Humans are naturally competitive. If you look around society, you’ll see the echoes of competitive behavior everywhere. But it’s not always a productive use of our energy. Competition is one of those things that can bring out the best in us and the worst in us, depending on the context and what it’s trying to achieve.
In a work setting, this is also the case. Most organizations look to use competition between employees to encourage more productivity and higher quality work. Sales teams might use a leaderboard to track conversion statistics, team leaders might nominate an ‘employee of the month’ to recognize someone who has overperformed, or a company might offer innovation incentives for people executing on new ideas.
When done well, these competitions can be significant motivators that push your company to new heights that even your employees didn’t realize were possible. In this article, we’ll explore some of the key pros and cons of employee competitions and how you can leverage them to your advantage.
In business competition is ubiquitous. Companies compete for market share, talent competes for promotions, sales teams compete to beat their quotas. As a leader, you need to consider how you want to approach competition amongst your team members. Being highly competitive can energize employees and drive strong results. However, taken too far, competitiveness can also undermine teamwork and cause dysfunction. In this article we’ll explore the potential pros and cons of encouraging competitiveness as a leader, so you can strike the right balance for your organization.
Potential Advantages of Fostering Competitiveness
Here are some potential benefits that can come from stimulating healthy competition amongst your team:
Drives Performance
Competitiveness naturally motivates people to work harder. Employees will push themselves to go above-and-beyond if they know their performance will be measured and rewarded relative to their peers. Competition taps into ambition and the human drive to succeed.
Promotes Excellence
Competing against coworkers can raise the overall quality of work. When employees know their work will be judged and compared, they are less likely to cut corners or do shoddy work They will strive for excellence to avoid coming up short against teammates.
Boosts Innovation
Competing to develop the “next big idea” can spark creativity among your team People think more expansively when they need to come up with fresh solutions that will help them stand out from the crowd Innovation thrives when people compete,
Weeds Out Low Performers
Competition inevitably separates the wheat from the chaff. Poor performers will quickly become apparent when evaluated relative to more capable teammates. This allows you as a leader to take corrective action and manage underachievers.
Rewards Top Talent
Healthy competition allows your star players to rise through the ranks. Channeling employees’ competitive zeal creates opportunities to identify, develop and promote your top talent into leadership roles.
Potential Downsides of Competitiveness
However, taken too far, competitiveness can also lead to some pitfalls, including:
Damages Team Cohesion
Too much competitiveness can corrode team spirit and damage collaboration. Employees may become distrustful of each other and hesitant to share information that could help teammates get ahead.
Causes Unethical Behavior
The pressure to win at all costs can lead some employees to cheat, sabotage others, or behave unethically in order to come out on top. Leaders need to set boundaries.
Burns Out Employees
An overly intense competitive environment can take a toll on employees’ mental health and lead to burnout. People need a balanced workload and positive culture.
Distracts from Shared Goals
Competitiveness for competitiveness sake loses sight of the organization’s real purpose and objectives. Employees fixate on outdoing each other rather than serving customers.
Alienates Poor Performers
Constantly pitting employees against each other can demoralize weaker performers. They feel hopeless and unwanted rather than motivated to improve.
Tips for Healthy Competitiveness
As a leader, how can you stimulate healthy competition without negative side effects? Here are some tips:
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Set clear ground rules – Make ethics, integrity, and teamwork requirements clear. Reward good behavior.
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Foster collaboration – Reinforce shared goals. Have teams work together before internal competitions.
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Highlight positive behaviors – Praise hard work, creativity and team spirit rather than cutting others down.
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Level the playing field – Give everyone a fair shot. Don’t let stars dominate.
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Vary criteria – Judge on innovation, quality, customer service – not just sales figures.
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Recognize improvement – Applaud progress and growth, not just the top rank.
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Keep perspective – At the end of the day, it’s one team working for shared objectives.
Examples of Healthy Competitions
Here are some examples of how leaders can stimulate healthy competitiveness amongst their teams:
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Innovation challenges – Pitch contests for new product/service ideas
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Sales competitions – Leaderboards and bonuses rewarding top monthly performers
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Skills contests – Challenges testing expertise relevant to roles – presentations, design skills, coding, etc.
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Wellness challenges – Team step count or fitness contests promoting health
–Customer service awards – Recognizing reps with top customer satisfaction survey scores
- Team awards – Rewarding departments for collaboration and peer mentoring
Signs Competitiveness May Be Unhealthy
As a leader, you need to stay attuned to signs that competition amongst your team may be going overboard, including:
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Employees seem ‘burnt out’ by constant competition
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Unethical behavior or cheating scandals arise
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Excessive trash-talking or sabotaging of other teammates
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highest performers heavily dominate rewards and recognition
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Poor performers are utterly demoralized
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Customer needs take a back seat to internal competition
Maintaining a healthy level of competition is a balancing act. Thoughtful leaders can tap into employees’ competitive drive to excel while also maintaining a cohesive, ethical and still-collaborative team. Keep competition fun, low-stakes, and centered around shared goals. Recognize that all employees need support and motivation to contribute meaningfully, regardless of where they rank. If competitiveness starts undermining team cohesion, scale back and redirect energy to the organization’s real purpose.
With the right approach, competitiveness can coexist with – and even strengthen – other core values of teamwork, ethics and customer focus. By keeping both the potential benefits and pitfalls in mind, leaders can harness the power of competition while minimizing any negative impacts. Your team will remain motivated, innovative and engaged – with their competitive fire fueling collective success.
The Cons of Employee Competitions
As with all things, there are certain drawbacks that you should be aware of if you’re looking to create competitions in your organization:
- Damages the morale of some underperforming employees. Those people who are not doing well in the competitions, are at risk of becoming unhappy and resentful. While some will take up the challenge, others might get defensive and shut down entirely.
- Tall poppy syndrome. When competitions go too far, you might find that your employees root for each other to fail – in their own self-interest. If this tendency isn’t checked at the door, your company can fall victim to tall poppy syndrome where high performers are cut down at their knees – invalidating the overall impact of the competition for the company.
- May create classes within the organization. There is a risk that competitions create classes of employees within your company that doesn’t lend itself to efficient collaboration. Your competitions should never come at the expense of group cohesion and camaraderie.
- Can create an unhealthy work culture. If competition becomes the number one value in your organization, it can become toxic because the only goal is to win. There needs to be balance coming from other values and ideals to keep things healthy and vibrant for everyone.
These downsides are manageable if you’re aware of them and take steps to mitigate their impact. But this requires intentional action and conversation with your employees to manage expectations and set the right tone throughout any competition that you run.
The Pros of Employee Competitions
Here are some of the key benefits of competition between employees:
- Incentivizes better performance. We are social creatures and we naturally have a competitive streak that kicks in when we compare ourselves to others. Employee competitions are a great way to harness that power to motivate your staff to improve themselves and the work that they produce. Often, it’s only through competition that employees realize just what they can accomplish if they focus their efforts.
- Recognizes and appreciates work performance. Work can be demoralizing if you aren’t getting the validation and appreciation that you deserve for your hard work. Competitions create opportunities for your company to recognize and appreciate your high-performing employees – which helps with morale and loyalty.
- Creates role models. Competitions provide opportunities for employees to identify those people who are shooting the lights out so that they can emulate their success. These role models act as north stars that pull everyone else to improve their work performance.
- Retains high performers. We know that high performers are worth their weight in gold, but because of their track record – they often have a range of other work opportunities at their fingertips. Competition rewards are a great way to retain these people and keep them at your organization. This has never been more important as we wade through ‘The Great Resignation’, a macro response to how the pandemic has changed our view on work.
All of these benefits are valuable in creating the sort of work culture that is continuously improving. There are compounding effects here that can transform your organization for the better.
Now, let’s look at some of the potential downsides of these competitions.
The Importance of Competition | Intellections
What are the pros and cons of being a competitive leader?
Here are some pros and cons of being a competitive leader: Here are some pros of being a competitive leader: Having a competitive spirit can help a company improve and lead to organizational success. A competitive leader may encourage competition among their employees, which can lead to innovative ideas and a variety of solutions to problems.
How does competition affect leadership?
Anxiety about competition can result in employees cutting corners or sabotaging each other. Effective leadership is crucial in mitigating the negative effects of competition and fostering a supportive and collaborative work culture. Competition can drive you to perform at your best, encouraging innovation and creativity among employees.
How does competitive leadership affect employees?
Competitive leadership can negatively pressure employees to perform beyond their abilities, so it’s important for leaders to ensure they’re maintaining a positive environment for their employees. When employees feel pressured or stressed, they may not be willing to go above and beyond to support the company’s goals.
What makes a leader a competitive leader?
A competitive leader may encourage competition among their employees, which can lead to innovative ideas and a variety of solutions to problems. Innovation often is what leads to better quality products and increases the likelihood of consumers buying those products.
