If you’re a manager, you’re probably ambitious. You want to be right, achieve great things, and be rewarded and recognized for what you’ve done. That’s good. Without ambition, it’s unlikely that you would have taken on management responsibilities, which most leaders acknowledge as very challenging. Furthermore, ambition can drive success—for you and for your organization.
But CCL research shows that leaders who don’t handle their ambition properly can damage their careers and undercut their efforts to advance their organizations. That is the paradox of ambition: While it is a necessary factor in business success, too much of it can derail a career.
This guidebook will help you understand and manage your ambition so that it won’t derail your career but will contribute to your efforts to achieve personal and organizational success.
When a Strength Becomes a Weakness
CCL has conducted extensive studies on executive success and derailment. This research consistently reports that leaders cite ambition as a reason for career success. Many executives rely on ambition to drive their work. However, the very same ambition that drives executives to the top can have serious consequences if they do not keep it in check.
When leaders become overly ambitious, they are often arrogant. They promote themselves, without the performance to support their claims and beyond their level of competence. They are overconfident, presenting themselves as capable of more than they actually are, and highly political, using manipulation to gain promotions. They are focused primarily on themselves, they manage up without paying much attention to peers or direct reports, and they are willing to step on people to move up. In short, the strength of ambition becomes a weakness.
Problems leaders encounter due to excessive ambition:
• Poor follow-through and poor strategic decisions—the leader’s success criteria are focused on self and not on the organization.
• Poor interpersonal relationships—others view the leader as too focused on self-interests.
• Lack of trust—others see overly ambitious leaders taking credit beyond their due.
In CCL’s research, the executives who derailed were not unaccomplished. They had achieved high-level positions, but they failed to manage their ambition. This didn’t have to happen. It’s possible to be ambitious and not to derail.
The problem of too much ambition can vary from one organization to the next. In some organizations it’s nearly impossible to be overly ambitious. For example, a fast-moving company that rewards aggressive behavior may have a higher tolerance for overly ambitious individuals than a firm with traditional views of career advancement. In spite of these differences, CCL’s research indicates that ambition that gets in the way of performance will lead to derailment in most organizations.
Assessing the correct level of ambition for your organization or situation can be tricky. Younger or newer members of an organization may show excessive ambition as a means of proving themselves to their new superiors, and older employees may temper their ambition for the good of the organization. Research shows that both these approaches can lead to problems. CCL has found that moderate levels of ambition can be the most successful in advancing your goals and your career. However, CCL also recommends flexibility in your level of ambition. Some situations (such as finishing an important project or working toward a promotion) may require you to increase your ambition in order to be successful, while others (like leading a new team or department with established protocols and techniques) require less ambition and assertiveness in order to benefit the team. In other words, moderation in ambition is often the best solution, but keep your eyes open and remain flexible when the situation calls for it.
So you must first determine whether you have a problem. How ambitious are you? Could your ambition lead you to a crisis? Use Exercise 1 to make a quick assessment.
Exercise 1: Measure Your Ambition
In this exercise, consider your current level of ambition in four different categories, and use the illustration to help discover any areas where your ambition may be holding you back.
For each category, rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being a moderate level of ambition and 5 being an extremely high level of ambition. Use the sample statements in the table as a guide. Then fill in the corresponding sections in the circle. For example, if you rate yourself 4 on recognition, then fill in sections 1–4 in that section.
Category |
Moderate (1) |
Extreme (5) |
Recognition |
I seek to be recognized by my superiors and my direct reports. |
I often tout my accomplishments to my superiors and direct reports as a way of raising my reputation. |
Work Ethic |
I am a hard worker, but I know when to slow down. |
I will stop at nothing and sacrifice anything in order to achieve my goals. |
Competitiveness |
I am competitive with other members of my organization, but I come together with others for the good of the company. |
My competitiveness has caused conflicts between other groups and departments, as well as rivalries between my colleagues. |
Individual Success |
I am satisfied with my contributions to the goals of the company, and I put its goals ahead of my desire to be right. |
I always want to be right, even if it is counterproductive to the organization’s goals. |
When you’ve rated yourself on all the categories and filled in your circle, take a look at it. Any sections that are 3 or above may signal that you need to address your ambition in that area. Also, pay attention if the filled-in area of your circle is somewhat lopsided—this could signal that you need to tone down one or more particular areas.
Note: This assessment does not seek to provide a precise measurement of your ambition; rather, it should be viewed as a rough estimate and as a guide for future development.
If Exercise 1 suggests that you may have a problem, it’s important that you gain a more detailed understanding of ambition, especially its basic drivers and their components. Along with that, seek out other sources of information, such as feedback from coworkers. Also very useful in this regard would be a careful examination of any formal 360-degree assessments in which you have recently participated. (CCL designs these assessments to gather feedback from peers, bosses, and direct reports.)
Let’s look at the drivers of ambition.
The Drivers of Ambition
CCL research identifies three basic drivers of ambition:
• The need for competence. You want to appear competent and be competent. You want to always make the right decisions and do the right things. You are intensely driven by the need to get it right the first time, every time.
• The need for achievement. You work hard and want to appear to work hard. You drive yourself and others with intense pressure to perform.
• The need for rewards. You want to be successful and to feel and be seen as successful. You want the perks, privileges, and honors that accompany success.
These drivers have identifiable components, each of which you should assess and manage. The following sections in this guidebook will help you do just that.