TSI is hearing a lot about “grit” these days. From Ted Talks to seeing an abundance of articles, including Forbes and the Washington Post, grit (defined as courage and resolve; strength of character) appears to be the link to your, your company, or your kid’s success.
While I have a few opinions, I’m certainly no expert on grit and how one might achieve it. However, I wanted to share a few perspectives from folks that I believe know a thing or two about grit – former student-athletes. So, in this post, I’m sharing several perspectives from a few former student-athletes that are thriving in the business and higher education world. I believe that true student-athletes, those that pursue their academic interests with the same fervor as their athletic passions, have grit.
I have asked each of them to share how playing a sport has impacted them and transition into the post-collegiate work world. I’ve shared their comments below – enj
oy. I hope it helps add even more clarity to this elusive character trait. Thank you to Lindsay, Chandler, Nick, and Scott for taking your time to share these perspectives with our readers. That was very kind of you and a testament to the type of student-athlete you were.
1) Self-Discipline – “Without discipline, success and its sustainability does not happen. Sports and academics together teach extreme discipline. When the alarm goes off, you get up. When it’s time for class, you listen. When it’s time to practice, you give it your all. When it’s time to take care of yourself (stretching, icing, foam rolling, napping), you prioritize and make the time. If you want success, self-discipline is a must!
2) How to Fail, How to Fall – Inevitably there comes a time when you don’t win, you get injured, or you fall. You learn how to grow from your mistakes and recognize that “losing” is part of the process and it never defines you. When you fall, you get right back up and try again. Your mistakes become a gift to improve, fine-tune, change and learn. You persevere.
3) Competitive –You deeply desire to win and your actions and heart follow suit. You thrive and better yourself through competition.
Teamwork, time management, leadership, confidence, I could go on and on. Student-athletes rock!”
Lindsay Barr ’03 – Stewardship Data Analyst, Stanford Athletics, Stanford University
(Editor’s note: Lindsay was a standout track athlete for Stanford as well as the University of Tennessee, running grueling events like the 800 and 1500 meters.)
Confidence Development
“My first thought with how athletics has helped prepare me for the real world is the development of mental toughness. So many times, as an athlete, I was doubted, criticized and even ridiculed by fans, peers and the media. I had to zone out the “noise” and stay in my lane while not worrying about what others had to say. This allowed me to focus on my craft and remain confident in what I was doing as a student and athlete, and now a working person in the sales and project management construction industry.
Another lesson I have learned is having the ability to say no. This helps me in life and in athletics because you can better focus on the important things in life and prioritization. Saying no to people can be very tough because those people could be family and/or friends. Many times they want you to help them benefit from their own companies, fundraisers or organizations; however, saying yes all the time will stretch you thin and tire you out. Keeping the main thing the main thing and not sweating all the small stuff definitely allowed me to focus on the priorities of life first, then I was able to fit the other little things in as I could… and I still do that to this day.
A final lesson I have learned in both athletics and now the working world is the idea of being ‘different’. To set myself apart, I always am looking for ways to outperform my competition, whether that was extra time in the film room, weight room, practice field and now the office of networking events. What am I willing to sacrifice more than others so that I can succeed and achieve my dreams? This is a question I ask myself all the time. I feel this is important so I never get comfortable in life and accept mediocrity. Always striving for more, while also smelling the roses, is so important to finding success in life (at least in my opinion).”
Chandler Harnish – Sales & Project Manager, Pinkston-Tadd, Inc. Commercial Roof Contractors
(Editor’s note: Chandler was a drafted into the NFL playing for the Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings after setting numerous records at Northern Illinois University)
Dedication and Drive
“I swam at the University of Kentucky and then transferred to swim for Arizona. I think D1 sports require, at a minimum, that you are focused. You only have three options in college as an athlete: fun/ sports/academics. You get to pick two. Most college kids don’t have a severe prioritization mandate unless they’re non-trad. Apart from that, looking at one’s self at all times for improvement. Competition is a benchmark, but when you’re in a big pond of sharks, you’re basically going to spend your college career losing. Life is mostly, IMO, re-knowing how to tinker and evolve towards very, very rare wins.” Nick Zeckets – CEO + co-founder QuadWrangle, Inc.
(Editor’s note: Swimming at this level is for people who hate sleep and love to push themselves to extremes.)
“The best advice I was ever given about balancing school and athletics was to sit in the front of the classroom and ask questions. Not only does it force you to pay attention, but it also helps you to be in the professor’s good graces. I still have relationships to this day with several of my teachers and I appreciate their friendship to this day.
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- Take school seriously! Most of us won’t go pro in athletics and if you do our careers were very short and we will fall back on our education. Sometimes for me, it was difficult staying up late studying or missing out on social events, but it helped me earn a business degree. To this day one of my proudest moments was graduating from Northern with a 3.1 GPA while being an athlete.
- Be social with your classmates, alumni, and make friends because when you get into the business world they will be working in the marketplace alongside you (Nice to have some fellow Huskies on your side). Especially as an athlete the network you will be exposed to is pretty remarkable and can really propel you into life after athletics! There is a reason athletes do so well in business not only because of work ethic, team building, and GRIT, but because of a killer natural market.”
Scott Wedige– Managing Director/Financial Advisor, Northwest Mutual
(Editor’s note: Scott played football for Northern Illinois University and then played 3 years in the NFL playing for the Arizona Cardinals, Giants, Jets, and Bengals.)
Grit at TSI
One aspect of athletics that contributes to grit is the notion of practicing – over and over in all types of conditions and then competing against others who have been doing the same. No one wins every competition and almost everyone gets injured in some manner.
Grit is the manifestation of this and these athletes have done a nice job articulating what being a student-athlete has meant to them. So as much as we would like, grit is not like downloading an app on your phone. Over years, it is earned and re-earned. As some writers and speakers might say grit outperforms intelligence (and likely many other traits as well).
At TSI we spend many hours helping organizations improve some aspect of their performance. Often when we are engaged with our clients, we analyze the People, Process and Technology aspects as levers to improve that performance. Since change is at the heart of any performance improvement project, the grit that team has can make all of the difference between successfully changing (or not). Here is a link to TSI’s Change Readiness Survey – take a look at this and see how GRIT fits in when assessing your team’s capacity to change.
