Chapter 13: Letting Go of Ambition

Despite the somber tone of its title, this passage connotes leadership maturity rather than resignation or reluctant acceptance. It’s not a reaction to missed job opportunities or to being turned down for promotions. You aren’t saying to yourself, “I just don’t have what it takes. I guess I’ll hang in there until retirement.” It is instead about loving what you do, no longer having the urge to seek a “higher” position or enhance your credentials. Letting go of ambition is a kind of epiphany, because for the first time in your life, your work requirements and the job you hold are a perfect match. After years of strategizing about the next move and keeping one eye alert for the next opportunity, you have no interest in doing anything but what you’re currently doing.

What “Letting Go” Means

The late Beatle George Harrison once said, “My ambition is to have no ambition.” We suspect he was aspiring to a higher state of consciousness, as befits the most spiritual member of the group. People invest enormous amounts of energy mapping out their careers and developing skills that will increase their attractiveness as job candidates. They compete in corporate tournaments in which success is usually defined in terms of promotions, advancements, bigger budgets, more people, larger offices, or more impressive titles. This is fine, but at a certain stage it is no longer necessary. Many outstanding leaders reach a point in their lives in which the definition of success begins to shift. It is no longer about moving up but about mastery. Many people reach a point in their lives when they want to focus exclusively on what they are doing, and this is a sign of a leader operating at full capacity. All this individual’s energy is focused on the job, and this focus can help him operate at peak effectiveness.

Letting go of ambition doesn’t mean issuing a declaration to corporate leadership that you have arrived. In fact, we advise senior executives we work with not to share this insight about themselves with the people they work with, precisely because it can be easily misinterpreted. Instead, this passage is a process that takes place inside of you. Accordingly, it frees you to do what you love without concerns about how your job or career is being affected.