You're not a dummy! I just wanted to grab your attention, to talk about an important topic; Ambition.

Having said that, the “For Dummies” series of self-help books first published in 1991 by the Wiley Group was a global success with millions of books sold. The “Windows for Dummies” edition has sold over 15 million copies and unless you were bought it as a present, (think about that for a moment!), did all these people think they were dummies when buying a copy?

No, of course they didn’t.

They were demonstrating a characteristic in us all – self-doubt and a deep held belief that we are not as good as we think we should be. It is sometimes known as “imposter syndrome” but more of that another time. Keep reading - there are some gold nuggets to take away at the end of this article.

That little voice in our head holds us back and quite frankly talks to us in a way sometimes that would be totally unacceptable if another person spoke this way to us. This is what I wish to tackle in this blog, and if employers supported the fulfilment of ambition then talent would grow and staff would be retained.

In 2014, we formed a joint venture with the Financial Times. Our exam question was;

“Why are there some few women in senior roles in corporate life?”

We discovered the system has a lot to answer for; mainly white middle aged men have run the system, biases are at play, as well as the double bind of career vs family. However, we also revealed career competencies that both successful women and men demonstrate regularly and consistently to fulfil their AMBITION. Our ACCELERATE and AMBITION programmes were born from this research and we’re proud of how they've been recognised since.

• Talent alone is not enough – you need to promote yourself.
• Confidence is situational – you are not born as a low confident!
• Make your strengths stronger and your weaknesses irrelevant.
• Struggling to identify your strengths? Think about what you like doing, what you are strong at.
• Transfer your strengths, utilise them where they create true value.
• Admire yourself for the things that you do well.
• Surround yourself with Sponsors and Mentors that you need (rather than like) to help you get what you want.
• Be clear about what you want and be prepared to ask for help to get what you want.
• You can take control and responsibility for your own career.
• Create and promote your own Personal Brand.
• Your Personal Brand is separate and personal to you rather than just the Company Brand.
• Be you – authentically manage your brand / profile across the business.
• Push yourself out of your comfort zone – where development happens!
• Effectively manage your 3-dimensional business network to achieve your career objectives.
• Engaging in good organisational politics is essential.
• Create development time for you – be healthily selfish.
• Constantly review, reassess and recalibrate where you are now and where you want to be.
• Asking for help and feedback is a strength.
• Are you holding yourself back through your own confidence or voice in you head.
• If not you, who? If not now, when?