Week One
Your Journey Line
The experiences that shaped you, and what they say about where you are going.
The Grit Institute · Six-Week Course
Leading with Purpose
Find the true north that guides your decisions, and learn to lead from it. Six weeks, fifteen to twenty minutes a day, built on The Polaris Principle™.
Self-paced, start today15–20 minutes a day14-day guarantee
Why Purpose
Grit lasts when it’s anchored in purpose.
As one of the first women to fly Apache helicopters in the U.S. Army, I learned early that grit isn’t optional. What I’ve learned since, writing The Grit Factor and working with leaders, is that grit lasts when it’s anchored in purpose: knowing what you lead for, and why.
There is a lot out there about purpose and why it matters. There is very little that helps you walk the path toward it. Leading with Purpose does that work, going deep and wide, borrowing from cultures around the world and from the most recent research, and makes it something you can do in fifteen minutes a day.
Connecting to your own purpose is tied to engagement, performance and longevity at work, and to your physical and mental wellbeing. Relationships, too. This is as powerful as any work you might do in your life.
Who It’s For
Leaders who have the skills and the drive, and have lost the thread of why
Anyone between roles or in transition, deciding what comes next
Leaders in any sector: corporate, nonprofit, entrepreneurial, military
The Six Weeks
Purpose through six very different lenses.
Weeks one through five run Monday to Friday: Learn, Reflect, Discover, Activate, Insights. A short video and a downloadable activity each day. Week six turns it toward your organization, your manager and your own life.
Week Two
Your Core Purpose
Drill down from the story to the purpose underneath it.
Week Three
Your Ikigai
The Japanese frame for a life worth getting up for: what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, what you can be paid for.
Week Four
Your Westernized Ikigai
The same frame, adapted for the way careers and organizations work here.
Week Five
Your Coat of Arms
What you stand for, in a form you can see.
Week Six
Activate and Integrate
Take it to your organization, your manager and your own week.
The Polaris Principle™
Six steps to lead from your true north.
- Story Ownership. Identify and embrace the formative experiences that have shaped your leadership identity, reclaiming the narrative that drives your decisions.
- Purpose Mapping. Uncover your unique leadership purpose through structured reflection and guided exercises that reveal your true north.
- Resilience Building. Develop practical strategies to navigate challenges while staying connected to your core purpose, even when the path gets difficult.
- Decision Alignment. Learn to make choices that honor both your purpose and practical realities, and drop the drain of misaligned leadership.
- Impact Amplification. Discover how to use your purpose to influence others and create lasting change that matters.
- Legacy Integration. Create a sustainable approach to purpose-driven leadership that builds the legacy you want and fulfills your deepest calling.
Leading with Purpose is a deep dive into the Commit pillar of the Grit Triad from The Grit Factor. The final week is built on what the research says about where learning sticks: ten percent in training like this, twenty percent in work with your manager or mentor, seventy percent in daily life. You leave with tools for the manager conversation and weekly goal worksheets for the rest.
Your Investment
$497 $279
One payment. Every lesson open the day you enroll.
- Six weeks of daily video lessons, 15–20 minutes a day
- Downloadable research-driven activities, worksheets and readings
- Tools to take your purpose into conversations and goals with your manager or mentor
- Weekly goal-setting and review worksheets
- Your own online portal, open the day you enroll
Bonus: a private 30-minute Purpose Alignment call with Shannon on your own leadership challenge.
Enroll now14
Fourteen-day guarantee
Participate fully for the first two weeks. If it isn’t the right fit, write to shannon@thegritinstitute.com and we’ll refund you.
“
One week in, you’ve already transformed me. I used to look at myself through the lens of my limitations. Now I understand myself through the lens of strength and opportunity.
Eric, military veteran and executive leader, on Leading with Grit“
Shannon has a unique ability to connect veterans and civilians alike through shared values of courage, resilience, and purpose. If your organisation is looking for someone who can bridge experiences, build connection, and challenge people to grow, Shannon is that person.
Andrew Nathan, Military at Microsoft ERG, on working with ShannonQuestions
Before you enroll.
How much time will this take?
About 15 to 20 minutes a day, five days a week, for six weeks. It is self-paced, so you can go faster or slower.
Do I need to take Leading with Grit first?
No. Leading with Purpose stands on its own. It goes deep on the Commit pillar of the Grit Triad; Leading with Grit covers all three. The two pair well.
Is this only for corporate leaders?
No. The framework applies to leaders in any sector: corporate, nonprofit, entrepreneurial or military.
What if I’m between roles or in transition?
This is an ideal time to clarify your purpose and let it guide your next steps.
Will I get personal attention?
Yes. Enrollees get a private 30-minute call with Shannon, and you can ask questions in the comments on every lesson.
Can my team take it together?
Yes. For team seats or an organization license, get in touch.
Six weeks, fifteen minutes a day
Own your story. Live your purpose.
Find your true north and lead from it.
✉ Questions? shannon@thegritinstitute.com