When I say the word ‘ambitious,’ who is the first person that comes to mind? Is it the political leader who will stop at nothing to win an election? The CEO who aggressively pursues expansion plans, regardless of the economic climate? Maybe it makes you think of your favorite NFL quarterback whose competitiveness kept them in the game, broken rib and all, to make the game winning drive.
Or does it remind you of someone else entirely – yourself?
You know, ambition is actually a complex quality; it can lead to both positive and negative behaviors.
In one sense, ambition serves as a motivational tool that can help one determine a course of action. Traditionally, great leaders have persistence, preparation, optimism, and clarity of purpose, which are all aspects of ambition.
Nevertheless, there is a reason why in his play Macbeth, Shakespeare suggested that ambition could lead to greed. After all, it is not uncommon for some ambitious people to sacrifice integrity and cut corners for their own personal gain.
This is why it is vital that one understands the difference between selfish ambition and selfless ambition. Let me draw up a distinction between the two.
Self-focused people tend to be overly ambitious and view their ambition as the key to power and self-accomplishment, and they will do whatever it takes to get to the top.
For example, say a new leader comes on board, and in order to prove his worth in a hurry, he will start by changing some aspect of the system without consulting with his colleagues and his team. He ignores suggestions, no matter how helpful they are. Long story short, he’ll eventually stretch the limits of work relationships, along with being perceived as abrasive and aggressive.
Now on the other hand, leaders with selfless ambition connect their personal objectives with fulfilling organizational objectives. This means they still have plenty of drive and focus to meet the goals, but they operate with a sense of humility and strive to make the decisions that are in the best interest of the company.
If you’re unsure of where you fall on the ambition scale, one-way to help you revaluate your goals is to create a written development plan. This plan can identify what you want to get better at, along with how you’re going to do it.
Here are some tips to help you get a head start on your development plan:
- Decide on a clear-cut, long-range goal for yourself. Then establish what you will need to do and what attributes you will need to have in order to achieve it.
- Put your action step(s) for your development goals on your daily “to do” list and make it the number-one priority. Do one thing every day, even if it is a small step, to move toward your goals.
- If you are overcommitted and expect to be great at everything, focus your energy on the most important areas and allow yourself to be average in less important matters. In other words, set realistic expectations.
- Remember the old adage, “choose your battles carefully” when deciding how best to spend your energies. You can’t possibly do everything, but it is especially critical for you to address the issues that get in the way of, or hinder the development of, your most important goals.
Ambition is a fine quality; just make sure you use it wisely.
