In a new piece at Apolitical, Network member and MindLab director Thomas Prehn reflects on innovation, leadership, and “distributed ambition.”
He writes:
“On a daily basis, I meet a lot of ambitious people. But often this ambition is driven by utilitarian, individual objectives, maybe even a selfish end-goal: a raise, maybe rising up the hierarchy, social status or public recognition. All legitimate outcomes with their very own justifications.
However, as a leader – someone who tries to motivate individuals to develop and to shift the mindset of an organisation – and as a human, I find distributed ambition much more fascinating and compelling. That’s when you commit your resources, integrity, and enthusiasm on behalf of others, be they individuals, groups or organizations. When the end-goal is never selfish nor utilitarian. And when the elements in the value-creating equation are passion, meaning and purpose.”
