You never know when God will take something unexpected, something seemingly ordinary, to point you down a path you would have never imagined. 

In 2017, on a sunny, fall Friday afternoon, I was sitting in a classroom dreaming about the tee shot I was hoping to hit in about an hour and a half at my favorite golf course. I had spent a long–and yes, beneficial–day at a Christian school athletic director conference listening to best practices and learning from others in the field. It had been a good day, but I was worn out, and listening to a “college readiness” talk was literally one of the last things I wanted to do.

But after the seminar, whether I knew it or not, my career started a gradual shift in focus. In addition to keeping up with my normal responsibilities, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head that we were missing something when it came to preparing our kids and I wanted to do something about it in my area of influence (athletics). 

Here is what so grabbed my attention: according to the speaker, roughly less than half of the kids that go to college (regardless of where they went) graduated in four years. Kids are more stressed, depressed, anxious, and overwhelmed by requirements now than ever before in recorded history. 

Similar to most Christian school mission statements, I saw my goal as an educator as preparing students to be effective servants of Christ in society, to help equip them with the skills and tools they need to make it after they’ve passed our tests. The research suggests that we are preparing them, but maybe not in the way we need to. Perhaps, in addition, we need to teach them grit. Angela Duckworth, a psychologist, bestselling author, and leading researcher in the field defines grit as passion and perseverance for long-term goals. The million dollar question for her is always, “How do we build grit?” In her 2013 Ted Talk, she said: “I don’t know. We have to go out and try things, and fail, and learn. To be gritty about getting kids grittier.” 

So that’s what I did. I spent five months reading and researching grit, growth mindset, feedback, fear, belief, mental health, and how to be a better learner, pulling from researchers and thinkers like Angela Duckworth, Carol Dweck, Michael Merzenich, Paul Tough, and Trevor Ragan. I also consulted with friends and colleagues, then spent another year pulling everything together and teaching the concepts to the coaches, students, and parents in our athletic community. And Grit Leadership was born. 

In all my reading, research, and conversations, I found that well-meaning leaders who try to be positive and complimentary have accidentally formed teams that are results-focused, with fixed mindsets, afraid to fail and disappoint others. This often looks like: quitting or transferring when things get hard; posturing or focusing on looking good; not even wanting to try something new for fear of failure. Oftentimes, even people who are “successful” by the world’s standards are full of anxiety and live in fear of the moment they might not be successful. Most importantly, I learned that although we have accidentally led ourselves into this situation, it is possible for us to intentionally lead our way out of it. 

Grit Leadership seeks to equip and empower leaders to build a gritty, more resilient generation by focusing on a growth-oriented mindset, reframing our pedagogy and verbal feedback skills to focus on process over outcome, and to deliver feedback with high expectations and a warm, relationship-focused personal affect. For athletic directors in particular, I developed an online customizable evaluation system that works in tandem with these principles and content and holds leaders accountable to delivering on it.

Currently, Grit Leadership focuses on working with schools to 1) educate coaches, parents, and students through workshops and learning experiences and 2) provide athletic directors with a unique online evaluation system to help develop this leadership. 

Most recently, I’ve had the privilege of partnering with Baylor University’s Center for School Leadership in the area of “Excellence in Athletic Leadership.” We do semi-annual educational seminars for school leaders about the importance of Grit Leadership in athletic programs, following those with virtual learning networks to walk alongside those leaders as they begin to implement Grit Leadership culture into their programs and build a 3-year program for their school communities.  

These days, I’m still dreaming about my next tee shot. (I just finished my first year as the Boys Varsity head golf coach; the sport offers endless opportunities for lessons on grit.) But thanks to that Friday afternoon seminar–and God’s gentle nudging–I’m grateful to have this additional opportunity in my career. I can’t wait to see where the Lord takes Grit Leadership next!