Shannon Huffman Polson is the author of The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience and Leadership in the Most Male Dominated Organization in the World, as well as the memoir North of Hope. She is the founder of The Grit Institute, a leadership institute offering online and virtual training in leadership, grit and resilience and purpose, host of The Grit Factor podcast, and faculty at the Tuck School at Dartmouth’s Leadership and Strategic Impact offering.
As one of the first women to fly the Apache helicopter in the U.S. Army, leading line units on three continents, Polson combines her passion and firsthand experience in and study of leadership, grit purpose and story to address the needs of her clients in the face of challenge and change with world-class keynotes and executive education.
After serving for a decade in the armed services, Polson earned her MBA at the Tuck School at Dartmouth, and later her MFA. She went on to lead outstanding teams in the corporate world in the medical device industry and at Microsoft. As a community leader, Polson successfully envisioned, founded and led the completion of a $6.5M new library and civic center.
Polson has a decade of experience speaking to companies and organizations around the world, and is consistently the highest rated speaker at her events. Polson lives with her husband and two children in Washington State.
Speaking Topics -
- The Grit Factor: Courage and Resilience in Times of Challenge and Change
- Purposeful Leadership
- The Power of Story
- Mastering Mindset for Success
- Facing the Wind: Practicing Courage in Uncertain Times
“Thank for your assistance is having Shannon Huffman Polson serve as our keynote speaker for our annual Chamber SWLA Banquet. We had a full house of 1,000 attendees. The morning of the banquet, Shannon conducted a workshop for our Leadership Class and she easily engaged them. She was very easy to work with and we are very pleased that we selected her for our keynote. Her intro with the Apache Helicopter Video was a real attention- getter. The audience remained silent as she told her story. We have received all positive comments about Shannon's presentation. I would strongly recommend her to any organization wishing a keynote about leadership.
“Thank for your assistance is having Shannon Huffman Polson serve as our keynote speaker for our annual Chamber SWLA Banquet. We had a full house of 1,000 attendees. The morning of the banquet, Shanno...