Grit

I just learned that my grit score is 4.75 out of 5, which makes me grittier than at least 90% of the US population.

I’d like to thank Bill Hybels and The Global Leadership Summit Podcast for telling me about the Grit Assessment, a research study and voluntary online survey published by The University of Pennsylvania.  If you’d like to know how much grit you have, click here.

Grit is one of the key intangibles of leadership. The dictionary defines it as an indomitable spirit, one that cannot be subdued or overcome.

In his podcast, Pastor Hybels has this to say about grit …

• Grit is unrelenting, long-term tenacity.
• Grit is the willingness to utilize every last drop of human effort to move something ahead and then to keep on expending that full output of energy until you cross the finish line.

… and this to say about gritty people …

• Gritty people play hurt.
• Gritty people don’t whimper or waiver or quit … ever!
• Gritty people expect progress to be difficult, yet believe to the core of their being that they can overcome whatever obstacle stands in their way.

The first 15 minutes of the podcast are worth a listen this holiday season.  Click here to listen.

The Little Engine That Could had grit. He willed his way to get over the crest of the mountain by thinking and believing he could do it. He would not be stopped.

As he was ascending the mountain, he chanted, “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.” And as he descended, he affirmed, “I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I could.”

Grit can be developed both personally and organizationally. If you’re unhappy with your level of grittiness, you can acquire that character quality by merely thinking you can do it.

We become what we think about.

Merry Christmas.