Beware of appearing too ambitious!

Ambition is crucial to success, but how you manage and display your ambition is crucial to developing a good rapport with your colleagues, say business psychologists.

Whereas successfully ambitious people can inspire their colleagues and work successfully in a team, unsuccessfully ambitious people are more likely to cause problems with their colleagues and can destroy team spirit. Colleagues can end up resenting people who try to gain more credit than they should, or who work longer hours in an attempt to impress their bosses and get promotion.

How do you know if your colleagues think you are over-ambitious? A sure sign is if your colleagues no longer congratulate you on your achievements. They probably think you have already praised yourself enough.

Do people in your company show or hide their ambition? Is it socially acceptable to appear over-ambitious?