***How does one stave off the ruthless and self-absorbed with ambitions to your powerful position?***
Easy, it's all in management style. I don't make myself look good, I let the people that work for me make me look good (i.e. hire the best people, push them hard and reward them for their hard work). It's not rocket science and I've been using it for years--hasn't failed me yet. I have a firm policy of not running people that work for me under the bus in order to make myself look better.
***And if your comment were nothing but self-congratulation, how would one prove it to you?***
My comment was not "self-congratulation," it's merely my general observation of women like me. Let me give you an example. My sister (who is also an educated professional) was dating a guy who did not go to college and works in a blue-collar position (which is not meant at all to be a put-down, btw). They dated for a few months and seemed to have a lot of fun together. His own family even told her that he thought very highly of her (as our families are well-acquainted), which is not surprising because anyone who knows her can tell you she is a total sweetheart. She's also not at all a woman who puts the pressure on for a man to commit. However, he stops calling her. Months go by and come to find out, he's suddenly engaged to a girl who is a divorcee', with a small child, no solid job, and has no more than a high school education. Now tell me, why would someone choose that over a beautiful, intelligent, sweet, secure woman who doesn't flaunt the fact that she is successful?
I can give you a dozen examples just like this that leave me scratching my head. How would a man prove that my earlier comment wasn't true? Not being scared of women who have their act together and can think for themselves.
He must have felt, deep down, that he would always be trying to measure up to the success she had achieved. It isn't always just about what she thinks of him, it's about what his friends and her friends and relatives and her corporate associates that he is going to have to deal with at social functions are going to think of Mr. Blue Collar and will they be whispering behind his back about why she married so far beneath her station. Some men stare into that abyss and decide they can't handle it. In this guy's case, it sounds like he made a big mistake.
I understand your contention. I'm married to a professional manager with much the same style.
That being said, and please don't take this as an insult, you know your vulnerability to ambitious rivals is also a function of how high a profile your job has.
I really don't see much evidence one can attain a truly "powerful" position on nice.
Now tell me, why would someone choose that over a beautiful, intelligent, sweet, secure woman...
I really couldn't say, but I don't think you can really say, either. You don't have half the equation, but you are presuming to calculate the answer.
As for how a man could prove you incorrect, well that gets into characteristics you call "powerful."
I submit that one way to prove you wrong would be by having a disinterested woman acknowlege a characteristic you call "powerful" is actually "being a shrew."