By Rachel Hastings
18 July 2025
Leading a combat helicopter company and leading a corporate platoon have vastly different stakes—but according to Shannon Polson T’03, the core principles of effective leadership remain the same.
And Polson knows what she’s talking about. One of the first female Apache helicopter pilots in the US Army, she led two flight platoons and a flight company on three continents before leaving the military to earn her MBA at Tuck and then lead teams at Microsoft. Today, she shares what she’s learned across those very different contexts through The Grit Institute, offering clients around the world keynote addresses and leadership training for individuals and organizations. She is also the author of The Grit Factor, the host of The Grit Factor Podcast, and shares her unique approach to leadership in Tuck Executive Education’s Leadership and Strategic Impact program.
People-First Leadership
At the heart of Polson’s leadership philosophy is one core principle: always take care of your people.
“That’s the most important lesson I learned in the military,” she says. “You have to set a vision, you have to communicate well, and you have to recognize that it’s not about you—it’s about the people who complete the work or the mission. If you understand that, you have the opportunity to be exceptional.”
This simple rule, she stresses, must remain at the forefront, even during difficult transitions, such as large-scale layoffs.
“You still need to take care of the people who are going to be leaving you,” Polson explains. “You can help find them new roles and places where they can contribute—and you can make the team that stays on stronger in the process.”
Shannon Polson T’03, author of The Grit Factor, teaches in Tuck Executive Education’s Leadership and Strategic Impact program.
Grit and Growth
Within her people-first framework, Polson teaches what she calls the Grit Triad, which consists of three steps: commit, learn, and launch. They aren’t a checklist, but a continuous loop of internal work and outward action designed to build resilience and adaptability.
The Commit phase centers on cultivating profound self-awareness. “You have to allow yourself time for the inner work to identify your values,” Polson advises. “When you own your story and you’re clear on your purpose, that gives you a touchstone you can keep returning to when things get tough. Having that confidence in your foundation allows you to keep pushing forward and to get back up when you fall.”
Next comes Learn, which focuses on deep engagement with the present moment. Polson warns leaders that dwelling too much on potential future outcomes or past mistakes can degrade team performance. Instead, she advises leaders to engage in active listening and foster a team culture where failure is viewed as an opportunity to learn, while cultivating the mindset for grit. Key to this mindset is “grounded optimism,” as Polson calls it, which requires an apparent paradox—believing that you will prevail while understanding the risks and realities of the situation. It’s this mindset, says Polson, that allows prisoners of war to survive captivity, and that is at the core of grit.
“When you own your story and you’re clear on your purpose, that gives you a touchstone you can keep returning to when things get tough. Having that confidence in your foundation allows you to keep pushing forward and to get back up when you fall.”
The third phase, Launch, reminds leaders to act with audacity, authenticity, and adaptability. This is where ownership is key: a leader takes full responsibility for what they do or fail to do, as well as for what their team does or fails to do. “This is where things are most exciting, but also scary,” Polson says. “It’s executing on the vision, with all the challenges that execution brings.”
Staying the Course
These lessons are especially critical, says Polson, during times of significant disruption.
“AI and other technological innovations mean that the future of work is changing in ways we can’t anticipate,” she says. “But if people are going to remain part of the equation, the principles of leadership will not change. If you continue to ground yourself in your values and take care of your people, you’ll be able to keep pushing forward, no matter what turbulence you encounter.”
