Understanding and Investing in Your Competition Talent

On this Theme Thursday Season 4 webcast, Jim Collison, Gallup's Director of Talent Sourcing, and Maika Leibbrandt, Senior Workplace Consultant, talk about Competition.

The essence of Competition is comparison driven performance. Those high in Competition are really driven to win. They do not just want to play, they want to be the best. It is an awareness of your competitors. Those high in Competition get energy just from the act of competing. They embrace the fact that they are performing, and their performance can get better when they are comparing it to other performers.

When Competition is at its best they can keep the team or product relevant in the market. Competition is not just about getting lost on a goal that they thought was important. Because of that ability to look left and right, Competition keeps you relevant to your customers. It is about focusing not just what goes in, but also what comes out. You may be more willing to change your strategy if it is not working, because you are not only paying attention to the effort you are putting in, but what that is translating to. There is a finish line with Competition. It is not good enough to just give good effort, you have to be the best.

Look for tasks and projects that are measured against others. Look for it where it already exists. Even if you are doing something new and creative, think about who you are going to compete with. Think about looking for categories around Competition that will be relevant to your performance. Pay attention to specialization. Take on challenges that really require the skills, expertise, and experience that you have. Ask yourself what your niche is.

Ask for metrics. Ask for how success is going to be determined. Ask who the players are. Invite feedback, not only with criticism, but for when you've won. You really can learn a lot more from a victory than you can from a loss. Competition has this drive to be an effective influencer. Ask for feedback on how ideas are coming across. There is a binary experience to winning and losing.

Worry less about playing for the sake of playing, or working for the sake of being busy. Relevance matters. You will get better practice when you know the stakes are really high. Lean in and focus on the times where you win, because you're always playing. Performance affects you more than other people, so don't worry about not being able to immediately bounce back when it hurts.

When working with Competition look for energy when the stakes are high. Look for an external understanding of progress. Expect cheering and support for meaningful markers of performance. That inspiration is a talent marker that will always be in relationship to a goal. Those with Competition are people that wake up and either know or look for ways to measure their progress towards a goal.

Explore the "who" that they're winning for. Think about those with Competition being a champion for others. Who are they building up? Who are they winning for? Name what it is you're measuring, and recognize that public recognition is going to matter to those high with Competition. Look for opportunities to talk about what their Competition has created. Think about talking about what's on the line, and then keeping your word when they fulfill their goal.

Collaboratively filtering work that is measured, compared, seen, and winnable is a great way to partner with Competition. Help them focus on the work that is the most important to them, and that they can win. Focus on where their energy is drawn to. Support them in doing the pieces that have really come alive to them. Help them run fast when sprinting towards a goal.

If Competition is one of your Dominant Themes, invest in it this week through the following challenge items:

• Set up news alerts for top performing products in your industry.
• Read the biography of a successful person you admire.
• Identify a peer who you can compete against, and measure how you can identify who wins.
• Turn your partner into your cheerleader by sharing what your most valued future win is going to be.

If Competition is not one of your Dominant Themes, invest in it this week through the following challenge items:

• Cheer on someone who is competing.
• What is something that you always do that you could try to do better, and how can you measure your improvement?
• Ask for feedback from partners you really value.