We talk a lot about ambition on Women’s Agenda. We promote it and encourage more women to speak up about it. Really, it’s at the heart of what we’re about: a site where career minded women can tell stories and share tips and advice for achieving their goals.
But every now and again all of that seems unimportant.
Frankly, who cares about how you define success and ambition when there’s actually so much else to be concerned about. Who cares about what you can do to improve your CV and presentation skills, or how you can build a personal brand and get started on that business, when there are so many women all over the world still fighting for the most basic of human rights
When you see tragic events unfold internationally, not just natural disasters but the deliberate actions of others who wish to exert as much pain and suffering on others as possible, it can be hard to articulate why we put so much energy into worrying about climbing the corporate ladder, or building that mega business, or getting more women into leadership positions.
Indeed, it can be hard to care about personal ambitions at all — other than the ones that involve staying close to family and friends and those we love.
And yet ambition continues, in all forms: the inspiring and life changing types, and occasionally the downright ugly types. It drives much of what we do day to day. It can consume our thoughts with anxiety and frustration, push us to work harder than ever anticipated, keep us awake at night.
Ambition is ultimately the trait that moves us forward. It drives progress and solves great challenges. It leads us to new opportunities and should aid in improving the lives of others and our overall wellbeing. Great, personal ambitions can trump hate and bigotry and zealotry. It can give a new purpose to individuals who feel trapped or lost within a system that wasn’t built for them.
But problems arise when personal ambition hits a roadblock, which inevitably will happen. The most problematic of these roadblocks is when people get in the way. They cause delays and frustrations. They have conflicting needs and desires. They mess up. They disappoint.
And that’s when basic decency and kindness become casualties of ambition. It’s when too many of us forget to treat others with respect, to consider their personal circumstances and situations, and to prioritise their wellbeing.
For some reason kindness is rarely associated with ambition – despite the fact it can not only help us in achieving our goals, but contribute to the personal satisfaction and achievement we feel as a result.
Kindness should be available everywhere. In the office, over lunch, during meetings, at networking events, in the cafe where you pick up your coffee, on the commute on the way home.
It’s kindness that brings purpose to work. Your work may not be fulfilling or satisfying or feel particularly world-changing, but it still brings you into contacts with other humans. Those small encounters – whether over email, in the office or on the phone – are opportunities for kindness.
We need kindness more than ever, just as we need personal ambition. Thankfully, kindness is the simplest ambition we can have, and the easiest thing we can do. No matter what happens internationally, and what happens in your own little world, you can always be kind.