Preview: Angela Duckworth

by: admin

Dr. Angela Duckworth is a student of grit. What causes it, what it means in the hard climb to success, how it serves the military cadet, the spelling bee champion, the long-time employee of a high-attrition company, the woman persisting through a hard political campaign. Like the somber-faced Maddy of recent movie fame, we might view grit as a rare quality, something to be found among stoic lawmen who find their man no matter how tough the going. However, grit goes by a genteel handle as well: perseverance.

“Gritty people have a pattern of staying with one path. Grit is choosing to show up again and again,” Duckworth explains. Long before she made the quality a subject of her doctoral studies, the former middle school teacher had noticed this quality in her middle school students. It was what separated the simply smart kids from the ones who would excel. Gritty people, Duckworth says, are not easily tempted away from their ultimate goal by distractions, easy answers, or boredom. Their perseverance keeps them focused on the far-off goal, not on the immediate nuances or distractions that stand in the way of attaining it.

What feeds this stick-to-it attitude? Optimism is important, Duckworth’s studies have shown. “Gritty people are optimists. When something bad happens and it has ambiguous origins—such as not getting a job—we try to knit together a causal story. The optimist thinks the failure is because of narrow, changeable things, like blowing that particular interview. The pessimist thinks the cause is general, unalterable—that she is an idiot, or doesn’t deserve such a job.” Self-control also seems to play a role, particularly the ability to accept boredom or unpleasantness in the short term because of long-term gain. Can these intangible personality traits be taught? Or is leadership for a lucky few who know some secret formula for success? Duckworth believes they can. In her workshop, Bay Path attendees will learn how to get a little grit of their own—a quality that will affect not only career success, but give new power to whatever long-term course of action they plan to undertake.

Angela Duckworth will conduct a breakout session at the 16th Annual Bay Path Conference on April 29th.