Psychology of management

1.5
 
Ambitious strategy 
 
HOW EMOTIONAL IMPACT IS BUILT UP: the leader strives for reaching difficult 
goals and solving the most interesting tasks. 
IMPACT ON ORGANIZATION’S CLIMATE: often utterly negative, especially when 
clumsily implemented. 
APPROPRIATE FOR USING: when it is necessary to get excellent results from a team 
of qualified employees with high motivation. 
THE SOURCES OF AMBITIOUS STYLE 
So, what is necessary to become a successful ambitious leader? This style’s emotional 
and intellectual basis is persistent aspiration for high achievements, a search for new ways to 
increase productivity combined with a large part of initiative in using favorable opportunities. 
The will for victory inherent in them makes them look for new approaches which will increase 
the effect of their efforts as well as employees’ productivity. Besides, this supposes that for such 

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leader the motivation factor is not remuneration (money or position), but the internal need in 
corresponding their own quality standards. Ambitiousness also demands vigor, readiness not to 
miss an opportunity or to create them. Nevertheless, if such an activity appears in the absence of 
other necessary skills of emotional intellect, so persistent a desire of achievements may lead to 
trouble. Lack of sensitivity may result in leaders’ doing current tasks recklessly, without paying 
attention to employees’ concern. Ambitious leaders who lack deep self-consciousness are 
unlikely to notice their own blunders. 
Such leaders often lack other skills as well, particularly capability for effective 
cooperation and competent communication (especially they lack in ability to make a timely and 
tactful reproof to an employee on his/her work quality). But the most striking is 
underdevelopment of self-control skills – this defect is manifested in excessive attention to 
trifles, or even in worse habits. 
On the whole, the ambitious leadership style may be effective if used in combination with 
other approaches, for example with enthusiasm of the idealistic style, or with collective-uniting 
talent of the companionate style. Most often, ambitious leaders come across difficulties when a 
brilliant expert gets a promotion and is forwarded to an administrative position. 
As a rule, the leaders, abusing ambitious style or misusing it, lack perspective vision, and 
usually such leaders cannot stir up a vivid emotional response from their employees. Too often 
these leaders trust only to figures which is not always enough to inspire or motivate people.