Leadership with grit

Upon reading these inspirational tales of triumph, we quickly come to realise that hard work is an essential ingredient in the recipe for success. However, how exactly do we cultivate the enduring work ethic required for success? And more importantly, how do we sustain it? In this month’s Hot Topic, we address these burning questions through the exploration of grit – an enduring psychological resource which provides us with the passion and perseverance required to achieve long-term goals and objectives.

Getting to Grips with Grit

‘A perseverance and passion for long-term goals’. This was Angela Duckworth’s 2007 summation of the emerging psychological construct we now know as ‘grit’. Thirteen years (and more than 40,000 research publications) later, grit has come to be a focal point of numerous research endeavours, within several diverse performance domains including medicine, sport, education and, of course, business. 

In recognition of application within high performance domains and as an extension of Duckworth’s original research, recent scholarship has proposed a more holistic theory of grit – one which is based on key principles of:

1) Adaptability: Grit not only provides us with the resilience to cope with unexpected setbacks, but it also enables us to learn, change, and adapt. Rather than IQ or EQ (Emotional Intelligence), grit requires a high level of AQ (Adaptability); the ability to abandon old ways of thinking, embrace ambiguity and respond quickly to changing environmental conditions.

2) Harmonious passion: Grit requires passion, however if we allow our passion to become obsessive (i.e. you feel compelled to keep going and do not know how to stop), we risk burnout. Consequently, we must seek to maintain a continued sense of harmonious passion (i.e. where you feel in control and know when to stop) when pursing our long-term goals.

3) Persistence: Persistence, much like passion, can be both healthy and unhealthy when examined from a grit perspective. Rather than demonstrating stubbornness or refusal to quit, grit requires us to show tenacity when faced with difficult and challenging obstacles and maintain a positive belief that these obstacles can be and will be overcome.

4) Experimentation: Whilst experimentation (i.e. trying new things) may be considered as somewhat contradictory to the concept of persistence, it is in fact crucial in our continued pursuit of long-term goals. In the context of grit, experimentation has been linked to hope, a positive cognitive state which enables us to cultivate an optimistic and proactive approach towards idea generation and problem solving.

Becoming the Gritty Leader

In attempting to create a grit-fuelled culture, never forget that you set the standard for your employees. Consequently, before we can promote grit in others, we must first nurture it within ourselves. Below, we examine some of the key processes required to make that happen.

	How to implement it
Be Self-Accountable	Set yourself high (yet achievable) standards and strive for continual improvement, whilst constantly seeking out new challenges in your working environment. Gritty leaders are also not afraid to acknowledge their weaknesses. In fact, the more dissatisfied they are with their current standards, the more they heighten their efforts.
Cultivate your Strengths	Your desire to succeed is largely determined by your belief that you have the resources required for success. As well as identifying and cultivating your own signature strengths, create an ecosystem where your employees are provided with the opportunities to fully leverage theirs in the pursuit of a common and collective goal.
Maintain Motivation	Gritty leaders maintain a continued sense of meaning and purpose in their work. In addition to high levels of intrinsic motivation (i.e. a desire to grow, accomplish and experience stimulation), you must be continually motivated to help others and realise that what you do truly matters to those around you.
Think Systematically	As well as being able to keep an eye on the “big picture”, be flexible in your thinking and take time to break down current tasks and adopt a systematic approach to problem solving. The ability to visualise a problem’s “full picture” — all the relevant interlinked aspects and how the problem may unfold over time — is a key skill of the gritty leader.
Look Forward	As well as finding continued enjoyment and purpose in present tasks, gritty leaders can clearly visualise a desired future; in fact leaders who are more future-oriented may be able to better restrain themselves from impulsive decisions that may negatively impact important long-term goals as they have a clear connection between present and future.
Embrace the Uncertain	Gritty leaders perceive failure to be an unforeseen opportunity and therefore a new avenue for growth. By adopting an effectual approach (i.e. altering or adapting of goals in accordance with the situational context) and adopting a growth-mindset, past failures can become a catalyst for increased perseverance and sustained attention.