Most likely, you are also part of the majority of people who were not born as geniuses, naturally super-gifted.

You might even believe that you can never achieve important things.

It seems, however, that talent is only a (small) part of the reason why people succeed, as neuropsychology specialist Angela Duckworth claims.

Duckworth developed the formula for success after many years of teaching and extensive research work.

The entire argument can be found in the book she wrote on this subject: “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.”

What is Grit?

Grit is a character trait that can most easily be translated as perseverance or determination.

In a few words, grit is the interweaving of passion and one’s perseverance to achieve what they set out to do.

The formula developed by Duckworth looks like this:

Talent x Effort = Skill
Skill x Effort = Achievement

So, what does this mean?

Skill, or how good you are at something, is not something you are born with, but something you develop with hard work. Skill is the product of talent, which you can multiply depending on how much effort you invest in it.

Achievement or success means focusing on that skill and investing effort into it.

According to the book’s author, without effort, talent remains at the stage of potential success. When you want to succeed, effort is twice as important as talent or a natural gift.

Here is what the formula looks like if we apply the associativity of multiplication:

(Talent x Effort) x Effort = Achievement

Practically, without effort, skill is nothing more than what you could have done, but didn’t.

How persevering are successful leaders in Romania?

We, at MKOR, are curious and have set out to find out how leaders in Romania rank on the Grit scale.

Within the The Romanian Leader’s Profile study, which we launched on our own initiative, we aimed to introduce a new dimension: the inclination toward success.

Using the tool developed by Angela Duckworth, we determine the extent to which talent and perseverance contribute to the success of leaders in Romania.

The tool offers participating leaders the opportunity to get to know themselves, evaluate their perseverance, and, moreover, compare themselves with other leaders in Romania.

The first results of the The Romanian Leader’s Profile study will be published in mid-September.

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