Your Grit Determines Your Expertise

Cathie Leimbach • November 1, 2022

In her book, GRIT, Angela Duckworth shares how all of us can develop our grit to become an expert in our chosen field. The process itself is simple, although it is not easy.

Grit is the ability to persist towards a goal even when we experience setbacks. Duckworth further defines grit as ‘having the passion and perseverance for long-term goals’. 

Passion is having a strong feeling or emotion. If we have a strong interest in something – great enthusiasm for the topic – we want to give it time and energy.  We work well into the night. We might prefer to spend Friday night learning more about our favorite topic than going to a movie with friends. We share our excitement at a family picnic or during Thanksgiving dinner. Our passion is evident!

Persistence is doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.  When our future goal truly matters to us, we are driven by the prospect of long-term success rather than focusing on short-term rewards or fun. We have the discipline to work towards the goal day after day, week after week. Being persistent includes acknowledging progress along the way rather than being discouraged by the investment required along the way.

Becoming an expert takes 10,000 hours of quality practice or experience, often over 5 to 10 years. It is important to make step-by-step progress along the way. We can’t become an expert in everything at once. The way highly successful people become experts, is by developing their expertise bit by bit. They follow the ‘expert practice’ model. This involves practicing one part of the skill set, practicing it with full concentration, getting timely feedback, and modifying your approach in response to the feedback. 

Living with grit to become an expert, requires that we are passionate about the long-term goal, we are persistent about moving forward despite setbacks, and we are intentional about practicing expert behavior bit by bit.

What goal are you so passionate about that you are willing to persist with years of expert practice to attain?

4 Leadership Behaviors That Drive Trust, Performance, and Accountability

By Cathie Leimbach • March 31, 2026
Most leaders don’t struggle because they lack knowledge. They struggle because leadership opportunities show up in daily conversations —and those moments are easy to miss. The difference between average and high-performing teams often comes down to four leadership behaviors: 1. Build Trust Through Everyday Conversations Trust is built in small moments. Listen to concerns Ask thoughtful questions Follow through Address issues quickly and respectfully 🤝 Trust grows through consistent, everyday conversations. 2. Reinforce What Good Looks Like People repeat what gets recognized. Be specific: “I appreciated how you handled that client issue quickly—that made a difference.” 🔒 Clarity + recognition = stronger performance. 3. Address Problems Early—Kindly and Clearly Avoiding issues creates bigger ones. Keep it simple: What was expected? What happened? What needs to change? 👥 Clear, timely conversations reduce drama and improve results. 4. Support People So They Can Succeed Your role is to help your team succeed. Clarify priorities Remove obstacles Provide resources Coach progress 🔍 When people have clarity and support, performance follows. The Real Lever: Conversations None of this requires new systems. It happens in everyday interactions— 1:1s, quick check-ins, and follow-ups. Better conversations → better results. Quick Reflection Which one would make the biggest difference for you right now? Build trust Reinforce performance Address problems early Support success 👉 Join our next 60-minute Leadership Conversation – Inspiring Employee Performance on Monday, April 6, at 3:00 pm ET. Not a webinar. A working session with other leaders looking at what’s actually happening on their teams—and how small shifts in daily conversations change performance fast. If you're curious what even a 10% shift in consistency could look like for your team… this is a good place to start.

Three Small Shifts That Change Everything

By Cathie Leimbach • March 24, 2026
You don’t need to make big changes in your leadership practices to get better results. Often, it’s small shifts in everyday leadership conversations that quietly change how work gets done. Here are three that work:  1. Make priorities clear Start meetings by stating current priorities. That creates focus right away and helps conversations stay on topic. 2. Ask instead of solve Instead of answering an employee’s questions, ask, “What are your suggestions?” Such questions encourage employee thinking and stronger follow-through. 3. Hold short monthly one-on-one check-ins Meeting with each employee one-on-one allows the regular review of goals, progress, and obstacles. These short conversations surface issues early and keep everyone aligned. These small habits keep teams steady and focused. Your challenge this month: Pick one shift and try it. Notice what changes in clarity, buy-in, or accountability. Sometimes the difference between teams that struggle and teams that move smoothly comes down to a few simple leadership conversations happening consistently. 👉 Join our 60-minute Leadership Conversation on March 30th at 3:00 PM to see how small shifts in everyday leadership conversations can quickly improve clarity, ownership, and results.