What is your relationship with ambition?
In my experience, only two possible states regarding ambition exist: ‘too much’ or ‘too little’ (it’s rare that it’s ‘just right’ because the external conditions are constantly changing and asking differing questions, so it’s not something that has a steady-state nature about it).
Every business has an optimal state: a moment in time where everything is as good as it could be. It’s almost impossible to achieve optimal results because the business landscape is too changeable and complex to get it 100% right.
It’s the quest that matters: an unrelenting, healthy dissatisfaction on the CEO’s part with:
- What is less good than it could be
- What is broken and needs fixing
- What potential lies dormant
- What is unexpressed that could be
There are multiple responses to the above provocations: ignore; act; postpone; disregard.
Your response to anything less than Total Business Performance is a valuable mirror because it describes your ‘stance’ to your CEO journey. Look hard at your answer as much potential lies within it.
My work with CEOs mostly lies within the phrase ‘making the turn’. A turn toward a better form of CEOship, and a better form of business.
To make this turn, ambition comes directly into play. CEOs who wish to make the turn are asked to face these sorts of questions head on:
- Am I ‘alive’ in my role as a CEO?
- Is my business at optimal performance?
- Do I have potential in me that is waiting to be released?
- Are there personal breakthroughs that I am being asked to make?
These questions might appear to be threatening, but they’re not. Any CEO worth their salt has stared them down on many occasions over the course of their career so try to put them in a positive light. Once you dive into them, you will see that their answers are rich, valuable and impactful.
I willingly spend time with CEOs helping them decide whether to initiate a learning journey, or a coaching engagement. I would be happy to do the same for you if these questions have catalysed something in you.
Reach out to me at rowan@lockstep.global is you are drawn to meeting and talking about your development as a CEO.