Understanding and Investing in Your Competition Talent -- Season 4

To learn more about Gallup's additional strengths resources, visit
the Gallup Strengths Center: http://on.gallup.com/1l04XVZ.

Gallup's Theme Thursday is a live Webcast that targets strengths
coaches and enthusiasts to provide a deeper context behind the
language of strengths by talking in-depth about each of the 34
Clifton StrengthsFinder themes.

On this Theme Thursday Season Four 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.