Grit in the Workplace/Organizational Grit 

 In order to have grit in the workplace, organizations must have their top level goal in their hierarchy of goals align with their employee’s goals.

Hierarchy of Goals: The bottom is specific tasks on a short-term to-do list, which help accomplish mid-level goals. At the top of the hierarchy is a goal that is abstract, broad, and important. 

Even when a goal is clear and appropriate, rhetoric won’t be enough to promote it. An organization’s leader must use the goal to make decisions, or they will not be seen as a credible or “gritty” leader. 

– Organizations are the lengthened shadows of their leaders. In order for a leader to cultivate grit into the workplace, they must:

Personifying passion and perseverance by being an authoritative role model for everyone in the organization is one of the most important things to cultivate.

 What is a growth mindset?

The belief that abilities can be developed through hard work and feedback, and that major challenges and setbacks provide an opportunity to learn. 

– Working in teams is an essential component of the business world, and some people may view commitment to a team as a loss of autonomy, but gritty people view a whole as greater than the sum of its parts. 

Hiring for Grit

Grit and conscientiousness have a strong positive correlation, r=0.77.

• Ultimately this shows that people who exhibit grit are far more likely to be an asset to one’s company.

Grit in the workplace correlates strongly with passion. If someone is passionate about what they do, they are more likely to have organizational commitment. 

College Education and Grit

-In 2004 through a voluntary response study, researchers found that students who have completed college are far more likely to be grittier than those who haven’t.

Look for multi-year commitments and evidence of advancement/achievement. Find someone who has bounced back from failure, demonstrated flexibility and continuous self improvement.