Grit

How to turn your tenacity into the ultimate X-factor.

Want to get ahead in your working life? All you need is grit, reckons psychologist Angela Duckworth. Her 2016 book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, suggests that the secret of success isn’t natural ability or innate skill. It’s not even plenty of practice. Instead, it’s never giving up. Passion and determination are the key predictors of success. Plenty of people are intellectually capable of doing jobs, but few have the tenacity not to quit when things get tough. It’s something Duckworth first realised teaching maths to 10- and 11-year-olds.

Grit as a propelling factor is a tempting thing to ascribe to: casting aside background, educational attainment or social standing, the buzzworthy term flattens the playing field for everyone – provided they work hard enough. “Duckworth is absolutely right,” says Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at the Alliance Manchester Business School. “We promote people on their technical skills, not their people skills” or grit – and that’s wrong.

Grit, of course, is a dish best served with sides – in other words, like all great qualities, it works best when combined with emotional intelligence, and the ability to read others, too.

This is one of the 101 indispensable things you need to know about work today. Click here to see the rest.

Image credit: Piero Zagami and Michela Nicchiotti.