Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
Ambition. Is it a dirty word? Do you love it, or hate it? In this episode of Hello Monday, Jessi Hempel sits down with two LinkedIn colleagues, Ahyiana Angel and Hayley Saltzman, for a frank conversation on how ambition is often shaped by external expectations and how they’ve grown in their respective careers. Ahyiana Angel is the Podcast Ad Ops Producer at LinkedIn News and the host of her own podcast, called Switch, Pivot, or Quit. Hayley Saltzman is an Editor at Large at LinkedIn News.
Stay tuned for Jessi, Hayley, and Ahyiana’s takes on:
- How gender impacts ambition
- What it’s like to quit your dream job, and why you might choose to.
- The relationship between fear and ambition
- How to leverage AI to be your hype person
Subscribe to the #HelloMonday newsletter for more on building a work life on your own terms. bit.ly/HelloMondayNewsletter
0:00 Intro
07:42 Hayley’s thoughts on the word ambitious
09:39 Ahyiana’s thoughts on the word ambitious
12:25 External ambition
14:36: Realizing you desired internal success and not external validation
15:29 Getting to the top of your game but feeling unfulfilled
16:59 Owning your ambition
18:49 Hayley’s feelings about upwoard mobility and progress at LinkedIn
20:13 The relationship between fear and ambition
22:52 Advice for someone who is struggling with their relationship to ambition
25:15 Conclusion
Ambition. Is it a dirty word? Do you love it, or hate it? In this episode of Hello Monday, Jessi Hempel sits down with two LinkedIn colleagues, Ahyiana Angel and Hayley Saltzman, for a frank conversation on how ambition is often shaped by external expectations and how they’ve grown in their respective careers. Ahyiana Angel is the Podcast Ad Ops Producer at LinkedIn News and the host of her own podcast, called Switch, Pivot, or Quit. Hayley Saltzman is an Editor at Large at LinkedIn News.
Stay tuned for Jessi, Hayley, and Ahyiana’s takes on:
- How gender impacts ambition
- What it’s like to quit your dream job, and why you might choose to.
- The relationship between fear and ambition
- How to leverage AI to be your hype person
Subscribe to the #HelloMonday newsletter for more on building a work life on your own terms. bit.ly/HelloMondayNewsletter
0:00 Intro
07:42 Hayley’s thoughts on the word ambitious
09:39 Ahyiana’s thoughts on the word ambitious
12:25 External ambition
14:36: Realizing you desired internal success and not external validation
15:29 Getting to the top of your game but feeling unfulfilled
16:59 Owning your ambition
18:49 Hayley’s feelings about upwoard mobility and progress at LinkedIn
20:13 The relationship between fear and ambition
22:52 Advice for someone who is struggling with their relationship to ambition
25:15 Conclusion
