How to act ambitiously

Below is some food for thought on what it takes to think and act ambitiously.

Ambition isn't a trait that you have or you don't. It's a skill—as much as thinking analytically or communicating effectively.

For some of you, it comes naturally. For the majority, it's a muscle to build over time.

Take the time to reflect on the points discussed below.

Get to know yourself ​​

Take a minute to reflect on what ambition means to you.

You may have thought of money, fame or wealth.

Or independence, challenge, and mastery.

Or nothing. Most likely, a mix of things.

You may be totally fine with finding a good enough job and keeping it for many years, so you can focus your time on something else. Not everyone needs to think ambitiously about their careers.

Or you may want to become the best at what you do, without being promoted or taking more responsibilities.  

All this is fine IF it is a choice.

The problem arises when not thinking or acting ambitiously is the result of something else, such as not knowing where to start, or a fear of not fitting in.

Self-esteem is proven to be a major source of drive and ambition. Someone who thinks highly of themselves won’t necessarily rise through the ranks, but as Nassir Ghaemi, a professor of psychology at a Boston Medical Center, said “The more self-esteem you have, the more ambitious you are because you think you can do things”. Whether or not you have the specific talents to achieve those things may matter less than you believing you can.

Also, understanding ambition means knowing the difference between ambition and wishing. 

Wishing happens when you dream of the outcome, but don't even consider the process to get there.

It would be great to build a business empire from scratch or to make a lot of money working at a large tech giant.

What makes one ambitious is working toward those wishes. And this work takes energy and discipline, and often a leap of faith before we can start seeing some positive results that encourage you to keep going.​

"The results you are looking for are in the work that you are avoiding"

Take ownership

Every year, many smart and capable people tell me, "I want to change my job". And they want to, really. But the year passes by, and they stay in the same place - or they change jobs just because some firm reached out to them, interviewed and recruited them. They are not proactive in deciding when and how things happen. ​​

Acting ambitiously can take many shapes. These may look like:

• Taking your job seriously and giving your best. Working hard doesn´t always have an immediate reward, but that shouldn't stop you. The way you work should reflect what sort of professional you want to be. If your firm systematically decides not to reward you or you do not feel motivated to do a good job, then that´s a different topic. Time to consider a new job.

• Considering changing jobs every X years. Reflect on what you want to get from your current job, and what would need to happen for you to stay after a period of X time. Many people say "I want to leave because something went bad". However, it is better to think "I project myself staying here for X years because my learning curve is steep, I have a clear growth path, or I like the corporate culture. Then I will consider other options unless there is a reason for me to stay longer". This way, if you stay in your job, it is the result of making a choice and not just going with the flow. When you like a company, changing departments or jobs within the same company can be as good as switching companies.

• Taking time to think about what sort of company, industry or job you want next. It is tempting to just accept the first recruiter´s offer you get that pays 15% more or apply to the first good enough job you see on LinkedIn. Think strategically about where you want to go and plan accordingly.  

• Being strategic when applying to jobs, considering which companies are good matches to your goals, which skills you want to build next, and which jobs imply a career jump (rather than a lateral move). For example, if you are a project manager at a consulting firm like Deloitte, you probably don't want to move to the same role to EY. It will take you at least 2 years to be promoted. It is better to make lateral movements (same job title) only when there is a strategic reason (e.g. a much better company).

• Keeping an eye on the job market - even if you do not plan to change jobs, it is always a good practice to check which sort of jobs are out there or even interview for a job you would not take just to keep your interview skills sharp (though this isn't very considerate of the interviewers' time)

• Being proactive in improving your skills and resume with new courses, languages, etc.

Sometimes, the difference between people who get what they want and those who don´t is how hard they work towards it. So, taking ownership is about taking initiative and advocating for yourself. And this is very linked to how we plan and cultivate habits.

Note: The world is not fair, and meritocracy often does not work. Working hard is not always enough, especially if you come from a difficult place. But taking ownership of what you can influence helps.

Cultivate habits

Bill Bradley, a well-known US basketball player, politician, and writer once said:

"Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in”

Habits, the repeated practice of something, are the bricks that end up looking like a house. Small habits help us get closer to jobs or MBAs and also help us improve as professionals. Very few people have made it to a good university by dedicating one week to writing cover letters or practicing the GMAT. It takes a small percentage of work (and improvements) over a longer period of time.

We are more likely to succeed at adopting habits when habits are:

Law	Summary	Technique Used	Example from Your Text
1. Make It Obvious	Make the cues for your desired habit stand out. Define exactly when and where you will perform the habit.	Habit Stacking: Linking a new habit to a current, established habit.	"Every day, after dinner, I will sit down at my desk and dedicate X min to do Y."
2. Make It Attractive	Increase your desire to perform the habit by associating it with a positive feeling.	Temptation Bundling: Pairing an action you need to do with an action you want to do.	Tie the habit to something you enjoy, such as playing a podcast while you do Y.
3. Make It Easy	Reduce the friction required to start the habit. The less effort, the more likely you are to do it.	Two-Minute Rule / Scale Down: Breaking the habit into the smallest, most manageable pieces.	Splitting the overwhelming task of "changing jobs" into simple steps: (1) Make a list of companies, (2) work on your resume, etc.

Also, simplify the habit by avoiding what some call noise (i.e. things that get in the way). For example, don´t make plans with friends in the time slot you assigned to working on your application.

And more importantly, believe you are ambitious and hard-working. We are better at sticking to habits when we believe those are part of us.

If you consider yourself a hard-working person, you are more likely to work hard because it is a behavior that goes well with your view of yourself. If you consider yourself a non-smoker (rather than a person who is trying to quit), you are more likely to say "no" to a cigarette offer. No one likes incongruence between their actions and their self-view.. The book "Atomic Habits" develops these ideas well.

I am ambitious and hard-working. How would a person like this behave?

Be open and curious

There are options out there that you don´t even know they exist. Recognize and enjoy the moments when you are doing things that are new, or that will make you a better student or professional. 

I spent two months practicing business cases before I got a job at McKinsey, and it was tiring. But reflecting back, it was a learning process in itself which taught me important structures and frameworks. Four years later, when I was answering Q&A in a tough promotion panel at a private company, a senior director asked me how to determine if we should keep investing in user perception, given that we already had a high score. I took a basic pricing model, changed pieces of it on the spot, and gave a solid answer. Knowledge is cumulative and very handy. 

Some important things to consider about your career: 

• Do not feel the need to apologize. Many of our grandparents and parents kept the same job for decades or even for their entire lives. You may make different choices, and you shouldn´t feel bad about it. Changing companies and jobs doesn´t mean you are a bad or disloyal employee. Just make sure you do a good job until the last day, and you communicate well in advance your decisions.

• Do not consider that climbing a career ladder is the only way, or a linear process. You may want to act ambitiously by focusing on skills, values, and continuous learning rather than upward growth. Or you may climb the ladder, but in your way. In my case, I accepted an offer for a lower position with a 40% salary cut just because I knew there were some strategic benefits that job could give me quickly.

• Be open about finding a balance between your passion and/or what you are good at. If there is a perfect match, congratulations! Your early career years are a good time to explore whether you are good at things you love, or if you can fall in love with things you are good at. As a teenager, I always wanted to be a journalist or professional photographer for National Geographic. I haven´t achieved that yet (although I do write in my free time), but I managed to capitalize on skills I already had and grew to find them interesting.

It is easier to act ambitiously when the process itself is something we enjoy (or at least we don´t find very painful). Try to keep an open and curious mind, so you can discover.