At the annual Bold Steps Conference at Spark Arena, Auckland, Silvana Schenone spoke to over 1,200 women about redefining ambition - not as a personality trait, but as a strategy for designing the life you want.
"Ambition has a PR problem," Silvana told the audience. "We're told to be ambitious, but only in a way that keeps everyone comfortable. We're encouraged to lean in - as long as we don't ask for too much."
Drawing on her journey from law graduate in Chile to being named Australia's #1 most powerful investment banker by the Australian Financial Review, Silvana shared candid insights about navigating bias, managing type 1 diabetes since age 12, and changing careers at 45.
Her message? Stop waiting for permission.
"Most people spend their careers waiting for someone to tap them on the shoulder and say 'It's your turn now,'" she said. "That tap may never come. Not because you don't deserve it, but because most people are too busy waiting for their own tap."
Silvana's DARing Framework for Ambition:
Design: Set specific 12-month outcomes you can measure. Define 90-day sprints and choose one metric that matters each quarter. Every time you say yes to something you are saying no to something else. Ambition without direction is drift.
Act: Stop waiting for perfection. Prioritise what matters, build resilience, and bring your best self to every opportunity you embark on. Track your wins in a living "brag doc" with metrics and outcomes. But start acting now.
Repeat: Keep pushing. Action produces evidence, evidence produces belief, and belief fuels bolder action. When things don't work, adjust your path and try again.
She also addressed the realities many women face: "Gratitude and ambition are not opposites - they're partners. You can love your life and still want more."
On the often-discussed topic of balance, Silvana was refreshingly direct: "I don't believe in perfect balance, but I believe strongly in boundaries. They protect what you're building."
Her final message resonated: "Your ambition is not too much. Your dreams are not too big. The question isn't whether you deserve to unleash your ambition - you do. The question is whether you're brave enough to do it."
Image credit: NZ Herald
