Leadership Summit 2026: Inspiring Grit and Growth Amid Unprecedented Change

This section explores Angela Duckworth's research on grit—defined as persistence and passion for long-term goals—and its critical role in achieving excellence across domains. She discusses a grit scale consisting of traits like hard work, perseverance, and sustained interest, emphasizing that grit involves ongoing commitment and resilience over years or even decades. Duckworth highlights that grit is a continuum, and with age and experience, most people can develop greater grit. The section explains how grit enables individuals to stay on the learning curve, persist through challenges, and ultimately reach their highest potential.

Duckworth examines how AI influences long-term skill development. She presents surprising experimental findings showing that using AI tools to improve immediate productivity can also enhance long-term skills, such as writing, because AI provides effective examples and demonstrations for learning. While AI may reduce effort and effortful practice, it can improve the quality of the learning environment by showing, demonstrating, and allowing imitation of high-standard work. This section discusses the balance between effort, effort reduction, and the importance of a supportive learning environment — arguing that AI, when used strategically, can accelerate growth and mastery.

This section addresses the ambivalence young workers feel about AI—appreciating its productivity benefits but fearing it may make them lazier or less smart. Duckworth emphasizes that the responsibility lies in how individuals and leaders choose to use AI. Delegating tedious tasks to AI can free up cognitive resources for higher-level thinking and learning, fostering better skills over time. She warns that offloading all cognitive effort without deliberate learning can be detrimental, but if AI is used as an example and learning aid, it can serve as a powerful coach to enhance human capabilities.

Duckworth discusses how leaders can cultivate grit within their teams by emphasizing steadfast top-level goals while remaining agile in tactics. She underscores the importance of environment—coaching, culture, and social support—in fostering grit and success. Regarding AI, she advocates for deliberate use: delegating routine tasks, learning from AI-generated examples, and maintaining a growth mindset. She also acknowledges the rational concerns about AI's accountability gaps and mistakes, urging leaders to approach AI as a tool to augment human effort responsibly.

This section introduces the concept of 'situational agency'—the idea that success depends not just on personal qualities but also on designing environments that bring out the best in people. Duckworth illustrates this with examples from Michael Phelps's training environment. She advocates that individuals should be intentional about their physical, social, and cultural environments to support their grit and success, highlighting that success is a combination of internal perseverance and external circumstances.