Grit - The Key to Finding "Eddie the Eagle" for Your Team

My wife, kids and I watched a surprisingly great movie called Eddie the Eagle a week or so ago.  It is based on the true story of a man named Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards.  Eddie was a Brittish ski jumper that competed in the 1988 Olympics.  The movie tells the story of this very unlikely Olympic hero that doesn't have the "measurables" or pedigree of most Olympic athletes, but had an unbelievable amount of grit and determination that allowed him to reach his dreams and become a crowd favorite (even though he got last place in both events he competed in).  Eddie is faced with setback after setback, but never looses his optimistic spirit or gives up on his goal (even when those around him are telling him he's crazy and should move on).

It prompted me to think about how important grit is to success.  Whether you are talking about an athlete, musician or professional of any kind, grit is the secret ingredient.  

Sometimes people think that success is all about talent, but a lot of recent research suggests that talent (e.g., ability to play the piano, throw a baseball, write effectively, be a great doctor, etc.) is based on deliberate practice.  You've probably heard of the 10,000 hour rule - stating that approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice is required to master a skill.  That means that talent isn't just about your natural abilities, but instead based on the hard work and discipline required to practice over and over again.  So, what gives some people the ability to put in the hard work it requires to practice?

Angela Duckworth, a psycologist at Penn, published a paper in journal of Social Psychological and Personality Science that addresses this question by studying spelling bee participants and West Point cadets.  After analyzing the data, Duckworth discovered the importance of a psychological trait known as grit.  She defines grit as the perseverance and passion to achieve long–term goals. In previous papers, Duckworth has demonstrated that grit can be reliably measured with a short survey that measures consistency of passions (e.g., ‘‘I have been obsessed with a certain idea or project for a short time but later lost interest’’) and consistency of effort (e.g., ‘‘Setbacks don’t discourage me’’) over time using a 5-point scale. Not surprisingly, those with grit are more single-minded about their goals – they tend to get obsessed with certain activities – and also more likely to persist in the face of struggle and failure.  

This tells us that our most important talent is having a talent for working hard, for practicing even when practice isn’t fun - and that takes grit.

So, how do you find people with grit for your team?  I like to look for optimistic, goal-oriented people that have demonstrated the endurance to work towards those goals for long periods of time, bouncing back from any setbacks and relentlessly pursuing success.  This can come in many forms from academic to athletics to music, but you need to see that determination to succeed exists.  The optimistic attribute is important because, along the way, you will stumble and need a positive outlook to fight through the challenges and continue to pursue the goal.  

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About: Justin Bell is a Vice President at Credera. He enjoys leading teams and working with clients on their digital strategy, understanding how technology can be used to accomplish business objectives and IT Velocity/Efficiency initiatives.  Read more about Credera's perspective here.