What is your professional ambition?

As I am in my early 40s, I have been asked this question a lot when I met companies, at interviews, with business oriented friends. My answer has been the same throughout the years:

My professional ambition is to work with kind, keen to learn, curious people (that’s my definition of smart people, by the way).

For some, this answer comes as a shock, as the answer is not to become the xyz, or the something of something. Consequently the following question is always the same: What do you mean by this?

Since I started working at the age of 17, at the same time I entered university, I have been part of a large variety of work environments. Many of the people with whom I worked throughout the years are still some of my best friends, people with whom not only I worked, but also learned from each other, had fun, grew together. I remember sitting in meetings where we all discussed whichever project we had at the moment; we all had a say, talked about problems, possibilities and challenges while also having a laugh. I have been extremely blessed to have experienced this again and again in many different cities, cultures, and with different people.

Yes, I have also experienced the other side (luckily only briefly), where people working together never become a team, never truly find each other, either due to other types of personal ambitions or because something (or someone) disrupts that environment.

What is the worth of having a check in the end of the month, if you are throwing your health out of the window, every day, bit by bit, by being consumed and stressed, because you are not part of a team?

When you work in a great team, you will be and do your best.

What I learned is that when you work in a great team, you will be and do your best. Everyday you get out of your home with a smile on your face. You leave work full of energy and life. You feel good. You learn more. You exchange more. You become a better professional, a better partner, a better parent, a better friend. You have better health and you will be, without a doubt, contributing to a better world.

You may ask, how does working in a good and healthy environment help you create a better world?

The energy you give and get from being in that environment will help the whole team create better products and better experiences. There will be more exchange, learning and less conflict, because things can be easily talked about and there’s place for everyone. Everyone knows how they can support each other’s work with their own skills. They are humble and appreciated for asking for help when needed. This means a healthier everyday.

The other aspect deals on how you are improving people’s experiences.

When developing projects that can affect people’s everyday in a positive way, whichever they may be, you are making a difference by helping, even if a tiny bit, to improve people’s experience, and consequently, their life.

The true reward of your professional ambition should not come only as a deposit in the end of the month — this is just one of the ways our society represents value –, the true professional reward should be there every day of the week, as you wake up and look forward to a great day ahead.