ALT-1 How a Competitive Nature could help you in your Career
When you think of the qualities that you are going to need in the workplace, does a competitive mindset come to mind? The thing about competition is that it can either bring the best of us to the forefront, or it can bring the worst of ourselves to the forefront. Business is no doubt a competitive endeavor, but you have to be able to reign in that competitive spirit so that it can do you more good than harm.
Why can competition help you in the workplace? Most of us have some sort of competitive drive inside of us. Why are sports so popular in this country? It is because there is a winner, a loser and someone to root for and get behind in the competition. Absent those things, an event is just boring. There are some people out there who would see someone kick a can and then try to boast that they could kick that can even further.
At work this will help you because most of what gets us going is friendly competition. I don't know how many times I have improved my standing at work simply because I was in a competition with someone else to set a new statistical standard. Whether it was improving items scanned in a minute, hours cut off the payroll or other endeavors, it was so much easier and fun when it was in the context of a competition.
The thing to remember is that competition is something that needs to be kept friendly in the workplace. Always recognize what others are doing around you so that you don't become too self-absorbed. This will certainly hold you back as opposed to getting you ahead in your career as competition is supposed to do at work. Never take it so seriously that you keep others down for your own gain.
Competitiveness does have another great aspect to it as it will help your come up with new ideas, and help you become a better leader. For your competition to be a success, you typically need others to help you out to reach your goal. It will teach you how to be a leader, compromise and get others to follow you to help reach your goal while allowing others to reach their own goals in the process. This will certainly boost your resume.
There is a fine line between competitive and just being a leech in the office. Don't go overboard with your competitive nature, but also recognize how it can help you motivate yourself and motivate others to help you reach your goals in the office.
