Want To Lead Better? Start With Intentional Ambition

Forbes

3 days ago

What if leading better wasn't about doing more but about leading with intentional ambition?
For too long, ambition has been synonymous with overwork and self-sacrifice. Many of us were taught that we weren't doing enough if we weren't over-extended and exhausted. But ambition that burns you out is not enduring leadership.
I used to believe I had to be tireless to over deliver and prove my worth. That resilience meant pushing through, no matter the cost. Then I burned out — burnt crispy. And I realized: ambition without replenishment and intention is just burnout in a different outfit.
And I'm not alone. More leaders are asking, "How do I keep going without losing myself?"
In her new book Intentional Ambition, career coach and cultural innovator Rha Goddess offers a powerful reframe. She argues that ambition should be defined not by fear and sacrifice, but by how fully we live and contribute. It's not about doing more for the sake of it but aligning our goals with how we want to show up in the world.
'True Ambition would be defined by the degree to which we are able to be our whole selves, live our best lives, and make our highest positive contributions with greater joy, freedom and fulfillment,' writes Rha.
This is what the future of ambition looks like: clear, confident and grounded.
The Old Model Of Ambition: Hustle And Burnout
It's a sentiment echoing across industries: ambition is still prized, but more professionals question the cost. The era of relentless hustle and toxic productivity is colliding with record levels of burnout and mental health crises.
The cultural response is growing. The upcoming documentary Ninety-Two: The Rest Rebellion No One Saw Coming follows a group of Black women — healers, leaders, artists, and mothers — creating a new blueprint for resistance in a society that demands their exhaustion while denying their safety and dignity. Rha doesn't just challenge the myth that constant busyness equals worth, she reframes ambition entirely, grounding it in joy, alignment, and purpose.
'So much of our global culture supports this ethos,' she told me. 'If we're 'uber busy,' it means 'we're up to something,' which ultimately translates into 'we are somebody.' Our value becomes defined by how many points we can put on the board.' But for her, fulfillment isn't about doing or having it all.
'It's about being someone you actually love and respect. It's living a life you feel grateful for. It's about work that engages your highest ideals, greatest passions, talents and gifts.'
Still, many smart, capable people ignore the signs of burnout. I did, time and again. We're conditioned to survive systems that reward overextension and equate value with output. Walking away can feel like failure, even when staying causes more harm for individuals and the organizations that depend on them.
Rha learned this the hard way. After her father's death in 2017, she worked harder than ever until her body shut down. 'What I learned is that if I don't care for myself in the process of whatever I'm building, I'm setting myself up to fail. Because even if I achieve the thing — it will come at a high cost.'
I've seen it, too, senior leaders driven by fear or pride instead of vision. In moments of pressure, they lean into their shadow sides instead of pausing before reacting, breathing before responding, and recognizing what they're facing and its impact. Organizations in crisis default to familiar but flawed patterns: high-output, high-control, high-burnout leadership. Same assumptions. Same results.
We tell ourselves to 'keep going,' even as our bodies and teams say otherwise. Because slowing down forces us to confront the hard truths we'd rather avoid. But here's one worth saying out loud: ambition should nourish us, not deplete us. And it starts with rethinking how we practice it.
A New Leadership Playbook: Intentional Ambition
Ambition isn't the problem. But how we practice it is overdue for a reset. The ambition we need now starts with self-awareness and purpose, and scales with clarity, care, and courage. As Rha puts it: 'If you want to know whether something is good for you — pay attention to your energy. Your body and spirit will always tell you the truth.'
If you manage others, your ambition sets the tone. Model what thriving looks like. Here's what it looks like in practice:
Too often, leaders set ambitious goals without understanding if their teams are ready to carry them. As Rha puts it: 'Where are they? Are they excited? Confused? Fatigued? Do you even know? To what degree have you been able to address their pain before you pile on more?'
Before setting direction, pause to check in with yourself and your team:
Don't just perform ambition — practice it. Try using emotional shorthands to name tensions without blame. Give your team ways to say, 'This is messy,' 'We're stuck,' or 'Let's regroup' without setting off alarms. When people feel heard and included in the process, they stay motivated, even in the messiest moments.
'Striking that balance between accountability and well-being,' Rha says, 'only comes from dialogue that puts everyone's expectations on the table.' She also challenges leaders to redefine growth itself: 'Can you set KPIs that inspire people to grow their capacity in a healthy way?'
It's easy to call out what's not working. The hard part — the truly ambitious part — is doing something different. Not bigger, faster, shinier. But better.
Rebuilding ambition for today's workplace means:
This isn't the kind of ambition that gets headlines. But it's the kind that builds trust, inspires loyalty, and makes sustainable success possible.
It's messy. It's slow. And it's where real meaning and real leadership live.
This new leadership playbook requires us to move differently, less from fear and performance, more from presence and intention.
In Burnt Out to Lit Up, I draw on research-backed tools and expert guidance that center capacity building and emotional awareness as leadership essentials. They're also how we build intentional ambition in the modern workplace.
Belonging Is The Soil Of Intentional Ambition
Sustainable ambition doesn't grow in isolation. It thrives in cultures of belonging. 'Belonging comes from feeling seen, heard, known, and appreciated,' Rha told me. 'It's cultivated through acknowledging common ground and appreciating diverse perspectives. It comes from being able to offer praise, foster accountability, and provide compassionately rigorous feedback.'
In practice, that looks like leaders who:
'When people's nervous systems can relax even in the face of real challenges,' Rha added, 'when people can genuinely focus on what they are here to bring in service to the mission — then you know you've achieved it.' That's the higher-order state we crave at work: where people feel safe to stretch, supported to succeed, and seen to contribute their best work.
The Future Of Organizational Ambition
Boards and executives who want transformation can't keep choosing the same leadership mold.
'You've got to be willing to extend your comfort zone — your known circles — beyond your normal 'go-tos,'' Rha says. 'You can't wait until you're in crisis to fill a role.'
She sees promise in Gen Z and second — and third — act professionals rethinking and reimagining their relationship to work. They want to do it differently, and they're not afraid to ask: What really matters now?
Data backs this shift and it's reshaping how we define success and collaboration at work.
Together, she says, these groups can co-create 'a different landscape for collaboration.'
Intentional Ambition That Lasts
The future of ambition isn't smaller. It's smarter. More intentional. More human. When we lead from alignment instead of ego, we unlock something powerful in ourselves, our teams, organizations, and communities.
If every reader made just one shift, Rha says, it would be this: 'Renegotiate your relationship with work in a way that supports great joy, freedom, and fulfillment.'
So before you chase the next thing, pause and ask: What am I chasing and who am I becoming in the process? Make sure your answer reflects intentional ambition — the kind that lights you up, not burns you out.