Growth, Grit, & Grounding

Coming off the PGA Show, I explored how resilience and renewal sustain us until reward comes in due season. But growth demands more than endurance. It requires change. The habits and strategies that carried us this far may not be the ones that will carry us forward.

Marshall Goldsmith once wrote: “What got you here won’t get you there.” It’s a phrase that stings because it’s true. The very strengths that earned today’s opportunities can become tomorrow’s ceiling if we cling to them too tightly. Growth means adapting, and often, unlearning.

We see it in sports all the time. The college athlete who dominates on talent alone can’t succeed in the pros without discipline, recovery, and preparation. Every level requires an upgrade. The same is true in leadership. The traits that help you thrive as an assistant, like saying yes to everything, working nonstop, and doing it all yourself, don’t scale when you’re leading a team. At some point, growth means letting go. It's not failure, it's graduation.

But growth without grounding is fragile. John Wooden’s wisdom steadies us: “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” Goldsmith reminds us to adapt. Wooden reminds us to anchor. Together, they map a path forward: grit to pursue the next stage, and grounding to ensure it is worth reaching.

Proverbs 24:16 reinforces this truth: “Though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again.” Grit is rising. Growth is learning. Grounding is why you rise in the first place. Not to polish reputation, but to strengthen character.

In my work as a PGA Career Consultant, I see this tension constantly. A Member hits a ceiling not because they’ve failed, but because they’ve outgrown the playbook that got them here. To keep moving, they need new rhythms, new skills, new perspective. But they also need to carry forward the integrity that sustains their influence. Growth without integrity rings hollow over time. Integrity without growth leads to stagnation. Put them together, and you get leadership that multiplies.

At home, I see the same dynamic. My kids are growing so fast, and their growth exposes the need for my growth, too. They don’t need me to stay the same. What they need is for me to adapt. To learn patience in new ways, to set different boundaries, to guide them as their worlds expand. And my wife shows me what grit and grounding look like in practice. Her creativity, her faith, and her commitment to running her business with integrity challenge me to keep growing without losing myself. Our home becomes a living reminder that growth and grit matter most when they’re grounded in character.

Here’s what I’ve learned: growth stretches us upward, grit carries us forward, and grounding keeps us rooted in what matters most.

1. Work: Identify one habit that served you in the past but is holding you back now. Replace it with a practice fit for your current role.

2. Home: Ask someone who knows you well: “Where have you seen me grow lately?” Their answer may reveal progress you’ve overlooked.

3. Mentorship: Share with a younger professional something you had to unlearn as you advanced. Release is often as important as acquisition.

4. Leadership: Audit your “influence trail.” What behaviors are your team imitating? Strengthen one that reflects integrity.

5. Personal audit: Journal: “What got me here was ____. What will get me there is ____.” Then compare it with how you’re actually showing up this week.

My Commitment

What got me here was saying yes to everything. What will get me there is saying yes more selectively. To do the work that aligns with my calling and helps PGA Members thrive. And Wooden’s reminder keeps me steady: grit without grounding is empty. So in these weeks ahead, I’m committing to both growth and consistent character.

Next time, we’ll explore how mission, margin, and meaning clarify the “why” behind the work we do and the lives we live.