Reviving Grit: Columbia Business School study finds that in pursuit of success, dedication falls short without passion

NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Stories of grit – from Rudy Ruettiger making the Notre Dame football team to Rocky Balboa battling Apollo Creed – captivate the public imagination, representing a deep appreciation for individuals who overcome tough obstacles through hard work and determination. Through the pioneering work of University of Pennsylvania Professor Angela Duckworth, educators have moved to incorporate grit into the classroom, focusing on the traits of resilience and perseverance. Duckworth has championed grit – which she defines as the combination of perseverance and passion – as an important predictor, alongside I.Q. or SAT scores, for predicting future success.

Despite the intuitive importance of grit for performance, researchers have been unable to find consistent evidence that grittier individuals are more likely to succeed, leading critics to increasingly declare the concept to be an over-hyped mirage.

But a new study published by Columbia Business School and Frankfurt School of Finance & Management in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) pushes back – both moving grit beyond the classroom and reviving its predictive power. Grit, itself, has grit as long as one also measures its passion factor.

The research team of Columbia Business School Professor Adam Galinsky, the Vikram S. Pandit Professor of Business, doctoral candidates Jon Jachimowicz and Erica Bailey, and Professor Andreas Wihler of Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, find that earlier analyses of grit fell short because they primarily focused on perseverance and undervalued the key ingredient of passion. That is, prior research emphasized the importance of persevering through tough challenges, but, as the researchers note, perseverance without the clear sense of direction that passion provides does not propel people forward. By more explicitly incorporating passion into both the theory of grit and its measurement, the researchers have established a link from grit to future performance.

"We were not surprised to find that dogged dedication to an objective – without a true passion for the goal – is mere drudgery," said Columbia Business School Professor Adam Galinsky. "But until now, research on grit failed to factor in the propulsive force that animated grit's perseverance. By properly incorporating passion into the grit equation, we now have evidence that people who are passionate for their goal and persevere towards it will reach higher heights."

"Heralding public icons who have persevered through tough challenges is only half the story," said doctoral candidate Jon Michael Jachimowicz, the study's lead author. "In addition, we also need to understand the factors that can help people experience passion. Companies around the globe need to recognize the key importance of passion and position employees to pursue personally important goals. Whether it's gritty athletes making the team, or gritty students getting into the college of their dreams, it's only through the combination of perseverance and passion that grit can capture its true potential.

To link grit directly with performance, the research team revisited previous grit studies and implemented two new field studies to clearly measure both perseverance and passion. The researchers also used one of the field studies to gauge immersion, described as a more intense level of focus – such as a student who loses track of time when studying for a favorite subject.

• Technology company employees: In a survey at a technology company, researchers measured 422 employees on both Angela Duckworth's Grit-S scale – which rates how likely someone might be to stick it out through tough challenges – as well as on passion attainment – which focuses whether employees are attaining their desired levels of passion for their work. Researchers then matched employees' survey responses to supervisor-rated performance ratings, finding that the best performing employees had high levels of both passion for the job and perseverance.
• College students: In a second study, researchers recruited 248 college students at a private university and asked them to fill out the same Grit-S scale and passion attainment questions as the technology company employees. Researchers also asked students about immersion, using questions from the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, such as, "When I am working on activities related to my courses, I forget everything else around me." Researchers then compared the survey results with students' self-submitted college transcripts and GPAs within their college major. Using a regression analysis, researchers found that when students report high levels of passion for their work, they have a clearer connection between perseverance and better grades.
• Grit meta-analysis: The research team also revisited 127 previous grit studies, assigning independent coders to review the studies to identify participants who would be more passionate about their pursuits. Analyses showed that in cases where participants likely had a greater passion for a performance domain – such as a survey of entrepreneurs fielding questions about starting their own companies – there was a stronger relationship between perseverance and performance.

Through the two studies and the meta-analysis, researchers determined that perseverance only propels employees and students forward when they experience desired levels of passion. The article, Why Grit Requires Perseverance and Passion to Positively Predict Performance, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is available online at: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/09/12/1803561115

To learn more about the cutting-edge research taking place at Columbia Business School, please visit www.gsb.columbia.edu.

About Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School is the only world-class, Ivy League business school that delivers a learning experience where academic excellence meets with real-time exposure to the pulse of global business. Led by Dean Glenn Hubbard, the School's transformative curriculum bridges academic theory with unparalleled exposure to real-world business practice, equipping students with an entrepreneurial mindset that allows them to recognize, capture, and create opportunity in any business environment. The thought leadership of the School's faculty and staff members, combined with the accomplishments of its distinguished alumni and position in the center of global business, means that the School's efforts have an immediate, measurable impact on the forces shaping business every day. To learn more about Columbia Business School's position at the very center of business, please visit www.gsb.columbia.edu.

About Frankfurt School of Finance & Management
Frankfurt School of Finance & Management is a research-led business school accredited by EQUIS, AMBA and AACSB International. Frankfurt School offers educational programs covering financial, economic and management subjects, including Bachelor and Master degrees, various MBAs and a doctoral program and executive education programs. In their research, Frankfurt School's faculty members explore topical aspects of business, management, banking and finance. Frankfurt School experts also manage advisory and training projects on financial matters in emerging markets and developing countries, especially on topics related to microfinance and renewable energy finance. Frankfurt School's Master of Finance program is the only German Master degree in finance to appear in the current Financial Times ranking (at #31). The Master in Management is currently ranked #28 worldwide by the FT. For more details see www.frankfurt-school.de

SOURCE Columbia Business School

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