Why are ambitious people ambitious?

Happy Team Working In An Office

“Intelligence without ambition is like a bird without wings”

Ambition is defined as a strong desire to do or achieve something. Determination, drive, enterprise and initiative often go hand-in-hand with ambition, but it can mean different things to different people.

For some, ambition is seen as a positive trait because it drives people to work hard, attain more and achieve success. Others consider it in a more negative light, because it can lead to people focusing on empty, material goals rather than striving for happiness and contentment.

Either way, it’s clear that some people are more ambitious than others in life, and today we’re delving into the reasons why.

What makes a person ambitious?

There are a few reasons why one person might be more ambitious than another.

Ambition often stems from the people we surround ourselves with. So you could be the oldest sibling setting the standard for the family, or the youngest child trying to carve your own path in the world.

Perhaps you’re surrounded by intelligent and academically successful friends, and you have something to prove about your own level of achievement. Or maybe your office has an ambitious work team, and you need to push yourself to get that promotion.

You’ll often know if a person is ambitious or not, because they’ll probably be eager to learn, passionate about their work, self-sufficient and responsible.

Common traits of successful entrepreneurs

While one person’s ambition can vary significantly from the next, ambitious and successful people often share a few personality traits.

Whether it’s ambition in the workplace, or sibling rivalry – more often than not an ambitious person is also competitive, willing to take risks, and they never shy away from a challenge.

But it’s not always cutthroat. Ambitious people also tend to be more creative, flexible and highly motivated. They compete against themselves rather than other people, setting goals and keeping them close to their hearts.

Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg are all examples of successful entrepreneurs. So what do they have in common?

Not only are they experts in their fields, they’re also disciplined, persistent and hard working. They’re confident in their ideas, but they’re also adaptable to change.

One of the biggest traits these successful, ambitious entrepreneurs all possess is the ability and willingness to fail. Without accepting the possibility of failure, these successful entrepreneurs would never have taken the risks that have allowed their businesses to adapt and grow so successfully.

How to create an ambitious work team?

We’ve established that not everyone is naturally ambitious, so how do you build a work team full of productive and motivated people?

Ambition in the workplace can mean anything from doing work you’re proud of and going the extra mile for a promotion, to competing against colleagues for employee of the week.

There’s no doubt that a motivated, ambitious work team are more productive and eager to succeed. So how do you encourage this culture?

Managing an ambitious workforce starts with getting to know the individuals. Everyone’s different, so identifying their specific needs will allow you to customise your motivational approach.

Support, encouragement and reward generally form the basic structure of motivating your team to become more ambitious. Making the work environment a nice place to be, trusting your employees instead of micro-managing them, and ensuring an open communication approach will also be imperative.

When you support and encourage your team to succeed, they’re more likely to feel confident enough to actually do it.

Knowing when to delegate

Part of IT project management is managing an ambitious team is knowing when it’s time to outsource or delegate work.

Your staff do their best work when provided with the tools and time to do so. It’s important to acknowledge when you’re wasting their time on demotivating tasks, and also to notice when your team are getting frustrated by not having the right software or equipment.

You can support your team to be more ambitious by outsourcing work to experts, utilising specialist expertise to ensure the basics such as IT are all running smoothly.

For example, at Dr Logic, we can bring in IT support to help set up your team from the start – whether you’re buying new tech or you’re hiring new staff. We can be on hand to answer any concerns or fix any issues you encounter, so your staff don’t spend precious hours battling with their computers.

Many ambitious people find it challenging when something out of their control gets in the way of achieving their goal or doing their best. Knowing when outsourced IT is the best solution is crucial for any manager of an ambitious team.

To find out how we can help you realise your ambitious plans or support your ambitious teams please drop Dr Logic a line or take a look at what full IT Services we provide.

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