Leadership and Ambition

Abstract

Ambition is the driving motive that propels us to reach beyond what is considered possible. Ambition fuels creativity, design thinking, and an entrepreneurial spirit, and is therefore a powerful leadership quality. Ambitious leaders are focused on performance because they continuously want to reach higher levels for themselves and their companies. Ambition, like so many other qualities, is multifaceted: it can be positive and negative in nature. When pushed too far, ambition can become a problem instead of an advantage. Consequently, it can lead to excessive workaholism, stress, health issues, and a toxic work environment due to intolerance, micromanagement, and excessive control, leading to dissatisfied coworkers. This chapter will discuss the importance of nurturing one’s ambition, but will also underline the reasons why ambition needs to be examined frequently to prevent it from becoming a liability.