Competitive

RicFRicF ✭✭✭

A couple of thoughts on this one. 

Twenty five years back I had job interview where I revealed I was a competitive person and the interviewer remarked that some would regard that as an infantile character traitimage

Another item was an individual who no matter what his dealings with anyone were turned the interaction into a contest that he was going to win. He was right, and the last word was always his, he wins. Though in the long run, he didn't.

There could be a connection.

Make sense, or another bin job.image

🙂

Comments

  • the interviewer was in position to say that but in sport from my point of view if your not competitive then you will never leave first base because in the sport i was involved in to win is everthing and even now to beat my time or go the distance even to hold my own with others i victory infantile maybe but i would nt call it that

    at work is not the same i work as part of a team in which some dont have the skill level but i understand the need to pull together i do have a competitve nature maybe thats what keeps me young for my 49yrs

    totally new to rw forum so bare with me

  • SuperCazSuperCaz ✭✭✭

    I think there is a difference beween being competitive in some situations (such as wanting to win a race) and being competitive over everything.

    Sports people are generally competitive when it comes to sports, even those outside their training, for example on a social event such as go carting.  This is a benficial trait to their success and needs to be encouraged and nurtured.

    But people who are competitive in all situations and have to win every arguement or debate tend to struggle in social situations.  I can think of someone who once had an argument over whether her lunch had less calories than someone elses, and whether her matching underwear set was more expensive than everyone elses.  She was the only person interested in these conversations but wouldn't leave the topics alone to the extent that she went away and found evidence to back up her side of the debate.

    She was the manager of a department, and a particularly poor one at that as she was unable to ever tell anyone that they had done a good job, because obviously she had done a better job.  She destroyed the morale and productivity of that department through her competitive nature.

  • Competitiveness is naturally useful in some roles but not others. Your second example is just of someone who is a twat.

     

     

  • yes i agree little ninja my dogs blacker than yours that aint being competitve. i mean a competitve edge that wins games, races, what ever. being competitve in your place of work  seldom pays dividends. sorry not got a point just saying

  • I struggle with overly competitive people. Unless it is solely directed at themselves.

    For me, I find it difficult to separate competition from confrontation, and discussion from argument. I hate confrontation, even heated discussion, makes me uncomfortable its some guilt hang up thing i've got from being young though cannot put my finger on.

    Have a tendency to be a people pleaser, and find it very difficult to beat people, correct people or tell them they are wrong, even if I know they are. Usually just tell people what they want to hear, keeps it simple. Most people don't want to listen anyway, they just want to hear themselves talk.

    I couldn't do a job that required me to be competitive with anyone but myself, and would be good at praising peoples work, but very poor at being critical, even when it is constructive. Having worked as a supervisor in the past, it was a very difficult position.

    The reason I get on so well with running is, because in the end, in my opinion, the race is only with yourself.

    Sorry, just random thoughts on competitiveness.

  • RicFRicF ✭✭✭

    These are great answers guys.

    I'm essentially a people pleaser too but no longer have to endure some competitive type trying to win some contest that only they are playing. Really its about context, my lad was on a golf course when he showed annoyance at a duff shot. One of the other kids said 'what's the point, its only a game, it doesn't matter', to which my lad replied, 'when you are playing golf on a golf course it matters, when I'm off the course, then it doesn't matter'. So there's a time and place for competition. Our dealings day to day involve more co-operation.

    Little Ninja, uncanny description of the guy. You must have met him.

    🙂

  • RatzerRatzer ✭✭✭

    I'm the least competitive person ever.

  • I'm competitive but have boundaries. It's when you ride roughshod over everyone that competitiveness is ugly.
  • Competetiveness I guess in some jobs can be useful (I'm thinking sales environments etc) but in some jobs I think it immediately screams "doesn't play well with others", e.g. not a team worker, manipulative, poor communication skills, aggressive etc.  It just depends on the work environment. 

    In my job a lot depends on getting people on side, getting their buy-in for projects and getting their cooperation.  That naturally means thinking like "what's in it for you" rather than just "what's in it for me". 

     

  • MuttleyMuttley ✭✭✭
    Ratzer wrote (see)

    I'm the least competitive person ever.

    No you're not. I'm less competitive than you are

  • RatzerRatzer ✭✭✭
    Muttley wrote (see)
    Ratzer wrote (see)

    I'm the least competitive person ever.

    No you're not. I'm less competitive than you are

    You win.

  • stutyrstutyr ✭✭✭

    Another trait of being competitive is that it takes a certain amount of selfishness, as you've got to focus a lot of attention on yourself.  This works is sport, and all competitive runners have to do this to some extent - e.g. the often used phrase of making "sacrifices" to complete the training, which is where social time with friends/family is replaced with time spent running alone.

    I did work with a guy like this who was a competitive sportsman, and it was a nightmare.  He was a pleasant guy to talk to etc, but he was incredibly selfish and just didn't realise that a lot of his actions had an adverse effect on other members of the team.

    So I can understand why some interviewers would be apprehensive about employing a very competitive person.  

  • RicFRicF ✭✭✭

    I was very young at the time. I assumed it was an asset so was taken by surprise.

    🙂

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