Give me a book about a strong woman any day! I absolutely loved this one. I feel like so many little girls need to know this story. Participating in a "mans world" is rough on women and seeing how other strong women navigate it, helps the rest of us. This would be a great graduation gift for a young woman or an important read for a young man who is struggling with how women are seen in the world.

author Shannon Huffman Polson’s new book -- The Grit Factor
Shannon Huffman Polson has lots of grit! In her new book she tells you why women need grit, and how to get yourself some, so you can tackle your next project and succeed!

Shannon Huffman Polson was one of the 1st women to fly an Army Apache Attack Helicopter!! This woman can teach you how to get grit!

Other women’s stories can encourage and inspire you to access grit when you need it! In the book, Shannon shares her story and the stories of other amazing women with lots of grit!
Here they are–
-General Ann Dunwood the 1st woman four-star general in the U.S. Army; -LCDR Krysten Ellis, one of the first women to serve on a submarine; -CPT Shaye Haver 1 of 2 women to graduate in the 1st Ranger school class with women, and now one of the 1st women as infantry commander; -Sara Faulkner one of the 1st women to graduate and serve as a US CG rescue swimmer; -MG Dawn Dunwoody, White House Fellow and Air Force combat commander; and more!

Shannon will help you find the way to your own grit.
She will tell you how to know “Why you do it” — a great motivator to keep going when it gets rough.

She inspires by sharing the lessons she’s learned in the Army and in business at Microsoft, and shares stories of other female trailblazers.
If you are a woman in a difficult spot, and you have a goal you want to reach, then you need some grit!

I could relate to many of the author’s narratives in the book. Having often been the only women or one of few females in my Air Defense unit in the early eighties and nineties, the disappointments, astonishments, and disrespect washed over me numerous times. I applaud her tenacity and courage to write this book.

Ms. Polson is a master of words and easily captured the basic tenets of good leadership. People are our greatest resource, no matter what field you are in the workforce.

I was given an advanced reader’s copy from Netgalley. I am not required to leave a positive review.

I found this book to be a very timely and insight-laden experience of women related to the armed forces. Shannon writes in a very honest way and that comes across as someone telling you things from her heart. She weaves in her own experience in the armed forces and the leadership lessons that she picked up along the way, even after leaving the military, and with those of other women military leaders.

The only downside that I felt was getting confused at multiple places whether the story was shannon’s experience or one of the other leaders. Also since they were all from the armed forces it wasn’t easy for me to remember them as they got referenced later in the book as well. However, this was not a big downside since the learnings and lessons come out well irrespective.

Shannon has bolstered her learnings with appropriate scientific research from leading scholars in psychology and organizational research. This adds a lot of support to her learnings. She supports each of her commit, learn and launch themes with lot of practical frameworks (questions/exercises) which make it very practical.

All in all I think this is a good book to look at resilience and grit against all odds (just like the current pandemic situation), and in a very gendered context.

“The Grit Factor” by Shannon Huffman Polson digs into what creates grit in someone and how grit can be learned. Polson uses her life experience, as well as the stories of other successful military women. Inspirational and practical, this book is definitely an interesting read.

As a military spouse, I always find it interesting to read about women in the military. I know the culture and the climate, but from a spouse perspective I don't see what my husband sees. This book was especially interesting to me because Polson was a pilot for the Army, which feels familiar as my husband is training to fly for the Navy. Many of the stories of women pilots reference Pensacola or Corpus Christi, so I feel a little more connected.

Polson echos Angela Duckworth's research on grit and provides her own application of tactics to gain grit. Many of the stories center around military missions, occupations, etc, so perhaps this book would be better received by someone in military training (especially women). I found it interesting to hear the lessons the military taught her, but it wasn't really applicable to me.

As with most self-help books, there are universal truths for everyone. Some things could be applied in the workplace, but I don't find myself in a male dominant field. I think I've faced more questions about my age than my gender in my time working. This book fills a real need in many work spaces though, so perhaps my perspective isn't the clearest to understand or empathize. I think would have loved to hear some corporate voices thrown in to balance things a little bit for the average reader.

Overall, I gave this book 4 stars. If nothing else, this book is inspirational for women. It encourages you to be audaciously yourself and push yourself towards any goal you desire. Grit can be learned, the question is where will you need it?

Thanks to NetGalley and Harvard Business Review Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Those who are first in their fields, or one of few in their fields, are leaders by virtue of circumstances, and the challenges ahead of them require grit. Their success shows others what is possible. Those who lead and are committed to making a difference either by choice or circumstances need grit, Full stop.
Shannon Huffman Polson, The Grit factor

The Author of this book Shannon Huffman Polson is from a Military background. And, in this book she has shared stories and experiences from the women who served in the US military. Many of these military women were the first women to join their respective higher positions in the military in their time and faced many hardships.

The author says that this book is for women who lead or aspire to lead and men who are in position to integrate women at senior positions in their organization. This book can help you develop your own sense of grit through the stories and the exercises that each chapter has.

All the stories and insights that the author talks about in the book are grouped into three categories : Commit, Learn, and Launch. Each chapter in each category represents a different aspect of Grit hence the book is named as - The Grit Factor.

Grit is a skill that can be developed through dedicated and consistent effort. According to Karen Fine Brasch, one of the military women whose story is discussed in this book by the author says that - “Grit isn’t something that you learn, it’s something that you do. It starts out by something feeling impossible or overwhelming , requires all of your focus and fortitude while you are going through it, and it feels you are going to fail right up to the very point you succeed. And you do it alone.”


Army leadership is "the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation"
The basic requirement to have grit in any person is having the confidence that the task in hand can be done. From where does that kind of confidence come ? This book suggests steps to develop this confidence. Let's take a look at the steps one by one.

Step #1 Craft Your Story
The book suggests that if you reflect back on the events since your childhood and put them on the spectrum of your memory then there will be many instances where you find yourself reacting effectively. This part of the exercise will help one to identify the strengths and weaknesses in self. Once you are aware of your strengths you can utilize them or rely on them if needed. And you can always work on your weakness and get rid of it or minimize the negative impact of it.

Step #2 Unearth your core purpose
Purpose is the bedrock of Grit. If you are out there to do a difficult task with a rock solid purpose then a continuous reminder of that purpose to yourself can keep you on track to complete that task. The author says that the purpose will give you the passion and commitment that you need to successfully navigate those upcoming moments of hardship and funnel your efforts towards achieving your goal.

Step #3 Draw your circle

A leader should have a circle of mentors, a loyal team, colleagues, friends, and acquaintances who support his cause. A leader should be able to draw strength from every person from this circle. Developing a circle prepares you for the circumstances that require grit. Strong and trustworthy relationships can make a person resilient which is an important aspect of Grit. A leader should know two things - one no leader can achieve his goals alone. A leader has to have a team and two you can’t be friends with everyone.

Step #4 Listen like a leader
Listening well helps gather vital information and establish a trusting relationship with both coworkers and superiors. The author talks about three steps to listen like a leader : Ask. Listen. Pause. The author talks in detail about these steps in the book.

Step #5 Build your resilience
The author talks about the Master Resilience Training which is used by the US army to train resilience to it’s soldiers . This program talks about six core competencies of resilience -
- self awareness,
- understanding your and other’s strength,
- connection
- Optimism
- Mental Agility
- self- regulation
The book talks in detail about these competencies. While narrating the story of Major Rhonda cornum, there is a quote from her which rightly puts the power of mindset, it says that - “One of the most important things you can learn is that what you think and how you perceive events is totally up to you. ... Your enemies can not determine what you think. It is your choice. “. Major Cornum was severely injured and despite that she was able to get the help from her captors because of her positive mindset to keep herself and her fellow prisoners alive in Iraq after her helicopter was shot and she was captured by the Iraqi soldiers.

Step #6 Face the Fear head on
The author says that soldiers know that the way you train for push-ups is by doing push-ups. Gradually increasing the number of push-ups until you reach your goal. The lesson applies to most anything. You train for grit by doing things requiring grit. You train for courage by doing things that require courage. And you do that by taking smaller risks at first. As you do, you build up your tolerance for
uncertainty and your confidence. Over time it’s how you conquer fear. The willingness to take risk is important throughout your life and career. Taking risk and seizing opportunity is a powerful way to give yourself and your career more lift.

Step #7 and #8 Authenticity and Adaptability
The author says that both go hand in hand. Being yourself is an important component of grit. And, The courage to stay true to yourself requires many things, including speaking out against something you don’t believe in.

The Greeks have a word describing a broader ethos : arete, a striving for excellence in every area. This concept of arete eschews mediocrity, expecting the best in each area of life and performance. Arete must be part of the leader’s ethos today, too. To have the best chance of success in your field, your performance must be stellar - arete must be your goal. This is not perfection, but it is true excellence.

The heart of this book is the stories of various military women which the author has nicely narrated and intertwined it with various aspects of grit, resilience and leadership that these women have displayed during the course of their job. A hats off to all these women !!! I hope that this book reaches every woman who doubts her ability to do difficult things in life and every man who thinks that women can not handle difficult things.

I'm a 24-year-old female student with admittedly little life experience but big ambitions. I recognize that the only way to get there is equally by working hard and taking advice from people who did make it. For this reason, "The Grit Factor" is probably the most helpful book to lay my hands on at this time of my life.

First, Shannon Huffman Polson is a insanely accomplished woman in both mountain climbing and combat. Her experience as an attack helicopter pilot makes her a true authority in decision-making, courage and persistence. However, this book is not a memoir, but rather a career and leadership self-help book which puts together stories of various accomplished women, advice and exercises to take your "Grit Factor" to the next level. The book is divided into there parts: Commit, Learn and Launch, which allow for an organized and progressive learning experience. The pointed exercises at the end of each chapter make it not only an inspiring read, but also a highly practical one.

I definitely feel like I got a big motivational kick out of this book, as well as a solid commitment to my own career goals. It's a 5 star read not only thanks to its content, but also the author's authentic voice; it would have been so easy for her to write a self-praising book (I MEAN, have you seen her bio?!), but instead she used a collection of empowered women's experiences in order to write something phenomenal.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a truly remarkable book! The stories of great women featured here will serve not just as inspiration to those in military but also to the countless women of the world who navigate the daily challenges of realizing and living up their true potentials.

I like the way the author coalesced the narratives, dialogues, and the nuggets of learnings for the readers. The vivid narration of the stories added to the impact of the messages being conveyed. As a reader, I can feel the hardship, pain, fear, and triumph of these women as I read through the pages.

More importantly this book will not just resonate to women. The lessons equality applies to those who face the challenges of bringing the best of themselves to the world while dealing with limitations brought about by society.

Shannon has SUCH an inspiring story as one of the first women to serve as a helicopter pilot in combat. I'm in awe of her service to our country, especially considering all of the obstacles she faced in order to be able to do so.