Five Traits of Difference Makers: Persistence Makes Perfect

What’s Inside

Every company wants to attract and keep the difference makers, the people who are worth their weight in gold. But how do you identify those you already have and find more of them? This article series goes beyond traditional HR approaches to examine five intangible qualities that identify those who can make a difference in your organization.

This article explains the trait of Persistence: The ability to apply consistent and unyielding effort to difficult issues.

Key Points

Persistence is often the forgotten (or ignored) ingredient in brilliance. It is a talent that can be developed, nurtured and coached.

Applied, deliberate, unyielding and thoughtful effort consistently provides better—and more—results than intuition. If you know the people on your team who consistently apply such effort, then you have identified your best source of Persistence.  

For the persistent, jealousy, resentment and general unpleasantness do not accompany the hard effort that is sometimes required in modern life and work. The Persistent also reveal themselves by responding positively to adversity. They are good people to have by your side in a storm.

Why it Matters

Difference makers are often missed through standard HR and development processes. Sometimes they hide in plain sight. In a time of high turnover, leaders need to be prepared to attract and retain employees who display Persistence.