When you type the name ‘Angela Duckworth’ into Google (don’t do it now) you will quickly begin to see the word ‘grit’ start to pop up a lot. Angela is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she devotes her time to the study of grit. As one of the keynote speakers, she delivered a talk on grit. To add to the wonderful gritty list, she carefully crafted a book on grit, which was obviously titled Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. So, one could even say she knows more about grit than John Wayne (which is honestly really saying something). The book itself is a fantastic read, lucky for you we have converted it into a presentation that’s a completely free download just for you (more on this later). Now if you are looking to instill some grit into your team, then it seems destiny would be on your side.

Destiny

Whether you believe in destiny or not, I’m sure you can agree that many who possess heaps of talent believe, and are often told, they are destined for greatness. Society today so often praises talent and oversells its value in the role of achieving great things. People are evidently drinking the Kool-aid because they keep making more damn talent shows! The thing is, there are tons of people out there right now with tons of talent, wondering to themselves why other, far less talented and far less skilled individuals are achieving so much more. It’s just not fair, right? Wrong! It’s completely fair. Talent or skill does not fulfill destiny. Those that achieve great things have something in them that goes beyond talent.

The Beyond

Think of the 1400’s explorers and their swashbuckling crews. Sure, they all had exceptional skill and talent to sail the open waters in hopes of finding hidden treasure and undiscovered land. However, their skill and talent could not magically transport them to these new things. They had to face down treacherous waters, dehydration, pirates, and scurvy. What on earth could get a person through that? You probably already know the answer. Shout it out! Grit! Perseverance! Effort! That is what lies beyond talent.

How much does talent count?

Angela’s book challenges the notion that many people struggle with. That notion is, “I cannot do something because I’m not good at it.”. She simply puts it like this “Talent counts, effort counts twice.”. Grit kicks talents butt all day long. This is proven all across history. Bill Gates himself is on the record for saying he never had an inherent talent for public speaking, yet now when he speaks people listen. He stated that “Speech after speech, year after year, I learned to step out on a stage and paint a vision of technology for our customers, partners and the media.”. After his first speech, he could easily have thrown in the towel and made way for someone “more talented.”. Instead, he kept pushing and putting in the effort because he knew he was the only one who could go up there and explain his vision properly. Now he is a keynote speaker. Not due to his talent, but due to his grit.