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 to- gether microlevel theories of personal change and macrolevel theories of human resource development, our theory reveals an important means by which work orga- nizations affect people's capacity to realize their potential.