The news about the new round of tariffs on Chinese goods and the growing concern about trade wars got me thinking about competitiveness. Whether in government or in business, a leader’s job is to achieve and sustain competitive advantage; to make the institutions they lead superior and to produce maximum value for constituents/customers while adhering to ethical values. But why is it that when it comes to individuals, being competitive sometimes gets a bad rap? In some ways, it has become synonyms with being aggressive, self-absorbed, greedy, and envious of others. For many years now, I have been helping people reach their full potential in their career, and when it comes to competitiveness, I have found it to be a powerful career driver. We need to let go of the misconception that competitiveness means winning at all costs and fully recognize the many facets of the trait.
Being competitive means a hyper focus on achieving personal excellence, which is an integral part of the work life of all professionals regardless of the job or industry. In my experience, a common denominator successful leaders share is having a competitive streak, which they creatively harness to get the most out of their innate talents. They are always working to improve and are willing to work harder than anyone else in pursuit of their career goals. I would categorize such leaders as having “positive competitiveness,” meaning that first and foremost they compete against themselves, not against others. They run their own race striving to get progressively better and to be the best version of themselves that they can be at any given time. They are on a quest for a more fulfilled life and to fulfill unrealized potential. They see competition as a welcome challenge to up their own game. They view failure as an opportunity to reflect, learn, and strategize how to succeed next time around. They don’t accept setbacks as the final answer. They will keep pushing the limits until they achieve the desired outcomes.
A frustrating parenting experience for me had been when well-meaning parents, in a desperate attempt to protect their kids from failure and disappointment, were pushing for a policy of no scoring in our city’s soccer league in the U10 brackets. Years later, I still feel strongly that not keeping score in kids’ sports is sorely missing the point. When you take away scoring, children don’t get to experience the thrill of wining nor learn to process a loss. While painful, failure is an excellent learning experience. It is inevitable that our children will experience disappointment. Those times should be an opportunity to teach them how to bounce back and cope with unfavorable situations. Learning to accept disappointment, failure, and the limitations of their skills is an important life skill that is mastered gradually through practice. And it is just as important to teach them, from a young age, the true meaning of competitiveness - that if they want something, they have to work for it.
To be competitive is to be willing to work relentlessly for the things we want. It means that even when we feel tired, we don’t give in to the desire to quit. There will always be days when we are not at our best, we just need to keep pushing. It’s like that moment in running a long distance when it gets really hard and you feel like stopping. But continuing on, even if in a slower pace, will make it easier to power through again the next time we feel fatigued. We know we can do it. In our career, like in our hard workouts, competitiveness means staying strong in order to get through the tough days, to bounce back from failure and to thrive through challenges. It is an invaluable life skill for our personal development and professional growth.
The greatest leaders are those who have mastered the balance of being competitive while being gracious and collaborative team players. They define their own purpose and measures for success. And they hold themselves accountable for working hard enough and consistently enough to deliver on their self-promise.
“Before the reward there must be labor. You plant before you harvest. You sow in tears before you reap joy.” ~Ralph Ransom
