The Value of Grit

In the March 2016 issue of Exchange, celebrating our 38th year of serving the early childhood profession, Bonnie and I contributed an article, "The Art of Leadership: What We Have Learned in 38 Years." One thing we came to appreciate was that nothing replaces the value of grit:

"One of the more memorable moments of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles was the entry of Swiss marathoner Gabriel Andersen-Schiess into the Los Angeles Coliseum. The crowd gasped in horror as she staggered onto the track, her torso twisted, her left arm limp, her right leg mostly seized. She waved away medical personnel who rushed to help her, knowing that if they touched her, she would be disqualified. The Los Angeles Coliseum crowd applauded and cheered as she limped around the track in the race's final 400 meters, occasionally stopping and holding her head. At the completion of this final lap, she collapsed at the finish line and was rushed off by medics.

"When Anderson-Schiess entered the stadium, she was totally spent. What kept her going was her absolute unswerving determination to finish the first-ever Women's Olympic Marathon. It was a dramatic demonstration of the importance of grit.

"Now, center directors do not perform in front of tens of thousands of cheering fans, but the challenges they face often require as much sheer grit. A director can have great expertise in finance, marketing, and supervision — and an ebullient, charismatic personality — but all this talent is for naught if she can’t hang in there when crises arise. Directors who cave in to all the pressures end up overseeing programs that descend into mediocrity or worse, or they walk away from the profession. Directors who are resilient enough to struggle through immense challenges and come out on the other side, standing proud and tall, make a huge contribution to the lives of children, families, and staff."

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