CAN YOU INTERVIEW FOR GRIT?
People I Want to Surround Myself With
How do you teach grit? I’ve been sitting with that question since watching Lindsey Vonn race on a torn ACL at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, and Robert Gallery — a man who played eight seasons in the NFL trenches — do something far harder: ask for help.
I’m not sure you can teach it. But I think you can recognize it. And I think the most reliable signal is simple: find out who someone is competing against.
People with grit see possibility. They know they can make things happen. They believe in their ability to be difference-makers. They have a “do the right thing” inner compass that pushes them to be impact players on and off the field. And the ones worth surrounding yourself with — on your team, in your life — are always, always competing against themselves.
At Firefly Athlete, our clients epitomize this. Kyle Schwarber’s comeback from an ACL injury to hit in the 2016 World Series is legendary. He comes from grit — a first responder family — and courage and character are in his bones. Robert Gallery grew up on a farm in Iowa and played offensive lineman in the NFL for eight seasons, a position that requires a certain baseline of courage. But his real courage came when he sought help for the demons that plagued his mind. His resolve today is inspiring. I almost started a 7-day water cleanse to follow his example. Almost.
Grit has been on display everywhere at these Milan-Cortina Olympics — in Alyssa Liu’s decision to skate her way, in the women’s and men’s hockey teams staying in it to the bitter end, broken teeth and all. What these athletes share isn’t just talent. It’s the willingness to sit in their own disappointment and come back stronger. That’s where courage and character actually get built.
So how do you find it in others? What do you ask a potential client — or a potential hire — to know whether they’ll do the right thing, not the easy thing, every damn time? Some people swear by high-stakes physical challenges, like the Norwegian Foot March (look it up - yikes). There are tests that purport to measure grit. But I keep coming back to something simpler: get to know who they’re competing against.
If you asked me whether I’m competitive, I’d probably say no. Sure, I played sports — ask me about my paddle tennis days — and I always wanted to win. But the person I was competing against was myself. Did I have what it took? How could I get better? When I failed, I shouldered that burden like a sentence. Others didn’t make me lose. I did that all on my own.
I’m not comparing myself to an Olympic or pro athlete. But I believe that competing against yourself is the only competition that breeds real resolve. And the clients who demonstrate that — the ones who give back, who see possibility where others see obstacles, who show up as impact players on and off the field — they all have that same inner compass pointing in the same direction.
That’s the grit worth betting on. That’s the heart you’re looking for.