By Priscilla Edna Moreira

“Keep going, work hard!”, “Keep climbing up to achieve that promotion!”, “Set your goals, hit your target, and you will be the boss!”

While the gruelling effort and hard work behind the ambitious individual to achieve leadership status deserve recognition, recent studies challenge such conventional knowledge and insist that we probe deeper.

One of the more hotly debated perspectives to emerge in recent times come from organisational researchers Shilaan Alzahawi, Emily S Reit, and Francis J Flynn’s study, A Legend in One’s Own Mind: The Link Between Ambition and Leadership Evaluations, which sets out to question whether there is a disconnect between how ambitious people view themselves and how they are viewed by their colleagues.

In other words, is ambition an accurate barometer for effective leadership?

Ambition ≠ Effective Leaders

“Leadership roles often come with substantial personal, financial, and professional rewards, so it’s common for ambitious people to strive for these positions,” according to Eric Dolan, founder of PsyPost, an independent science news website.

Ambition certainly has a role in propelling one to actively seek and occupy leadership roles, no matter the industry. Alzahawi and team investigate the link between ambition and leadership by surveying a group of 472 executives enrolled at the Stanford Graduate School of Business about their ambitions and to rate themselves on 10 leadership competencies, such as their ability to motivate others; manage collaborative work; coach and develop people; and present and communicate ideas. Thereafter, the researchers pose the same question to each of the executive’s peers, managers, and direct reports, asking them to rate the executive on the same leadership competencies.

The researchers found that executives with high ambitions with self-reported positive ratings were perceived and rated poorly by their colleagues, i.e. their image of themselves were incongruent with how they were perceived by their peers, managers, and direct reports. This leads to the conclusion that ambition oftentimes does not equate to effective leadership. Alzahawi et al suggest that ambition is a beneficial trait when one is emerging as a leader but is inconsequential in the long run. This makes ambitious individuals more likely to occupy leadership roles, however, it also implies that the probability of having an ineffective leader in your organisation is high.

Spot Effective Leadership

So, what personality traits are good indicators of effective leadership?

Korngleng Sear, an educator involved in the Cambodian Education Forum and author of the paper, Leadership Myths and Essential Skills for Becoming a Good Leader, which ran in the June 2024 edition of the Cambodian Journal of Educational Research, posits five essential qualities that make a good leader: ceaseless learning, openness, confidence, humility, and will.

He expounds that ceaseless learning sustains leaders to continuously use knowledge and expertise to overcome problems and remain resilient, which is associated with being open-minded. Openness is practiced when leaders listen to others’ ideas, allowing employees to feel valued. An effective leader possesses confidence – a result of mastery – strengthening the leader’s belief in one’s capabilities and performance. On the other hand, being humble keeps the leader grounded as they recognise that they do not have all the answers and remain teachable. Finally, leaders possessing the will or ambition to build great organisations and make a difference. These produce positive outcomes.

Dr David Deming, Professor of Political Economy at the Harvard Kennedy School, sheds light on this during an interview with The Harvard Gazette about his joint study, How Do You Find a Good Manager?. He states that leaders in organisations must now tackle a diverse range of issues, such as where to direct their attention, what are the most important things to focus on, and how to allocate resources toward problem-solving. Considering the complexity of the leadership role and multifaceted understanding that must come with it, Deming posits that both interpersonal and analytical skills are typically required of an effective leader, skills which are common among those who possess the traits of a ‘quiet leader’.

Dr Victor Goh, Dean of the Singapore-based Pacific International Lines Academy, the in-house training division for the global shipping liner, provides some insight on detecting and developing quiet leaders within organisations in his LinkedIn post, Quiet Leadership in a Loud World: Bridging the Recognition Gap.

Goh writes: “Traditional corporate environments tend to equate loudness with leadership and mistake arrogance for confidence. This bias significantly disadvantages those who, by nature or choice, embody a more reserved leadership style. It raises the question: does being a good talker and charismatic necessarily equate to effective leadership?

“History and research suggest otherwise. Quiet leaders often exhibit deep strategic thinking, empathy, and a propensity for listening – qualities that foster strong, resilient teams and innovative solutions.”

Interestingly, he also exhorts what can occur when organisations overlook or undervalue the quiet leaders in their midst, what he typifies as a bias which “not only undermines the organisation’s morale and trust but also contributes to a wasteful expenditure of resources.”

Sideways Success

As we widen our perspective of leadership to be more inclusive of the ‘quiet leaders’ among us, it is important that we chart a path for them within the organisation in ways that will be supportive of this leadership style and enhance career growth.

Traditionally, the means to achieve corporate success is through the ‘career ladder’ approach, where the individual progresses upwards in a sequential manner over time, increasing in status, responsibility, salary, and seniority, as explained by Drs Dieter Veldsman and Marna van der Merwe, at the Academy to Innovate Human Resources.

However, as the workplace landscape evolves to become more dynamic, necessitating one to be more adaptable and flexible, another alternative, the ‘career lattice’ approach is gaining traction among individuals and organisations. Coined by Cathy Benko and Molly Anderson in their book, The Corporate Lattice, it describes a non-linear career pathway that does not follow a predictable sequence of positions or roles within an organisation or industry. Thus, one who undertakes this approach would be focused on their interests and skills, allowing a sense of autonomy to pivot across various roles and industries while diversifying their skill set and experience.

Dr Beverly Kaye and her co-authors illustrate in their book, Up is Not the Only Way: Rethinking Career Mobility, that a career lattice approach may involve moving sideways in an organisation – taking on a similar-level role in another department, broadening one’s knowledge and skills in the new department while expanding networks with new colleagues. In some complex moves, one may even move into a role with an equivalent salary and influence but in a completely new business or industry – a chance for the individual to apply existing leadership capabilities while learning about the new business and/or industry. These experiences not only diversify skill sets but also deepen understanding of organisational mechanisms and industry dynamics, giving individuals the breadth of perspective and knowledge that become powerful assets when stepping into leadership roles. Hence, this approach seems to be a vital process in leadership growth, inviting us to consider how this process is part of the journey for individuals to find a good fit within their teams. 

Person-Job, Person-Group

Like how a key perfectly fits its lock, true corporate success is unlocked only when there is a right fit between the role and the working team – fulfilling both Person-Job and Person-Group requirements. Different circumstances may call for different leadership styles as some leadership traits may be more effective in certain situations, but not in others.

This can be ascertained through the two elements: the Person-Job fit, defined as the fit between a person’s skills and job demands or between their desires and what the job offers; and Person–Group fit, which is the compatibility between individuals and their working group.

Why is the Person-Job and Person-Group fit important for true corporate success and how can this be achieved? In the study titled Linking Empowering Leadership and Employee Work Engagement: The Effects of Person-Job Fit, Person-Group Fit, and Proactive Personality, researchers Di Cai, Yahua Cai, Yan Sun, and Jinpeng Ma found that when there is a good Person-Job and Person-Group fit, employees experience greater work engagement – a positive state of work-related fulfilment, showing dedication, vigour, and absorption at work – which is positively associated with job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and job performance.

Di Cai and colleagues discovered that leaders’ actions can influence the Person-Job and Person-Group fit by providing their team with appropriate support and guidance based on individual development, strengthening their knowledge, skills, and ability to meet organisational demands.

This is where the rich perspective and adaptability leaders gain from a career lattice type of development adds value. When employees perceive a strong alignment with their roles and relationship with their team, their psychological needs for autonomy and belonging are met, eventually leading to higher levels of work engagement.

On the Front Foot

Keeping this in mind, organisations are encouraged to rethink how leadership potential is recognised. Leadership is more than ambition and title; it rests on qualities that enable leaders to weather through storms and challenges, while coming out of it with positive organisational outcomes.

Leaders who have grown through a career lattice approach – gaining diverse experiences across roles and industries – are likely more capable in adapting to the complex demands of a work environment, including fostering a good fit between Person-Job and Person-Group.

A step in this direction would be to recognise the value of quiet leaders – those with a natural aptitude to lead effectively with their reflective approach – and embrace this brand of leadership as part of the diversity required to create and maintain a healthy corporate culture.

Priscilla Edna Moreira writes for Akasaa, a strategic consulting and publishing firm with offices in London, Sharjah, and Kuala Lumpur.