Competition | Leis Network

This article is a summary of a series of articles on competition linked at the bottom of the page. These concepts are not just mine; they are a synthesis of books referenced throughout the articles.

Introduction to Competition

Champion axeman Charlie Winkle competing in a tree-felling event at a chopping competition by State Library of Queensland, Australia, on Flickr

Competition is the vehicle of evolution and creativity. It is also the structure under which collaboration and cooperation is best forged. Competition is inherent in all living organisms. It is maligned because of misunderstanding and misapplication.

Competition at its best produces healthy self-awareness and emotionally balanced self-promotion. And in nature and human enterprise it teaches us to share and empathize. Competition depends on the successful tension between sharing, trust and self-promotion. Very few competitions are zero sum games. Performing well in competition is its own reward and thrives on the measured feedback necessary to continually improve.

Self-expression

Competition is first and foremost a struggle in self-actualization. Competing well must increase one’s self-respect as it encourages discipline and nurtures a synergy of our spiritual, physical, emotional and intellectual states, ‘win’ or ‘lose’. Since competition is at its essence a personal display, it requires successful interaction of all four aspects of the self. It is impossible for competition to denigrate one’s self-esteem. Worth is unassailable.

Formal competition in the work place for jobs or promotions or treasure is a misuse of competition and destructive to the team and culture. Teams compete with the opponent, not amongst themselves. The most appropriate team member will be chosen, sometimes mistakenly, for the positions on a team. It is every member’s responsibility to support the team in whichever position they are asked to play. That is cooperation, and is antithetical to subordination.

Most competitions in education have become denigrations of competition, when they are actually misapplications of it. A deeper understanding of talent identification, competition and more varied scorecards could perhaps yield more fruitful results in education than anywhere else.

Failure

Failure or losing is common in life, and is suffused with acceptance, determination, and emotional stability. The goal is not to minimize the effects of losing or abolish competition. The challenge is to learn the appropriate lessons.

Good coaches debrief after completion of all measurable projects or competitions in order to holistically understand the lessons learned. Winning or losing without understanding renders much of the campaign useless.

All super stars are great team players. Team mates know their mates, their strengths and weaknesses, and know when to help, and when not to. Teams win because they create their own atmosphere, and positive, uncritical scholarship of failure is fundamental and is no cause for shame if the team played their best.

Selfishness

Competitors know teams can not function with maliciousness, selfishness, martyr complexes, defensiveness or gossip. Sports teams tolerate these attitudes far less than organizations because their negative consequences are more apparent within the simpler confines of sport. Competitors know that talent is not everything; helpful engagement is. For our world to progress and innovate towards its potential, our educators, coaches and managers must learn more about competition, and what it is, and what it is not.