Grit is Not Enough

“As a psychologist who studies how people achieve their goals, I see the data leading to the opposite conclusion: Willpower is overrated.” - Angela Duckworth

Angela Duckworth's 2013 TED Talk introduced the powerful concept of grit, outlining the 2007 research of she and her colleagues. Grit was discussed as a combination of passion and perseverance and the research was clear that it was a greater determinant of success than was talent alone. She followed the success of her TED Talk with her 2013 book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Grit is what we have within us that helps us to stick it out - fix it or finish what we began. 

In her recent 2025 research and work, Duckworth and her colleagues are delving into the concept of situational agency. Situational agency is the power to design your surroundings in ways that make desired behaviors automatic and undesired behaviors difficult, reducing the need for constant self-control.

At the new year, many of us take a look at our life and our leadership and consider who we are, who we want to be, how we want to show up and what we want to accomplish. For school leaders, it is a mid-year self-reflection and a chance to look back on those August plans and intentions …. How are you doing/progressing toward those? Maybe you’ve identified ways you need to add/subtract or revise those plans for the remainder of the school year.

One way to ensure a greater chance of success with those plans? Add the tool of situational agency to your already well-developed grit. For example, maybe you find too much of your time (and presence) is being hijacked by social media or other digital distractions. Think about where you keep your phone and whether or not (and/or when) you have alerts turned on.  Or maybe you find yourself tied (figuratively) to your desk/computer/office day after day and you know you want to show up in departments and on campuses in meaningful and regular ways. How can you and your assistant use your calendar more powerfully to support and ensure you break away regularly?  

What other ways can you find to design your environment to support your goals and aspirations as a leader? Don’t use hope as a strategy or magical wishful thinking …. Be intentional in 2026!

“No matter your age, situational agency empowers you to navigate what might be called an ultraprocessed world - an environment saturated with temptations engineered to be irresistible.” - Angela Duckworth