One Question to Feed Your Ambitions

Anna Gradil
Jul 10, 2017 · 4 min read

It’s a typical Irish morning, grey and rainy. I’m sitting at my desk in Google Dublin headquarters trying to figure out my dilemma. As a millennial brought up by her parents with a you-are-destined-for-great-things mantra, I’ve always focused on doing more, getting more, achieving more. I’ve always been keen to see improvement and progress in everything I laid my hands and brain on — my studies, hobbies and now my 9-months-old career at Google. It is a truly addictive experience — not only you enjoy the results and recognition, but you also feel severely accomplished. The downside? It’s an upward-spiralling treadmill — you never stop and you always grow hungry for more… more progress, more challenges.

And so there I am sitting at my desk trying to understand how to score a big shiny project to accelerate my career and continue challenging myself. I want to develop new skills, gain the experience and eventually move on to new opportunities within the company. My mind is hopping from one idea to another. I silently wonder if I should simply ask ‘Give me that large fancy project?’ or ‘What do I need to do to progress in my career?’ Both questions should help me to get what I want whether it’s a project itself or some guidance on where to look for one. There is, however, a serious flaw in these questions — inevitably they stain my image and reputation. They sour my manager’s perception making me come across as career-driven and selfish, not caring for the business and not sensible enough.


Now, six years later as a manager of serial go-getters I do get a chance to hear the two questions in one form or another. They are usually less explicit and direct but the underlying request is very much the same. Today, however, I do have a better question in my arsenal. It’s definitely not the only one and not the best one, simply a better one:

‘How can I be more valuable to the business?’

Unlike the more straightforward questions, this one leads to less defined answers covering not only specific projects or tasks, but also available roles and opportunities in the company. It also provides an occasion to hear some honest feedback. Maybe what you need is not a new challenge, but to address an issue or two first. Or perhaps it’s a skill that you need to pick up, develop or improve (which works perfectly well for addicted achievers). Ask this question and you will find out a lot more than you expected to learn. What’s important is that this question does not damage your image. Quite the opposite — your manager will walk away impressed with your enthusiasm, readiness to help and genuine caring for the business. Even if the manager has nothing to offer, the mere fact that you’ve asked alters the perception they have about you going forward. And when the next opportunity arises, your name will be on the list.

Now, it’s worth stressing that this question should not be confused with ‘How I can help?’ — the latter usually leads to low-priority (read boring) tasks flooding your inbox. By the way, there are 1000 and 1 reasons why it’s not a bad idea to start there as you still get a chance to show more skills and dedication than by doing a 9-to-5 job.

Another few caveats to mention are:

  • The question should be laid out in context e.g. during the performance review. Prep the stage with a brief summary of your achievements and strengths and express your interest/passion in making business succeed.
  • It works better for junior employees. The more experienced folks should know how they can be more valuable. Hence, if relying on this question, you should also be ready to share 2–3 ideas yourself.
  • I don’t anticipate this question to be as useful in a start-up environment, simply because the amount of challenges is sufficient for everyone to feel accomplished. Having said this, I’d be keen to learn from those who’ve asked.

That rainy Irish morning I did bring up the question. My manager clearly didn’t anticipate it and responded ‘You are doing everything fine, don’t worry’. However, later on that day an email landed in my inbox asking me to work on a project my manager was leading. And after that a myriad of other cool and challenging opportunities came my way.

Today I share this question as my #1 piece of advice for people both within and outside of Google. As a manager myself I find it exceptionally tough not to act when someone on my team raises it. And indeed, how can you ignore someone hardworking and willing to do more?

Do you think I’m onto something? Do you know and use any other questions/techniques? What has worked for you? Please share in the comments

Written by

Entrepreneur. Ex-Googler. Bridge-builder.

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