It was my great privilege and pleasure to attend the national LeadingAge conference last week in Indianapolis, Indiana. There were more than 6,500 like-minded professionals there to listen, learn, share best practices and validate many of the ideas and programs about what makes senior living the career that I love. It was incredibly valuable for me to hear about how other life plan communities are approaching social media, their “digital profile” and how they are creating new formulas for more successful senior living. I was particularly impressed with listening to Dr. Angela Duckworth talk about the subject of “grit.” Do you remember that movie—True Grit? At the time, we knew that John Wayne was the essence of what our folks had told us it took to get through tough times and last through the challenges. But that was a western—and a movie. Plenty of you have had to demonstrate real life “true grit” to succeed in careers, raise children, sustain through hard economic times and persevere when family has passed away or maybe passed us by.
Before she was a psychology professor, Angela Duckworth taught math in middle school and high school. She spent a lot of time thinking about something that might seem obvious: The students who tried hardest did the best, and the students who didn’t try very hard didn’t do very well. Duckworth wanted to know: What is the role of effort in a person’s success?
Now Duckworth is an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and her research focuses on a personality trait she calls “grit.” She defines grit as “sticking with things over the very long term until you master them.” In a paper, she writes that “the gritty individual approaches achievement as a marathon; his or her advantage is stamina.”
I found that very interesting in light of what I know from many seniors over the years of my profession about how they have succeeded in spite of anything and everything. Many of you here on the Beatitudes Campus have been educators, and skilled professionals with life’s ups and downs—challenges, joys, highs and lows. And you are here—you got through it all with aplomb and became heroes to admirers like me.
Duckworth’s research suggests that when it comes to high achievement, grit may be as essential as intelligence. That’s a significant finding because for a long time, intelligence was considered the key to success.
Intelligence “is probably the best-measured trait that there is in all of human psychology,” says Duckworth. “We know how to measure intelligence in a matter of minutes.”
But intelligence leaves a lot unexplained. There are smart people who aren’t high achievers, and there are people who achieve a lot without having the highest test scores. In one study, Duckworth found that smarter students actually had less grit than their peers who scored lower on an intelligence test. This finding suggests that, among the study participants (all students at an Ivy League school) people who are not as bright as their peers “compensate by working harder and with more determination.” And their effort pays off: The grittiest students—not the smartest ones—had the highest GPAs.
Duckworth went on to tell us about her “Grit Scale.” Someday I think we’ll form a lifelong learners class solely dedicated to this very interesting measurement and topic.
Duckworth has developed a test called the “Grit Scale.” You rate yourself on a series of 8 to 12 items. Two examples: “I have overcome setbacks to conquer an important challenge” and “Setbacks don’t discourage me.” It’s entirely self-reported, so you could game the test, and yet what Duckworth has found is that a person’s grit score is highly predictive of achievement under challenging circumstances.
At the elite United States Military Academy, West Point, a cadet’s grit score was the best predictor of success in the rigorous summer training program known as “Beast Barracks.” Grit mattered more than intelligence, leadership ability or physical fitness. This time of the year, I think of the more than 100 veterans who live on this campus and I see the result of authentic grit.
At the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the grittiest contestants were the most likely to advance to the finals — at least in part because they studied longer, not because they were smarter or were better spellers.
Here’s a very interesting dichotomy. The charter schools which have really taken hold here in Arizona have succeeded in providing strong academic preparation. Most of their students go to college. Yet the students graduate from college at lower rates than would be expected based on their academic preparation.
The charter schools want to know why that is. Angela Duckworth wants to know if grit has anything to do with it.
These are complicated questions, and the answers aren’t in yet. I suspect that there are a number of things to think about before jumping to the conclusion that students who don’t finish college aren’t gritty. What I do know is that whenever I need a little grit boosting infusion, I go to the Bistro and engage in conversation with some of the grittiest people I know—you inspire, you teach, you gently coax me with sometimes praise, sometimes suggestions, sometimes just pure friendship.
I would love for us to focus on the populace here at Beatitudes Campus with that “grit spotlight” and really examine the factors that led to success in spite of what many of you have disclosed were significantly tough times through careers, family rearing and economic challenges. I believe there is much to be learned from each other and I am so glad that we hold that as a core value here—life-long learning that inspires, challenges and sustains. We are indeed so rich when we allow each other in the fellowship that so obviously thrives on this campus.
By the way, we’ve had enough grit to wait through the process of our First Impressions/Operation Welcome upgrades to finally play out. All of the new furniture, accessories and case goods will be delivered to campus on December 7th – 9th. It will be quite a “ballet” as we move existing items around, send some to the Backstreet Boutique and retire other pieces. Thanks for hanging in there as we have worked through the process!
