According to Dr. Angela Duckworth’s book “Grit,” a key indicator of being highly successful isn’t talent or intellect (although helpful for obvious reasons). It’s (you guessed it) GRIT.


Duckworth explains that the highly successful have a focused determination which makes them resilient, hard-working, and goal-centric in the long term. She describes this passion and perseverance as GRIT.


I like the word GRIT. It invokes a “down in the dirt, gridiron, blood, sweat and tears” kind of feel. 

But I like the word HUSTLE even more.

I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity. Hustle is the preparation. Hustle turns possibility into opportunity. We know hustle when we see it.

When I think of highly successful individuals, many are clients, I see hustle trumping pedigree every time. Please don’t misunderstand, I work with some very highly-educated and “intellectually pedigreed” individuals, however, the common denominator among all is always hustle. 

Think about this for a minute, as a leader have you ever tried to mentor, coach, or develop someone with high potential, but it just didn’t work? Maybe the circumstances or the timing were off. Maybe it wasn’t a great personality fit. Or maybe the person just lacked hustle. Here’s the truth of the matter – you can’t teach hustle.

As a leader, when you seek high-potential candidates for mentorship or coaching, it’s important to gauge, when you can, their hustle factor.

So….
If you can’t teach it, and you know it when you see it, what’s it look like?

LOOK FOR THESE HUSTLE FACTORS:

  • DRIVE and MOTIVATION
  • AWARENESS OF STRENGTHS and BLIND SPOTS
  • TRACK RECORD of ACCOMPLISHMENTS
  • QUICK PIVOT after “FAILURES” (excited to give it another try)
  • LEARNING AGILITY
  • LADDERED THINKING (the next advancement, and the next, the next)
  • KNOWING HOW TO MANAGE CAREER DERAILMENT RISKS


I agree with Dr. Duckworth’s assessment that GRIT is a key success indicator, however, Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z weren’t too far off when they said…
Can’t Knock the HUSTLE.