I have always been an avid reader. My mom, a high school English teacher, always had her nose in a book, and I followed suit. When I was younger, I enjoyed murder mysteries and romance novels. As I grew up and entered the world of business, my reading shifted from pleasure to professional growth. My favorites are organizational leadership and psychology for business. My mother, who has always been a role model for me, got her second master’s degree in counseling at the age of 50, which further inspired my interest in these topics.
I was often my mother’s guinea pig as she tried out personality assessments and parenting techniques. Shockingly, my Myers Briggs assessment (ENTJ) has not changed since I was 14 years old.
Later, my kids received many lessons in play therapy from my mom. I learned that her techniques, like active listening and conflict resolution, could easily transition to the world of business. My favorite authors are those that mix organizational psychology and change management advice, like Brené Brown and Adam Grant.
As I got older, I wanted to understand what made pretty good leaders into great ones. The more I got to know these great leaders, the more they shared with me about their journey to success. I found that their path was often a bumpy one, with lots of failures and setbacks along the way.
This brings me to one of my favorite business/psychology books, “Grit” by Angela Duckworth. Duckworth’s long-term study shows that purpose, passion, and perseverance are often what separates good leaders from great ones. Those who can persevere through setbacks, failures, heartbreaks, and kicks in the butt, yet keep true to their passion and purpose, are more successful. However, those setbacks along the way are rarely shared publicly.
The new age of social media simplifies success stories in 30 seconds or less, usually taking out all the twists and turns. If we don’t share our authentic journeys, my fear is that we are raising a group of aspiring leaders who, instead of being deep in a book like me, are deep into social media where they only see the fairy tale stories of success.
I am more aware of the trials in a leader’s journey as I watch my role model mom develop even more grit over the past few weeks as she recovers from a massive car accident. She just keeps learning. Now at age 80, it is about how to move again with vertebrae, sternum, and rib fractures. She just keeps gaining more grit with a smile on her face and perseverance in her heart.
Here’s my challenge to those great leaders who have shared your failures and setbacks with me: share your true journey when asked, not just the fairy tale ending. Share your gritty journey with not only those you know and trust, but young people who aspire to follow in your footsteps. Your authenticity might help prepare them for the big bumps that can and will come on their road from good to great.
Jennifer Owens is the president of Lakeshore Advantage, the leading economic development organization for West Michigan’s Ottawa and Allegan counties.