Hello KSKOers
You’ll remember that ‘tenacity’ is one of my watchwords for 2026. It’s made me think about the whole doctorate thing and what’s really happening when people are doing study through research. Join me in this week’s blog where I share my thoughts on why almost anyone can do a PhD or any Big Work, with a bit of tenacity and why I think it’s more about persevering than being a genius.
Looking forward to joining you on your learning journey!
If anybody ever tells you that a PhD is about intellect, they’ve definitely missed the small print. A PhD is about tenacity, determination, perseverance, stubbornness and the ability to embrace ambiguity. If it’d been about intelligence alone, I’d never have got past the literature review.
Doing my doctorate was about two things:
Firstly, it was about researching workplace behaviours. If you’ve read my book, you’ll know it was all driven by some pretty unpleasant work experiences I’d had in the years before and my heartfelt desire to reduce the likelihood of other people’s work-lives sucking quite as much in the years following.
Secondly, it was about having a few letters before my name and a certificate on my wall that meant I didn’t have to prove myself to others with quite as much vehemence as I’d felt the need to, for the previous 20 years.
It took me about 12 years to get from really wanting to do a doctorate to actually picking up my pen. In those intervening years, I’d had 3 meetings with professors and academics from 3 institutions who’d said: doctorates are hard, doctorates are time consuming and doctorates take you away from family life. All three of them put me off and made me think that actually, a doctorate was far beyond my capability, skill and energy.
Then, in 2016, I applied to study a certificate in governance. The uni replied saying that the course wasn’t running due to a lack of interest - but, they could offer me a masters. I said, thanks, but I already had one of those. If, however, they could get me a place on their taught doctorate, I was interested. And 2 weeks later, I was sitting in my first session learning about my first module.
The whole notion of it being just too much was kicked down the road and myself and my fellow students threw ourselves headlong into our studies with excitement and passion.
The studying was hard. Yes. It did consume my free time, but, it was my time to play with. No one was telling me what to study and when; I did it when I wanted, because I wanted.
There were days when I got stuck and could hardly write anything. There were days when I cried following supervisor feedback. There were days when I wanted to quit. On many occasions, I wondered if it was possible to cut my losses and get a second masters and spend the rest of the summer languishing in the garden instead of hauled up in the study.
But, all of those thoughts were stymied by the tenacious little voice that always ended up being louder than the whiney one.
“A doctorate isn't won by intellect alone”, said Dr Jeremy Chapman, when I asked him what he thought. Jeremy is an author, lecturer and founder of The Integrity Centre. “It relies on commitment, self-belief and tenacity. It takes you to the limit of what you thought possible, then pushes you beyond. It cannot be achieved in isolation: you lean on guides, believers, and your cohort who understand the enormity of the challenge. It demands the humility to recalibrate, the motivation to see it as agency expansion not just achievement, and above all, a stubborn refusal to quit. Never ever. Hard fought, bravely won - proof you can push yourself to your perceived limits and then some, welcome the price that must be paid, and come out the other side.”
Tenacity and stubbornness go hand in hand if you want to see it through.
Dr Julia Carden likened it to climbing Everest. Julia is a coach, visiting tutor at Henley Business School and author of You Are Not As Self-Aware As You Think You Are. “There are days when you can see the summit and route to it clearly, other days it’s shrouded in cloud you can’t see and don’t know where you are going, and there’s time when you slip on the scree and are going backwards!”. What a brilliant metaphor - some days you can see your goal, some days it disappears into the mist and you wonder if you’re going to make it to the top alive, and some days you just go backwards!
I asked Dr. Jim Salvucci what he thought: “I agree that a doctorate is more about perseverance than smarts.” Jim is a consultant, coach, TEDx speaker and author. “In fact, in some fields and/or universities, the smarts may be optional. I’ve known highly intelligent people who did not complete their doctorates as well as too many mediocre intellects (and even anti-intellectuals) who got the degree. That said, the vast majority of doctorates out there go to some pretty bright people, but the doctorate is no more proof of intelligence than lots of money or a big fancy title are.” Jim has worked in academia and led academic institutions, so he knows what it feels like from the inside.
I asked Dr Grant Van Ulbrich what he thought: "I strongly agree with you. In my experience, a doctorate is far less about raw intellect than it is about perseverance, identity, and the ability to stay in relationship with uncertainty over a long period of time. The PhD is not a test of how clever you are, it’s a sustained encounter with doubt, ambiguity, and self-questioning. Many capable people don’t finish not because they lack intelligence, but because they underestimate the emotional and personal change required to keep going when clarity disappears. I often say the doctorate doesn’t make or break people, it reveals how they relate to challenge, patience, and themselves. Those who finish aren’t necessarily the smartest in the room; they’re the ones who learn how to keep moving while still feeling unfinished.” Grant has a background in the cruise industry as well as being a visiting lecturer, TEDx speaker and creator of the SCARED SO WHAT personal change model.
A few more good words in there to add to tenacity and stubbornness!!
“I think you're exactly right, it is about having the perseverance to keep going until it's done. It's also about being willing to pursue your thoughts on a specific topic all the way to the logical end, exploring all the by-ways and dead-ends along the way, without getting (too) sidetracked or losing sight of that final destination. It's an extreme form of focus that really isn't healthy. And one of the biggest challenges is going through all of that, getting to the end, then drawing breath and stepping away - using everything you've learnt in that process to think less intensely but equally effectively about something else instead.”, said Dr Clare Littleford. Clare is an independent research consultant with expertise in storytelling and impact visualisation. Very wise words about knowing when to zoom in and zoom out. Know when to be consumed and when to step away for the benefit of your mental health and sanity.
As if by magic, I saw a post by Grace Marshall reminding us that Friday 9th January was ‘Quitters Day’. Grace shares her experience of doing a jigsaw and how she noticed that quitting, wasn’t an option for her. She dug into her tenacity, stubbornness, and realised she really hates giving up! Chiming with what Dr Grant said, Grace wrote, “Working in uncertainty means there's often no clear picture we’re building towards. No guarantee anything will come together at all. We’re placing pieces without knowing what - if anything - will emerge.“
To get you through a PhD or any Big Work, remember these 3 things:
Be tenacious and stubborn: It isn’t about being clever. It’s about keeping going when things stop being clear and making sense. Some days you can see where you’re going, some days your road is completely lost in the mist, and some days you’re pretty sure you’re going backwards. That’s all part of it. Don’t wait for absolute clarity. Just keep going.
Be clear about why you’re doing it: You won’t get through something like this on motivation alone. You get through it because it matters to you. When I started, I was very deliberate about my topic because I knew I’d still be interested in it after 5 years of study. When things get hard, your reason for starting has to be louder than the whiney voice telling you to quit.
Know when to dig in and when to step back: This kind of work asks a lot of you. There are times when you have to be completely absorbed, following ideas down a rabbit hole. And there are times when you have to step away, get some air, and remember there’s a world beyond the study. Getting to the end isn’t just about pushing harder. It’s about knowing when to ease off and look after yourself too.
The Last Word
If you’re waiting to feel ready, confident, or certain before you start, you’ll be waiting a long time. Big undertakings don’t come with guarantees or clear pictures on the box. They ask for tenacity, stubbornness, and a willingness to keep going when things feel messy, emotional, and unfinished. Whether it’s a doctorate or something else that matters deeply to you, the work gets done by those who stay in relationship with the uncertainty, listen to the tenacious voice, and refuse to quit. Not because it’s easy. But because it’s worth it.
If you’re a leader who wants to use your experience to research a gap in the academic market to gift greater knowledge, skills and tools to others help them on their journey to great things, then do it. Be tenacious, be stubborn, persevere, embrace uncertainty, be kind to yourself and go get it done!
Nia is an expert leader who talks the talk and walks the walk. She is an academically awarded thought leader in self-aware leadership and practices self-aware leadership every single day in her role as a strategy and operations leader.
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This will help many people, already in the thick of it, reframe a lot of their current emotions and help those who are uneasy about beginning a professional or personal mission by preparing themselves for what's ahead. The struggle and endurance is the path to what we want.