Moshe’s Blog

6 Powerful Steps to Lead with Ambition and Not Let Greed Take Charge

When Ambition Masks Greed

“Sounds nice. But unless it increases our profitability, we don’t care.” This was how Kenny, an exec at one of the world’s biggest Silicon Valley tech companies, first reacted when he heard about my work growing love-powered businesses through the Amare Way framework. I told him I understood, money matters a lot. Sometimes too much.

His company puts profitability above all else, which has produced both high profits and major hits to their brand reputation in recent years. This damage was compounded when they presented themselves as ethical and customer-focused, while their actions suggest it’s simply greed at work. People felt duped and distrustful.

As a leader, the key is to know if and when money becomes your master; when your company’s words and actions no longer match, and when ambition becomes a costume for greed.

Here are two challenging questions and six actionable steps that can help you stay on track as a leader, desiring and respecting money without being ruled by it.

How do you know when your ambition is morphing into greed?

To what extent does your leadership team use money to justify ethically questionable decisions?

6 Amare Steps to Foster Ambition and Control Greed

1. Establish a self-reflection learning ritual. Focusing on your motivations, use a journal to record when your ambition tips towards greed. Reflect on the triggers and the ‘why’ behind your choices, without judging yourself. Be cognizant of how much fear is at play.

2. Set your boundaries in advance. Develop a personal framework for ethical decision-making that includes specific questions to guide your choices. Apply this framework first to hypotheticals, then to real-life decisions.

3. Do mindfulness-based stress reduction. Practice mindfulness meditation to enhance self-awareness so you can recognize the moment greed begins to influence your decision-making process, and then re-think your choices.

4. Audit ambitions and alignment. Set up structured feedback sessions with your leadership team and other stakeholders to transparently share ambitions, and assess alignment between personal and company values, and between company words and actions.

5. Implement “cooling off” periods. For significant decisions, especially those where greed or fear might cloud your judgment, implement a mandatory “cooling-off” period before finalizing your decision.

6. Adopt role models. Identify and study leaders who have successfully balanced ambition, profitability, and ethical leadership. Analyze their decision-making processes and strategies for managing greed.

By integrating these actions into daily practice, you will better navigate your ambitions, ensuring they serve your personal and organizational growth, and also the well-being of society at large. This balance is the way of Amare love-powered leaders and is essential for sustainable success and legacy-building in today’s business world.

Lead with the Best Version of You & Your Team

I coach and advise executives and leadership teams on being the best version of themselves, through the Amare Way of love-powered leadership. For more information, contact me here.