5 Most Important Career Tips for Ambitious Women

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4 years ago

Your ambition drives you to do great things and achieve amazing heights in your career! But will you make one of the common mistakes that ambitious women make as they climb their way to the top?

I’ve mentored dozens of ambitious women, and am certainly one myself. Here are the most common tips I give them…

5 Most Important Career Tips for Ambitious Women

Have a Vision for Your Career, not a Map

As an ambitious, Type A woman, you should know where you want your career to go. That said, you should not get hung up on the path to get there. For example, sometimes you may need to stay at one level for a while to gain more knowledge, but that will help you get a promotion down the line.

For example, if you want to be the CEO of your company, that is great! That said, your path may not be a promotion every 2 years along the typical progression of Product Manager -> Team Leader -> Department Head -> Business Unit Head -> CEO. You may find that you’ll want more depth in some areas, which will help you progress faster in the future.

Ambitious women can be eager to get to the top. I’ve seen many of them damage their careers in an effort to get there. Rather, you should have a vision for how your career should progress but be flexible and patient on how you get there.

2. Be a Problem Solver

Are you finding fault with your company? Are you annoyed with lengthy business processes? Not a fan of the recent promotional campaigns?

Well, you should do something about it! If there is something you think is sub-optimal, then — as an ambitious woman — dive in and solve it!

The workplace rewards problem solvers; those that demonstrate the leadership required to identify and resolve an issue will absolutely get ahead. So you should seize the opportunity to take charge and make something better (rather than complain).

3. Focus on the Long Term

Not getting the best work assignments? Do you feel like you’re not getting a lot of exposure to senior leaders right now? Don’t get upset and jump ship immediately. Be patient and focus on the long term benefits you will get from your role.

Too often ambitious women worry that they will stagnate and they leave to another company if their career development doesn’t match their immediate needs. So, they may get ahead in the short term. But often the grass isn’t greener and the face typical organizational challenges of moving up in the new organization too (such as not enough open role, other candidates with more experience, etc).

Now, you shouldn’t stay years in a sub-optimal situation. But if you’re passed over for promotion once, you should just be patient because it will probably work out soon.

4. Do the Hard Things

We’ve already talked about the importance of stepping outside your comfort zone. What to get recognized? Take on a big, tough assignment! Often times ambitious women can avoid tough projects because they are worried about something not going well. To be honest, it may not always go well because it’s a hard project. However, your company’s leaders know that and will appreciate your hard work and dedication to make adjustments along the way.

In the end, even if it wasn’t always perfect, a hard assignment will help you get recognized for being the fearless leader you are!

5. Be Open to Feedback (But Not Tied to It)

Over the course of your career — especially as you progress — you will get a lot of (unsolicited) feedback. Listen to it.

That doesn’t mean you have to act upon it…but just listen to how others perceive you. You may totally disagree, but you can’t argue with how they perceive you. So, there may be something to learn that could ultimately help you in the future.

Even if you agree with the feedback, you’re not required to take action. Doing so may be uncomfortable for you, or against your principles. For example, over the course of my career, I’ve been told to be more aggressive. I don’t want to; that’s not for me. And I’ve done very well despite that.

So, listen to the feedback others give you and decide what you’ll take action on.

How about you? What career advice do you get as an ambitious woman??

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