OPINION
interviewer threw a curveball I hadn’t been expecting: “Would you say an alternative title for your book is Lean Out ?” Riffing off Sheryl Sandberg’s iconic girl‑boss bible, his implication that a life built for flexibility, joy, sustainability and impact is one that denounces ambition surprised me. In the moment, I’m pretty sure I fumbled my answer. But here’s what I wish I had said. Ambition is not only reserved for our professional endeavours. I am ambitious for my marriage, that our partnership flourishes rather than survives these child-rearing years. I am ambitious for my health, making the investments needed to ensure I can still carry my suitcase up three flights of stairs in my 90s. I am ambitious for my creativity, pushing myself out of my comfort zone as I explore new modes of storytelling and artistic expression. And yes, I am also ambitious in my career, which is why I published a book while also teaching, angel investing and sowing the seeds for my next entrepreneurial venture. All dimensions of your life are worthy of your ambition. It’s on you to decide where to invest.
It’s just that… they might also want to make a film someday. Or move back to their home country and build a sustainable (for which read, not venture capital-backed) business where they can have weekends off and spend summers travelling with a future family. Recently, though, I have noticed that these conversations have become more infused with excitement rather than shame. These students not only seek to measure their lives beyond the commas in their bank accounts but also to build those lives with purpose, intentionality and flexibility from the get-go. Business school prospectuses have risen to the occasion. From HBS classes like Designing Your Life to London Business School’s Wisdom and Happiness , some of the most in-demand MBA classes today are those steeped in reflection alongside research, pushing students to define their values and priorities and then customise a plan to pursue and protect them. I’m delighted by these winds of change in MBA education, but there’s more to be done. Far too many students – and alumni like my classmate resigned to the dissatisfaction of midlife – are still measuring themselves against a yardstick of ambition that doesn’t serve them. They are trapped in an outdated narrative of success that was written for someone else. Exercising ambition beyond your professional endeavours In my conversations with audiences around the globe during a book tour for The Portfolio Life , I tended to get the same questions about the model no matter the country or context: eg “How do I describe my portfolio without coming across as a dilettante?” But one podcast
Christina Wallace is a self-described ‘human Venn diagram’ who has crafted a career at the intersection of business, the arts and technology. She is currently a senior lecturer of entrepreneurial management at Harvard Business School, an active start-up mentor and angel investor. She is also the author of The Portfolio Life: Future-Proof Your Career and Craft a Life Worthy of You , published by Ebury Edge
Ambition | DECEMBER 2024 | 37
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