I will say that Duckworth appears to be one of the most open recipients of criticism in academia that I have come across. She readily concedes good arguments, and appears caught between her knowledge of the limitations of the research and the need to write or speak in a strong enough manner to sell a book or make a TED talk.
. . .But Duckworth does not address the typical problem of studies in this domain – they all ignore biology. Do the students receive higher grades because their parents are more demanding, or because they are the genetic descendants of two demanding people? Are they world-class performers because their parents model a work ethic, or because they have inherited a work ethic? Are they consistent with their extracurricular activities because their parents consistently keep them at it, or because they are the type of people likely to be consistent?
He points out that “grit” is mostly conscientiousness. The case that conscientiousness matters is sound. I do think there are some studies that show that conscientiousness can be coached, but I am not confident that it is settled science.
In the organizations I’ve belonged to, conscientiousness and grit are two very different things.
Conscientiousness is attention to detail and is usually something that certain players are depended on to provide for the organization. Grit was more about relentless resourcefulness, making the tough calls and the ability to fight through problems. Conscientiousness people usually work for gritty people.
The two traits you are describing are actually sub-traits, or “aspects” of the formal psychological notion of conscientiousness. What you call conscientiousness is “orderliness”, and what you call grit is “industriousness”.
“Industriousness (the ability to engage in sustained, goal-directed effort) and Orderliness (the tendency to schedule, organize and systematize) for Conscientiousness.”
https://www.understandmyself.com/personality-assessment