Higher ambition leadership is an aspiration and a discipline that can be practiced by managers at all levels in organizations and at all stages in their careers.
Higher-ambition leaders are driven by a sense of purpose that goes beyond just achieving financial success. They aspire to build organizations that succeed in the marketplace by earning the respect, trust, and commitment of their people, customers, communities, and investors.
There is no more energizing and meaningful way to spend your professional life than to lead with a higher ambition. But this is far from easy. In our four year study, which included in-depth interviews with 36 CEOs from around the world we found that higher-ambition leaders have a rare mastery of the hard disciplines of general management — strategy, financial analysis, operations, marketing — and five core disciplines of higher ambition leadership. These include the capacity to forge a strategic identify for the firm, build a shared commitment to excel, create a community out of diversity, leading with clarity and consistency ("Leading with Sisu"), and committing to collective leadership.
Higher-ambition leaders are uncompromising in their commitments to simultaneously work to meet financial targets and fulfill broader needs in society. They are also realistic about the challenges.
