection and the work situation of exceptional software professionals are derived.

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