They Said I was "Too Ambitious"

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂? In this episode of Trailblazers Uncovered, we sit down with Dane Pedro, for an open conversation about the side of career success we don’t always see: the setbacks, difficult workplaces, self-doubt, resilience and determination behind the achievements. Dane shares her journey through banking and financial services, including experiences of being overlooked for promotion, navigating micromanagement, workplace bullying and harassment, and being labelled “too ambitious”. But this conversation isn’t just about the challenges. We explore how Dane continued to move forward, built a diverse career spanning financial crime compliance and non-executive leadership, discovered the importance of mentorship, and learned to recognise opportunities, even when they didn’t arrive in the form she expected. We discuss: • How to recover from career setbacks and keep moving forward • Being ambitious in environments where ambition isn’t always celebrated • Moving into Non-Executive Director roles • Taking calculated risks and remaining open to unexpected opportunities