Q: What role should GRIT play when sourcing for talent?
As I frequently consult and benchmark with my colleagues across the country, I am surprised at how many organizations exclusively use assessment tools tied to competencies as their primary way of identifying talent for their organizations. Even interviews can be challenging when trying to identify that right fit for your organization, there is no interview that can measure GRIT and tell us if a person is going to work really hard every day over a period of time.
What organizations often fail to factor into the equation of sourcing for talent is that cognitive ability alone does not translate into organizational success. What we really want is a candidate who has a high level of talent, but also a high level of effort that allows for them to maximize achievement. GRIT shows us the evidence of commitment to a challenging situation that is sustained over a number of years. Studies have shown that cadets from West Point and Student-Athletes are excellent examples of people who have high levels of GRIT. Ultimately, we know that Achievement = Talent x Effort if we are going to maximize production in the workplace with human capital.
Most people want to back-up to the stove of life and get heat from it.
But they don’t want to put any wood into it.
