Joe Rivera - God-Lover | Life Coach | Motivational Speaker | Goal Crusher | Paradigm Shifter

March 8, 2023

4 Strategies to Help Business Leaders Build Their Grit to Persevere

Got grit?

These days leaders are being tested. From the pandemic to the pending recession. From the great resignation to wars booming abroad. There’s not a lack of stress out there. All you have to do is read the news to see we live in a complex world. What this means is our leaders must become even more resilient than before….

When I’m working with leaders, a foundational piece of success is building perseverance. Just like when you spend time in the gym, we need to exercise your perseverance muscle for it to grow.

And if you’re new to this, it takes even more patience and practice. So be gentle and kind to yourself as you play, experiment and sometimes fall flat on your face.

You see, sometimes in building our perseverance we must also fail. But failure is only failure when you don’t learn from it. I teach my clients how to experiment, fall fast, learn from it, and get back up and back to it.

After working with hundreds of leaders across multiple industries, here are strategies that ring true no matter what.

4 Strategies to Help Leaders Build Their Grit

Strategy #1: Build Upon Your Past Moments of Perseverance

Whenever life throws us a curveball, it’s important to remind ourselves that we have handled challenges in the past. Borrowing from past moments of challenge with positive outcomes helps us build faith in ourselves.

Knowing that we’ve got possibility within is key.

When things hit the fan, so to speak, we need a foundation to lean on. We need to build our internal list of successes. Even small ones.

I like to encourage my clients to start what I call a Jar of Wins. Put a jar on your desk or kitchen counter. Place some post-it notes and a pen next to it.

Every time you have a small or big win, write it down. Put it in the jar.

Why is this important?

Because when life knocks us down, we need to remember that we can do it. We need to have something to go back to that reminds us how strong we are. How creative we can be. How resilient we are even in tough times.

And if you’re new to this, you can start small. Your list could be “I got out of bed today”. Or “I read a blog on perseverance”.

The power of this exercise is that it builds over time. As you start seeing your strengths, you have more to lean on. You will have more confidence. You will have more belief in yourself. You will show up ready to take on any challenge.

This is where I start with my clients. And from here we build a snowball effect…where success, winning and strength are inevitable.

And I want that for you too…so read on.

Strategy #2: It’s Not a Marathon: Take One Baby Step at a Time

Remember that funny comedy, What About Bob? In it, Bob is facing phobias about being in the world. For him leaving his home is a HUGE feat.

His therapist recommends that he take “baby steps”. In the movie you hear Bob say “Baby steps out the front door”. Or “baby steps to the elevator”.

With each small baby step, Bob’s confidence grows.

Perseverance is the same thing. Like any skill, it takes practice.

We start with baby steps. Small actions with small wins.

Pacing yourself in this is key. I don’t want you taking on too much all at once. This benefits no one. And will get you stuck in overwhelm or procrastination.

Instead, I want you to commit to taking ONE small step towards resilience and perseverance every day.

And celebrate that small step. Add it to your jar. Tell your spouse, children, and friends. Share your success.

The happiest lives stem from those who know it’s about the small things. The more we celebrate the small wins, the happier we will be.

And I want you to be extremely happy. In fact, I was overjoyed with this process.

This is a journey. It never ends. We are always learning…always growing.

You’ve got this.

Strategy #3: Experiment with a Large Dose of Patience

As we build your perseverance muscle, it’s not a straight line. Like anyone getting into a new routine with your personal trainer, you know this.

You have setbacks. You might even miss a day at the gym. You might even not want to do anything because your body is aching so much. You could be afraid of even getting started.

Or you go big one day, only to feel the struggle days later.

As we lean into faith and trying new things to grow our grit and perseverance, we will sometimes fall flat on our face.

I want you to accept that this is a journey. I tell my clients to be creative. To have fun with this. To look at this like a scientist…..one experiment at a time.

Scientists don’t consider one hypothesis as a failure. No, they learn from it and develop the next experiment.

This is how I teach my clients to approach their perseverance.

Last but not least…

Strategy #4: Lean on Faith to Keep Going

My mom used to tell me, “Joe I didn’t raise quitters”. This has always stuck with me. I think it’s developed me into someone who at the core knows to take action.

I’m also a man of faith. I believe that for us to reach our full potential, we must learn to have faith in ourselves. We must believe we are capable of anything. We can achieve our wildest dreams.

But sometimes, I need to lean on my faith in something bigger than myself. When I fall flat on my face, I find myself on my knees in prayer.

And that’s ok. In fact, I believe that when we fall down, we learn the most important lessons. We grow the most when we hit the ground.

Because it’s in these moments where we learn the stuff we are made of. We learn that we can do anything…even when we “fail”.

I encourage you to dig into your faith. Lean on what you believe. This is where deep roots come from.

And when life really throws us for a loop, for me, it’s my faith that carries me through.

I work with my clients to build their faith in themselves. We work together to help them find what works for them spiritually.