A Culture of Organizational Grit From the Perspective of U.S. Military Officers: A Qualitative Inquiry

• Date: 01 July 2022
• Published date: 01 July 2022
• DOI: 10.1177/0095327X20985197
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X20985197

Armed Forces & Society

2022, Vol. 48(3) 542 –570

© The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/0095327X20985197

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Article

Original Manuscript

A Culture of

Organizational Grit

From the Perspective

of U.S. Military Officers:

A Qualitative Inquiry

Celeste Raver Luning

1

, Prince A. Attoh

2

, Tao Gong

2

and James T. Fox

3

Abstract

With the backdrop of the utility of grit at the individual level, speculation has begun

to circulate that grit may exist as an organizational level phenomenon. To explore

this potential construct, this study used an exploratory, qualitative research design.

This study explored grit at the organizational level by interviewing leaders’ per-

ceptions of what may be a culture of organizational grit. Participants included 14 U.S.

military officers. Seven themes emerged relative to the research question: “What do

U.S. military officers perceive as a culture of organizational grit?” Themes included

professional pride, team unity, resilience-determination, mission accomplishment,

core values, growth mindset, and deliberate practice. This study indicated that a

culture of organizational grit is likely a combination of converging organizational

elements. Overall, findings indicate that there may be a culture of organizational grit

in the military and at the least, more research examining the concept is warranted.

Keywords

grit, organizational grit, organizational culture, military culture, professionalism/lead-

ership, psychology

1

Department of Leadership, Ethics, and Law, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, USA

2

Department of Social Sciences, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, MD, USA

3

Department of Education Leadership, Seidel School of Education, Salisbury University, MD, USA

Corresponding Author:

Celeste Raver Luning, Departm ent of Leadership, Ethics, and Law , U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis,

MD 21402, USA.

Email: luning@usna.edu

Luning et al. 543

Original Manuscript

A Culture of

Organizational Grit

From the Perspective

of U.S. Military Officers:

A Qualitative Inquiry

Celeste Raver Luning

1

, Prince A. Attoh

2

, Tao Gong

2

and James T. Fox

3

Abstract

With the backdrop of the utility of grit at the individual level, speculation has begun

to circulate that grit may exist as an organizational level phenomenon. To explore

this potential construct, this study used an exploratory, qualitative research design.

This study explored grit at the organizational level by interviewing leaders’ per-

ceptions of what may be a culture of organizational grit. Participants included 14 U.S.

military officers. Seven themes emerged relative to the research question: “What do

U.S. military officers perceive as a culture of organizational grit?” Themes included

professional pride, team unity, resilience-determination, mission accomplishment,

core values, growth mindset, and deliberate practice. This study indicated that a

culture of organizational grit is likely a combination of converging organizational

elements. Overall, findings indicate that there may be a culture of organizational grit

in the military and at the least, more research examining the concept is warranted.

Keywords

grit, organizational grit, organizational culture, military culture, professionalism/lead-

ership, psychology

1

Department of Leadership, Ethics, and Law, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, USA

2

Department of Social Sciences, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, MD, USA

3

Department of Education Leadership, Seidel School of Education, Salisbury University, MD, USA

Corresponding Author:

Celeste Raver Luning, Departm ent of Leadership, Ethics, and Law , U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis,

MD 21402, USA.

Email: luning@usna.edu

Although the phenomenon of individual grit has emerged in the literature, organiza-

tional grit has yet to gain support and traction empirically. Individual grit is defined

as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals” (Duckworth et al., 2007, p. 1087).

It is a two-dimensional construct that consists of perseverance of effort and consis-

tency of interests. Duckworth advanced a theory surrounding the trait of grit, devel-

oped an instrument to measure grit (Duckworth et al., 2007; Duckworth & Quinn,

2009) and provided empirical evidence to support the utility of grit for an individual

(e.g., Duckworth et al., 2007, 2011; Eskreis-Winkler et al., 2014). With the utility of

grit at the individual level, speculation has begun to circulate that grit may exist as an

organizational-level phenomenon (Department of the Army, 2015; Duckworth,

2016; Fontaine, 2017; Lee & Duckworth, 2018). However, there are only peripheral

conceptualizations regarding grit at the organizational level. As such, the purpose of

this qualitative study was to begin to explore grit at the organizational level by

interviewing military leaders regarding their perceptions of what may be a culture

of organizational grit. Therefore, this study represents a starting point with hopes of

furthering scholarly discussion of the possibilities of classifying the potential con-

struct of organizational grit.

Since there has been minimal empirical research into a culture of organizational

grit, the context of the study was important to ensure one was examining an envi-

ronment where a culture of organizational grit is likely to exist. The concept of a

culture of organizational grit is a natural fit for military contexts (Fontaine, 2017).

According to Fontaine (2017), “Its emphasis on nested goals, common understand-

ing, and continuous communication make it [grit] a natural fit for the mission

command philosophy” (p. iii). Further, there are some preliminary discussions of

the importance of encouraging and developing grit at the organizational level within

the military (Department of the Army, 2015). Understanding what a culture of

organizational grit is in the military may provide broader implications to the society

in which a military operates. Nations rely on their militaries to be able to remain

focused on their mission and persist despite any and all obstacles, displaying gritti-

ness at a collective organizatio nal level. Thus, by beginning to un cover what a

culture of organizational grit may be in the military, we can then begin to focus

on fostering environments where collective grit exists which may help a nation’s

military remain focused on their respective missions, persist despite obstacles, and

in-turn protect a nation’s society at large.

To date, research into grit at the organizational level is primarily limited to

conceptual work (e.g., Department of the Army, 2015; Duckworth, 2016; Fontaine,

2017; Lee & Duckworth, 2018); however, reviewing the initial conceptualizations

provides insight into what has been theorized to characterize organizational-level

grit. These initial conceptualizations of grit at the organizational level are theoreti-

cally grounded in the concept of individual grit; thus, it is necessary to first address

the foundational concept. After the overview of individual grit, the conceptualiza-

tions of grit at the organizational level are reviewed. Then, the conceptualization of

a culture of organizational grit used in this study is presented, which includes

2Armed Forces & Society XX(X)