Personal ambition can work for or against you!
It depends on whether you control the ambition or the ambition controls you!
The first face of ambition is called "the face of accomplishment" - This is when a person knows what they want to accomplish, why they want to accomplish it and how they will go about it. It gets things done in a prompt manner, without procrastination, with one eye cast upon the bigger picture and the other upon consequences. A person never looses sight of their criteria and always thinks before they act (strategic thinking).
The second face of ambition is called "The blind face" - There is a saying "ambition is blind" and that can certainly be true. It happens when the state of WANTING takes a person over and they become controlled by what they want. It has a predictable spiral-down process that includes loosing one’s core value system, becoming over stressed, developing false surety and self-confidence, thinking that one knows it all, and starting to make bigger and bigger mistakes (history is full of such examples), while thinking that no one else understands what’s going on.
This kind of ambition may get things done in the short term but very seldom lasts in the long term. It is blind because it has a very limited view that does not take into account repercussions of actions and decisions upon themselves, resources and most importantly upon the physical, mental and emotional stamina of the people reporting to them.
If you find yourself having the 2nd face here is my suggestion:
STOP!
Take a deep breath and embark upon a course correction. Start with:
…And give particular attention to the word CONSEQUENCES.
The suggestion "Never leave home without it" applies here to consequence analysis. In my professional opinion consequences is one of the main supporting pillars of strategic thinking. Consequences are hidden and don’t readily reveal themselves. They need to be pried out and it is important to bear in mind that there is a huge difference between short-term and long-term consequences which, often conflict with each other.
Here is a strategic thinking tip from The Thinking Coach:
Always ask yourself the question- Do I control my ambition or does my ambition control me? And then set to answer that question with the realization that leadership weakness is characterized by stubbornness and rigidity, while strong leadership is defined by openness and flexibility.
Eli Harari
The Thinking Coach
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