Women Aren't Less Ambitious — They're Just Done Playing By Old Rules
Here are three ways I am redefining leadership on my own terms, along with so many other women.
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Key Takeaways
- A survey by Chief and The Harris Poll shows 86% of senior women leaders are more ambitious than before, challenging conventional career paths.
- Career diversification and support from a network of women leaders will empower your journey toward self-made success.
Last year, I jumped off that corporate ladder.
For too long, I was chasing the corporate dream of a glass corner office with a city view. I was racing to get bigger, better titles and more money. I was eager to make sure I had enough boxes under me on that org chart to show how big my team was. I was seeking validation.
And then, I decided to jump off. I decided to go and chase my dream as a full-time writer, as I just published my second book, and to pursue other avenues of interest. In a time when job security no longer exists, I decided to take a bet — to take a chance on myself.
But those around me haven’t quite been able to grasp what I am doing. “Don’t worry,” a friend said to me recently. “It’s a tough market. But you are super talented and will find another job soon.”
Others have been more direct, and perhaps not as kind, peppering with all sorts of comments and questions:
- “Are you taking a step back? I am sure you are tired. Go ahead and rest.”
- “Have you lost your drive? Makes sense after dealing with corporate America.”
- “Are you just not as ambitious anymore? What happened?”
And then I saw a new national survey commissioned by Chief and conducted by The Harris Poll. It revealed exactly what I, and so many women, have been feeling. We aren’t stepping back from leadership: We are redesigning ambition on our own terms.
“We’re calling BS on the narrative that women leaders are dialing back their ambition,” Sabrina Caluori, chief marketing officer at Chief, and Libby Rodney, chief strategy officer at The Harris Poll said. “It’s not fading, it’s on fire.”
Here are three ways I am redefining leadership on my own terms along with so many other women.
1. Reclaiming what ambition looks like
According to the Chief and The Harris Poll survey, 86% of senior women leaders say they’re more ambitious now than they were five years ago. And yet, when we make decisions for our careers that don’t align with the status quo or the traditional definition of corporate ambition, we are labeled as simply giving up. I know for me, and so many other women, ambition is multilayered. I am more invested in my financial success and the financial success of those around me. I want the ability to call the shots and make decisions about my career. And I am no longer chasing titles and proximity to power; I am chasing time and flexibility.
2. Reimagining our careers
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 450,000 women have dropped out of the U.S. labor market since January. This is one of the steepest declines recorded (not including the pandemic.) Black/African American women have a higher unemployment rate than other groups of women. There are a number of reasons, including layoffs, forced mandates back to the office, burnout, inability to make career progress and more.
In fact, 82% of women surveyed agreed with this statement: “The changing economy has made my current career progression less reliable, so I’m opening myself up to new pathways of progression.” No longer can we really have a single income stream; loyalty in the workplace is dead.
Like many women, I am multi-hypenated. I have multiple professional identities at once: I am a best-selling author. I am a board member. I am a workplace strategist. I am a keynote speaker. I am an advisor to the C-suite. In this market, I am building a diverse portfolio of possibilities. The old playbook is dead, and the path to success is no longer linear.
Related: Stop Telling Women to ‘Smile More’— It’s Time to End This Workplace Double Standard
3. Surrounding ourselves with other ambitious women
As I have stepped off that corporate ladder and into this new season of my career, I will admit that it can at times feel unsettling and lonely. And with so much economic uncertainty, I am reminded that my network is my networth. So many women have bought my books, recommended me for board opportunities, hired me to do strategy work, nominated me to do the keynote at a conference and more.
Two-thirds of women believe their problem-solving is accelerated when they are working through business challenges with other women leaders, according to the study. Rather than begging for a seat at a table where there’s no chair for me, I am ready to build my own table. And I am doing just that with other ambitious women, whose ideas, energy and support me fuel me to chase my dreams. I realize now that ambition isn’t about getting to the top of that ladder, about arriving at the end, to that final destination. It’s about evolving, it’s about the journey, it’s about we are redefining what ambition looks like, on our terms. Boldly and unapologetically.