Sustainable Ambition

Learn more my book Sustainable Ambition: How to Prioritize What Matters to Thrive in Life and Work at : https://sustainableambition.com/books   ************ Simplifying isn’t about doing less for the sake of doing less. It’s about getting clear on what matters most, and making room for it in our work and lives. In this conversation, I’m joined by Roy Schwartz, co-founder of Axios and Axios HQ, and...

Discover your state of ambition. Take the quiz at: https://sustainableambition.com/quiz ****** Many of us understand on an intellectual level that taking breaks and allowing ourselves to rest is necessary for sustainability in our work and lives. But we still feel guilty, or even afraid, about taking them and keep on hustling. It’s a struggle my guest today knows well. In this conversation, John B...

For many of us, success and personal satisfaction are tied to feeling a sense of purpose and our ability to make meaningful contributions in our lives and work. But these days, finding a sense of purpose and meaning can feel impossible. Some of us might even feel like we don’t have what it takes to contribute and make a difference.  My guest today, Scott Curan, has spent his career helping others...

Discover your state of ambition. Take the quiz at: https://sustainableambition.com/quiz ****** A lot of us are looking for ways to support our wellbeing in everyday life, but find it hard to make time for building consistent habits, especially with so many things pulling on our time and attention.  But my guest, Eli Susman, PhD, found that we don’t need to set aside large chunks of time to devote...

Discover your state of ambition. Take the quiz at: https://sustainableambition.com/quiz ****** What if hope isn’t just something we feel but something we can practice? In this conversation, I talk with Jen Fisher, CEO of The Wellbeing Team, about why hope belongs in the workplace, and why it may be one of the most important leadership skills we need right now. We also talk about the workplace norm...

Discover your state of ambition. Take the quiz at: https://sustainableambition.com/quiz ****** What if Sustainable Ambition is about designing work and careers in a way that allows us to keep doing what matters? In this episode, I’m joined by my longtime friend and former colleague Todd Brock. Our conversation gets into how leaders can create the conditions for people to do meaningful, ambitious w...

Discover your state of ambition. Take the quiz at: https://sustainableambition.com/quiz ****** We’re often given simple models for navigating work: follow your passion, find your purpose, do what you love. But the truth is, the world of work was never that simple to begin with.  In this episode, I take a closer look at why navigating work can feel so hard, and importantly, why feeling that way doe...

Discover your state of ambition. Take the quiz at: https://sustainableambition.com/quiz ****** In the midst of rapid technological change and uncertainty about the future, how can we foster a position of agency and optimism about what comes next? My guest today, anthropologist and AI leader, Adam Russell, offers a key mindset shift that embraces exploration and invites us to actively shape the sys...

Discover your state of ambition. Take the quiz at: https://sustainableambition.com/quiz ****** I'm a believer in sabbaticals. But as glorious as they can be, they're also a lot like life: they rarely go exactly as planned. I have found that having a plan going into one can make all the difference: thinking about how you want to use the time, how you'll make choices, and how you'll move with whatev...

Pauses can be powerful.  There’s a Japanese concept called ma that translates literally as gap, space, or pause. In both art and life, it’s a strategic negative space that makes what comes next inevitable.  During my break, I’ve been thinking a lot about the value of strategic pauses. And all the while, I’ve also needed to shift into execution mode and get certain things done. As I return to the p...

Most of us are pretty bad at creating space for ourselves. Yet we need space for rest, for metabolizing and connecting experiences and ideas, for making sense of things. Today, I talk about the gap between knowing we need space and actually creating it. And I’m sharing my own failures and stumbles in this area, what I’ve learned from them, and the new strategies I’m putting into place.  As part of...

We’re not always in control when or how inflection points happen, but we can learn to navigate transitions with more awareness and intention. Today I’m joined by my dear friend and repeat guest, Philip VanDusen, as part of my Ambition In-Between Series. We get real about listening for signals that we need change, allowing for completion and subtraction, the importance of recognizing that transitio...

This month, I’m exploring sustainability through the lens of leadership and how we can focus our effort to make work better for ourselves and those around us. My guest today, Rebecca Hinds, is an expert on transforming the way we work to be more intentional, efficient, and effective. She urges us to resist functioning on autopilot and consider if our systems and environments are actually working f...

Leadership is hard right now. Maybe one of your intentions for this year is to grow as a leader. Maybe you’re questioning if you even want to be one. For those who choose to be leaders, it’s important to set our intentions so that we can focus our efforts on making work better for ourselves and those around us.  In this conversation, Harvard Instructor and leadership expert Margaret Andrews and I...

Intentionally choosing where to put our time, energy, and attention is an essential part of Sustainable Ambition. Today, I’m introducing a concept and tool, the U-curve of ambition, that helps us get clear on our current stage and state when it comes to our ambitions. I find this reflection from my book, Sustainable Ambition: How to Prioritize What Matters to Thrive in Life and Work, really useful...

Much as we often find ourselves asking “ what now” at the culmination of an ambition, the start of a new year is also a time when many of us wonder how best to move forward. For the third episode of our Ambition In-Between series, I want to build on what I’ve shared about the unexpected outcomes and mixed emotions that show up at the completion of a big ambition, and talk about how to move forward...

I continue my Ambition In Between series by exploring something many of us experience but don’t always name: the mixed emotions that surface after completing a big ambition. I look at why conflicting feelings show up, what they might be pointing to, and how we can work with them instead of against them. Toward the end of the episode, I offer several sets of reflection questions to help you review...

What does it mean to live a creative life? How can creative pursuits support us in being ambitious and living sustainably? Fostering creativity, innovation, and visual thinking can boost our ability to see and enact new or different ways of working and living. Laura Holson offers insights on integrating creativity into our lives, why so many of us come back to creative pursuits in midlife and beyo...

Since the June release of my first book, Sustainable Ambition: How to Prioritize What Matters to Thrive in Life and Work , a number of people have asked me how it feels to have achieved this big ambition. Have I checked that box and moved on to something different? Or am I percolating another book idea? Over the last few months, I’ve been mulling over and researching those questions. Today’s episo...

What if the future of work isn’t about technology but about being more human ? That’s the question at the heart of my conversation with Dr. Natalie Nixon , creativity strategist and author of Move, Think, Rest: Redefining Productivity & Our Relationship with Time . Natalie believes we’re not in a technology revolution. We’re in a human revolution . In this new era, imagination, curiosity, and...

Hard work isn’t a bad thing, even when we’re seeking sustainability. The trick is to put hard work into what actually matters to make progress and meet our goals. If you want to advance in your career, focusing on performance metrics alone won’t lead to success. In today’s conversation, leading visibility coach Susan Barber shares how visibility is an essential piece of making the impact you want...

If we want work to work better for us, we need meaningful work. But that doesn’t mean we have to choose between what’s good for individuals and what’s good for our organizations. In this episode, Wes Adams and Tamara Myles dig into why meaningful work matters, why we need to shift away from downstream metrics like engagement, and three essential focus areas for fostering meaningful work. And as th...

Our work and our finances are inextricably linked. Our financial wellness impacts how we view our work and shapes the choices and trade-offs we make, whether we’re aware of it or not. Return guest Dana Miranda joins me to discuss how embracing the link between financial wellness and our work can actually help us find more flexibility and peace in our choices as we navigate the inevitable ebb and f...

A “popular” metric people like to look at is employee engagement. But I’ve always thought this data isn’t that useful and have wondered if this is the best data point to focus on to understand how people really feel about their work.  But if not this metric, where do we focus instead?  My guest today, Mark C. Crowley, argues that we need to “lead with both mind and heart” to create environments wh...

Knowing that our work matters is a fundamental human need. But so many organizations and leaders struggle to help people feel that their work is worthy of the effort they put in. My guest today, Zach Mercurio, invites us to explore the fundamental role of work in our lives.  In this crisis moment when more and more people feel negatively about work, mattering is an essential antidote to apathy and...