I think there are a couple of behaviors that have an outsize impact on our professional and personal success. The first is curiosity and the second is the “Power Law of Effort.” These are somewhat related to grit so I wanted to give you my perspective on them.
“Curiosity killed the cat” is probably the worst bit of advice ever. When you are curious you are first admitting you don’t know, and second that you would like to know. We are all knowledge workers—part of the value we bring to NYU is what we know. The more we know the more we can contribute. Even when we think we know, listening can still add to our knowledge.
As I’ve said before, I like to think of myself as a “Bayesian Thinker.” Bayesian thinking simplified is not necessarily being absolutely certain of something, but having a probability of something being true. As you get more information, you adjust that probability. For example, I feel safe walking around campus. I would say that I’m 95% confident that that is correct. Everytime I get a Clearly Alert email, I read it and consider whether this new information changes my estimate of the probability that I’m safe. The idea of always being open to new information and willing to change my mind is important for curiosity. As knowledge workers, this willingness to continue learning is necessary to succeed in our profession.
A cautionary tale about grit or resilience explains why it is hard. It takes grit to have grit. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) The “power law of effort” says that the relationship between results and effort isn’t linear. So as we put effort into developing a skill we can make a lot of progress early but as we progress we see fewer gains for the same amount of effort. Consider learning how to play a musical instrument. The amount of practice it takes to progress from beginner to intermediate to advanced to professional ability isn’t linear. Mastery takes an exponential amount of effort and a lot more grit because the progress and feedback isn’t as rewarding or apparent as it used to be. Understand this about yourself and your team.
Effective coaches understand the people they coach. Knowing where someone is on the learning curve and how curious they are helps you provide the right support.