We all know people who aren’t necessarily exceedingly intelligent or particularly talented, who have a way of succeeding no matter what they do.

A researcher noticed this about ten years ago and set out to learn what this is and how it works.   Since then, Angela Lee Duckworth, PhD, has conducted a series of studies on a concept called “grit.”  Grit is another word for backbone, chutzpah, fortitude, guts, stick-to-it-iveness, etc.  It all started when Dr. Duckworth (while a student in Graduate School) observed that it wasn’t necessarily the smartest people who succeeded and made a lasting impact on science. 

She had a hunch that it was a person’s personal “grit” recipe that made the difference in their level of success.  Across six studies, Duckworth found that grit significantly contributed to successful outcomes:  Undergrads with the most grit earned higher grade point averages than their peers.  West Point Cadets with the highest levels of grit were more likely to return after the first summer.  Even “grittier” spelling bee competitors (a situation where IQ would seem the best predictor) out-spelled their less tenacious competitors.  Among older individuals, people with substantial grit had higher levels of education and made fewer career changes than less gritty peers of the same age.

In reviewing the literature, there appears to be little explanation as to how a person can acquire grit.  So, is this something innate in some and not in others?  Is it based on our genetic make-up?  Or, are there outside influences that haven’t been explored as of yet (socio-economic status, traumatic circumstances early in life, family dynamics, etc…)?

Duckworth is still trying to find the answer.  But I want to remind you of the research on the growth mind set, which states that if you simply teach people about how the brain has the ability to change and grow, they can change and adopt new behaviors and learn beyond what they imagined was possible.  This is not pop psychology.  This is an empirically proven fact.  

So, ask your most gritty managers, executives and agents, “What has made you gritty?” or, “What is it about how you think that makes you capable of overcoming so many obstacles?”

I guarantee that you will have a powerful discussion develop that you never could have anticipated.

Many successful people don’t attribute their success to their IQ or level of talent, but rather to their tenacity.  Genius Thomas Edison was one of those people.  Edison once said:  “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” 

“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”  (Harriet Beecher Stowe)

Here is another prime example of grit:  Poet David Baker is Director of Creative Writing at Denison University, and author of seven books of poetry, including “Midwest Eclogue.”  Mr. Baker laments: 

“Unfortunately, no one comes in my window and whispers poems to me… Poets [have to] work hard.  I may work on a single poem for weeks or months and write 60 or 70 drafts—only to decide that draft 22 was the good one.”

Along these same lines, people often refer to Mozart’s diaries, where he divulges that an entire symphony appeared, supposedly intact, in his head.  However, Jonathan Plucker an educational psychologist at Indiana University points out:

“But no one ever quotes the next paragraph, where he talks about how he refined the work for months.”

So what can we learn from this?  The data shows that if we praise talent and accomplishments, we get stagnation, and even failure.  However, in studies where “effort” was rewarded, the result was growth and greater success.  Stick to rewarding effort in you and in others and you’ll develop a successful team.  

Success comes to those who work harder…

In the meantime, if you want to contribute to science, visit http://www.ppresearch.sas.upenn.edu/ to take a ten minute grit assessment.

Source:  Psychology Today

Editor’s Note:  This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn.  Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you’re an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the “comments” link below.