Women Who Redefined “Ambition” to Embrace a Happier, Successful Career Without Compromising Mental Health

By Moon Harper

Mar 13, 2024 06:08 AM EDT

Experts caution that women are experiencing alarming levels of burnout due to the extreme challenges of working and surviving post-pandemic, which has led to a loss of ambition for some.

Many women have changed jobs or careers during the pandemic, and female executives are leaving companies at record rates. However, many women remain enthusiastic about their careers and motivated to succeed. According to a recent Momentive/CNBC poll of over 5,000 women, nearly 48% describe themselves as very ambitious regarding their careers, and even higher among women of color.

Rather than losing ambition, women are challenging the traditional view of ambition focused solely on money and power and are creating their definition.

Re-thinking the Boundaries of a Standard Corporate Job

Randi Braun did not realize she was burnt out until she fell asleep at the wheel and crossed six lanes of traffic at a busy intersection, narrowly missing a pedestrian in a crosswalk that nearly caused a serious accident in 2020.

Braun, a mother of two, balanced homeschooling with running her leadership coaching firm. She had left her sales job just before the pandemic to launch her own business. Braun's close call prompted her to reconsider her work-life balance, reducing her time and expanding her business to focus on self-care.

Braun explains that taking things slower allowed her to think more ambitiously and accomplish some career goals, including her debut book, "Something Major: The New Playbook for Women at Work." She adds that women are currently more ambitious than ever but are frustrated by the limitations of traditional corporate jobs, which are often constrained by bias and barriers in most workplaces.

Quitting Jobs to Travel the World

Nabila Ismail had always wanted to be a pharmacist to improve people's lives with the right medication. Still, she realized her dream job was not sustainable after working exhausting 85-hour weeks at a Los Angeles pharmacy during the pandemic's first ten months. She quit and found a remote marketing manager position at a telemedicine company, but it did not fulfill her. Remembering a journal entry from her past about traveling at 28, Ismail decided to pursue it. In May 2022, she quit her job, moved back home, and flew to Bali before turning 28. Since then, she has been traveling, leading group trips for women, and documenting her adventures on her blog, Dose of Travel. Ismail supports herself by working as a freelance marketing strategy consultant and writer, as well as through brand partnerships and speaking engagements.

Ismail still sees herself as highly ambitious, but she has learned that success is not just about job titles or money. Instead, it is about taking career risks and prioritizing things that bring her joy, such as travel. According to her, working during the pandemic made her realize how precious time is, and achieving certain career milestones she strived so hard to achieve was not worth compromising her mental well-being.

Leaving The C-suite to Start a Business and Live on a Farm

During her corporate career peak, Denise Conroy made million-dollar business decisions and traveled to executive meetings on private planes. Previously, she held senior executive positions at Discovery Inc. and Iconic Group.

In March 2020, just after the first COVID-19 lockdowns were announced, Conroy and her husband Ned relocated from Atlanta to a seven-acre farm in Alton, New Hampshire, seeking a quieter, more spacious environment.

At 51, Conroy was accustomed to being among the few women in boardrooms. However, as CEO, she was surprised to often find herself as the only woman and youngest person in many business meetings, all conducted via Zoom, exacerbating her sense of isolation. In November 2021, Conroy left her CEO position to start her leadership consulting firm, Themy, which she had been quietly working on as a side project since 2019, believing that creating a business focused on empowering more women in leadership roles was her true calling.

For much of her life, Conroy pursued ambition by linking financial security to success and always aimed to be the most influential person in the room. Now, Conroy's ambition centers more on maximizing the positive impact she can make on others' lives and finding hobbies outside of work that bring her joy.

While its definition varies depending on who Conroy speaks to, they have collectively realized that they have the freedom to define what ambition means, and it is not determined by anyone else.