Star psychologist on why founders must ask for help
About Angela
- Rosa Lee & Egbert Chang Professor at the University of Pennsylvania
- 2013 MacArthur Fellow
- #1 New York Times bestselling author of Grit
- TED Talk among the most viewed of all time
- Co-director, Penn-Wharton Behavior Change for Good Initiative
Star psychologist on why founders must ask for help
Angela Duckworth, author of the hit book ‘Grit,’ says she’s evolved her thinking: grit alone won’t cut it. Your environment has to work with you, not against you. She also warns that founders who pride themselves on independence often fail to ask for help — and that’s holding them back.
Transcript
Note: Transcripts may be automatically generated and are not fully corrected for spelling, grammar, and formatting.
What I have been occupied since writing Grit, and certainly for the last few years in earnest, is a second book and a second line of work. And it is on the power of the situation. Grit is not enough. You must have your situation as your ally. One of the mistakes that I see founders make is because they've had this trick that has gotten them really far in life, like try harder and be independent, right? You know, to not be a slacker, right? To not like whine and, you know, get other people to solve your problems. I think the double-edged sword of that is they don't ask for help. And what I would say is the number one action step is like you should be in a formal community of other founders, right? There's a power in the solidarity, the accountability and the peer learning of a group. And the second one is related, which is I think you need to make mentors. It's a relationship and you need to start at the beginning and cultivate and so forth.
