Is a Competitive Streak the Real Gen Y Flaw?

Image copyright of: Bay Front Fitness

Flaw is a bit strong of a word, but it’s there for a reason. The competitive edge, if one lets it, causes self destruction. It causes a revert back to high school where drama was the prom queen everyone talked about.

It’s easy to be caught up in competition. In my family, we canceled family game night because we were too competitive with each other. My parents then taught my sister and I to be competitive with ourselves, and no one else. In a team sports atmosphere, you had the winner mentality. They refused to put on the “My Kid is an A Honor Roll Student” stickers on their car, telling us that getting good grades was expected, not a reward – and it didn’t set up apart.

Many accuse Gen Y of being entitled, whiny and always expecting praise. I agree that some are, but I think there is a bigger, underlying issue.

We relentlessly compete with each other, instead of working together. At the entry and mid-level, does management really want those duking it out, not only with co-workers, but randoms in the industry? Back stabbing is probably not new to this generation. We aren’t the first to be blamed for being entitled.

The 12th Place Ribbon Mentality

Remember that ‘A Honor Roll Student’ sticker? Besides that, Gen Y was rewarded for just participating in an event to not leave anyone out. Honorable Mention and 12th place were handed out just as readily as 1st place. It’s sometimes an adjustment, but managers know to set expectations at the start. They meet regularly with their employees, always asking first, “How are you doing?” It’s a simple gesture, but one to appreciate.

What’s scary is that some are competitive with people and have no idea what they did behind the scenes to get there. They lambast that “Everyone works just as hard as each other!” and scoff when they don’t understand how a person got from Point A to Point B. We forget that key lesson – to be competitive with ourselves, and set goals based on what YOU can accomplish. Sure, it’s ok to benchmark success against others. It’s what we encourage clients to do. It’s a delicate balance.

Getting caught up in it will set you up for a big fall. It will cause people to remark that you’re jealous, out of focus and don’t understand how to work hard. Competitiveness is easy to be consumed by.

The 12th place ribbon mentality taught that anyone deserved praise, recognition and a high five for just showing up. I remember getting a 3rd place ribbon and thinking in my head, “I only want blue.” That’s a bit scary at 7 years old, but it also set up how hard I push myself daily. The point, though, is that’s me. It’s not you. Your goals are your own. My friends joke that they have to schedule me at least 2 weeks in advance because of how much I do.

My typical day? It isn’t yours.

What do you think? Does the competitive streak play a part in the professional space?

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TweetMyJOBS Europe

I believe being competitive is a big drive to success, at least for me. I believe that the entire history is full of positive and negative results of competitive streaks. I focus on the positive ones. I am fully able to focus on the positive competitive drive to create success.
Laura Kimball

"What’s scary is that some are competitive with people and have no idea what they did behind the scenes to get there. "

Well said, Lauren. When I was in college working to achieve my own ambitions, I had to consciously stop myself when I'd compare my own hard work and success with that of my friends. This was my life, that was theirs, and we are all going after our own blue ribbons.

Great post, Lauren.
ElissaPR

This is an excellent and insightful post, Lauren. As someone who manages a variety of people, in different ages and different stages of life - it's easy to pigeon-hole people by their demographic, so to speak.

The big thing I notice among the Gen Y-ers? The lack of critical thinking. The need to finish fast and first. That just finishing a project/task is good enough, and the extra thought required to take that project to the next level is, quite frankly, not always there. Plus, and I'm generalizing here, the notion of task completion is directly tied to big, huge raises. Tactics, while important, never win the day. The ability to think strategically does. And it's up to managers/directors etc to ensure this point hits home through role modelling and mentorship.

So, yes. There is a big problem with the 12th Place Ribbon Mentality. Competition doesn't have to be negative. Compete with yourself. Compete as a team to give your organization/client the best advice possible. Embrace competition, don't fear it.
Megan Cassidy

In my own environment, the competition is very clear-cut. I'm in a program where we work for seven months, then the company decides if they want to keep us on full time. There isn't a set number of slots to get "kept", but we're all doing the same tasks and trying to stand out. It's good in that it challenges you to think outside the box and be creative, but bad in that the pressure is consistent and can be stressful. It depends on how you handle it.
Ashley Funderburk

Awesome post Lauren! :)

"We relentlessly compete with each other, instead of working together." I completely agree with this statement you made. This happens very often when we should be working together. I have personally had a similar experience to this, where I thought we were working together but the other person did not necessarily think that. Which leads to another problem we Gen Y may face: miscommunication. Then again, many people face this so it is not like that is new.

Personally, I think the competitive streak does play a part in the professional space. I know I can be competitive sometimes, but I know when something needs to be done as a team. When I succeed at something I do not usually brag about it. Yes, I succeeded, but I do not like to make other people think I am the only person that can do whatever it may be and I think I am the best at it. I am not that kind of person. Friendly competition is good. I think it makes people work hard towards something.
Jim Reynolds

Great way to kick off a fun debate amongst a bunch of hyper competitive people :).

From working with my fair share of Gen X, Gen Y and baby boomers I personally feel that the end of Gen X to the beginning of Gen Y are very competitive. I blame much of this on video games, I remember my childhood needing to be the best and beat my friends on NES and other systems and it carried over to other area's of life.

In my case I blame my competitive gene on my family, that if I wanted something I needed to earn it. If you don't have a plan B you'll need to succeed and not lose with your plan A. I only wish this carried over to my academic career :).
laurenfernandez

Dude, I remember throwing my Duck Hunt gun at my dad because he beat me at a game. Haha, talk about needing an intervention. :)

Same with me - if you want it, you earn it. I've worked for everything, and I don't expect things to be handed on a silver platter. Half the fun is working toward the goal and feeling the satisfaction of meeting it.
Kyle Henderick

Some great points made within this post, competitiveness is human nature, but due to Gen Y’s energy, sharing and potential success visibility (social network stats) we may be perceived as overly competitive at times.

I think a great business use of competitiveness within co-workers was at an Italian restaurant I worked at in college. As a server you had to have a minimum tip percentage and a minimum percentage of your sales had to be wine in order to stay employed. Also, the report with the results was posted for all to see daily and the top 5-10 people(depending on the percentages) were rewarded at the end of a quarter. At first, I hated this because I thought it was creating a negative atmosphere, but after I was able to embrace it I became a better server and was able to reach the top of the report (which led to higher bills, better tips and thus more money for me). Every day I came into work this was a constant reminder of how I was doing in comparison to others.

I believe benchmarking your goals against another person in your industry who has experienced success is a great way to utilize competition in a positive way. I agree, when not channeled properly the negative/dirty side of competitiveness can be a detractor so it really is about your attitude and how you approach your competitive spirit that matters most. Don’t focus on bringing others around you down; if you want to truly be great you’re going to have to bring your game to their level, not vice versa.
laurenfernandez

Competitiveness is human nature, and I think its perfectly healthy if channeled correctly. I'm extremely competitive, but know how to push myself harder because of it.

I like what the Italian restaurant did - recognizes hard work publicly, and pushes other employees to meet the standards that they feel should be met daily. It reminds me of national select teams in sports - you have to meet certain regulations, times or have a certain talent.

It's why I like benchmarking.
Kevin Watterson

Better than than not competitive enough. This isn't soccer where we all get to run around and feel like we accomplished something without kicking the ball. I don't want life's participation ribbon.
laurenfernandez

I agree, but there is a clear distinction between positive competition and negative energy.
Jeremy Pepper

It's why I say bring back the Presidential Fitness tests with the school assemblies where those that didn't get ribbons felt shamed for being weak and not winning one.

Nothing wrong with institutional bullying.

I'm from a different generation. I remember getting in trouble by screaming out loud in little league, "what, we're not in last place?!" - but that was so the manager's feelings weren't hurt. We're too concerned with people's feelings that we've gone too far to the other side.

Yes, this generation has learned that everyone is a winner!! But, well, that's not true. There are a lot of losers out there. A lot.
laurenfernandez

Haha, hey now, we had the Fitness Tests when I was in elementary school! I never felt shamed because I always won. ;)

It's true. I think that everyone (from personal perspective to the advice we give brands) are too worried about being nice and it doesn't come across as genuine.
mmbizon

I think you are spot-on with your discussion of Gen Y's entitlement. We were definitely raised with the 12th-place-ribbon mentality, which has some thorny repercussions, as you mentioned. While we're not the first generation faced with these accusations, I think our technological propensities allow us to broadcast these messages much more widely and give us an entirely new (and public) platform upon which to compete.

I really saw this attitude of entitlement show up in the #u30pro chat about raises and promotions a few weeks back. I was actually a bit dismayed by some of the comments, as many conveyed the idea that employment is all about THEM.

I tend to think of employment as more of a partnership between employer and employee. I don't expect lavish rewards for - gasp! - actually doing my job, although I do expect to be treated with respect and provided the opportunity to develop my skills and grow. So I walked away from that chat a little jaded and with a lot to reflect on.

However, I do see sparks of a collaborative atmosphere. The #u30pro Facebook group has really impressed me as a forum for encouraging dialogue. The fact that the chat itself exists (kudos to you, Dave and Scott) and thrives attests to that potential.
laurenfernandez

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who was a bit alarmed with that #u30pro chat a few weeks back.

I love the partnership angle - and its true. Just as an agency works with a client, that's how you should work with your boss. Rewards are earned, not expected. You put in the hard work, and if its recognized, awesome. If its not, push yourself harder. We all have different ideas of what constitutes as great work.

Thanks for the compliment on the FB group. We really enjoy it.
Laura Gajewski

Growing up in Northern VA (NOVA) was more than competitive. Most of each graduating class in my high school went to the University of Virginia (UVA) and the second best went the James Madison University (JMU). This was so common that people would say that JMU stands for Just Missed UVA - how aweful! There is nothing wrong with JMU, yet it makes you feel like if you didn't get into UVA, then nothing is worth it. To have this type of competitiveness ingrained in Gen Y from such a young age is what makes us who we are now. There is a fine line between motivation to do well and cut throat.
laurenfernandez

You're right, there is definitely a fine line between motivation and being cutthroat. I also think that if it's not instilled from the home environment, that it's something that has to be learned on the job. But, if others are cutthroat, its hard to change the cycle.
Kasey Skala

Greed is good. Competitiveness is good. That's what we're getting at, right? The greed to always succeed and be "better" than our competition (co-workers, me, John over in accounting). Nothing wrong with this. I think the problem is a self-entitled view of what you consider an accomplishment.

I don't want to work with/for/against someone who's content on being second place.
laurenfernandez

I don't either, but I also don't want to work with someone who is negatively competitive. I don't think greed and competitiveness go hand and hand. There is nothing wrong with pushing yourself past your limits, right?
Gini Dietrich

I'm not sure this is limited to Gen Y. I'm Gen X and I learned competitiveness at work when I was at FH. They instilled it in us and we were forced to compete with one another for raises, promotions, billable hours, and even to attend meetings. It was fun, but it was also super stressful. When I left, I took that competitiveness with me and, it wasn't unti I hire employees, that I learned turnover was going to be really high if I didn't learn to curb it. So now I compete with myself - in outdoor activities - so that I'm able to go to work and lead an organization toward a vision instead of feeling pissy that a guest blogger killed my highest traffic stats on the blog (OK...some days it doesn't work so well). But my point is the message is important, but it's not limited to Gen Y.
laurenfernandez

Interesting to hear that, because it isn't really like that anymore. I feel like we have way more of a team atmosphere than any other agency I've ever worked at - where competition and back-stabbing was rampant at the AE and below level. It caused a large amount of turnover for awhile - which is a bit scary.

I think you're right that it's not limited to Gen Y. When Dave commented on that, I pointed it out that my mentor suggested to me that it still happens in her age range, too.

And I was mad when Danny Brown killed my stats with his guest post. Still one of the highest ranked. You're not alone. :)
Scott Cohen

I absolutely think there are different levels of working hard. I know what you're feeling when it comes to working hard and having someone be better than you at it anyway.

What I'm referring to is effort-to-output ratio. Some people are really fast and can have great output with little effort, and some people are the opposite. But there's also a difference between competence and potential. You may be great at one thing, but are completely inflexible at learning anything else.

In my opinion, managers often focus on competence (which can lead to pigeon-holing) rather than potential. It's tough for managers to see beyond what's in front of them, but it's a simple of all working generations now to think short-term rather than long-term.

I think the reason the Gen Y folks think they should just be given things is because society has fed them two stories:

1. Graduate from college, and you'll get a great job right away and never have to worry about money.

2. Get lucky, get rich, and never worry about money again.

Both stories involve a great deal of hard work behind the scenes, but that work is NEVER talked about.
laurenfernandez

I personally like always knowing that there are people out there doing it better. Pushes me to be THAT much better. If we were all the same, we'd never get anything done.

Even with money, you'll find those who still have that push in them. It starts with environment and how people are raised. I think managers don't look for potential because it can be very disappointing if someone doesn't meet it. At that rate, they put pressure when its guidance thats needed.
Scott Cohen

LAF: This is a really interesting argument, but as you alluded to, competitiveness isn't unique to Gen Y. Not working hard AND being competitive (that sense of entitlement you refer to) is.

As an "old soul" Gen Y member, my thoughts have always been "reward the people who work hard, and don't reward people who don't." And that goes for any generation of co-workers.

I have always had a serious problem with what you called the "12th Place Ribbon Mentality" (or what I call the "Congrats! You Showed Up!" mentality). Yes, 90% of life is showing up, but that 10% makes the impact.

Competition is natural and healthy, provided you know who you're competing against. The early years of a child's development should be focused on that 90%, and as they age, the 10% should be worked in. But again, the 10% matters.

The problem with Gen Y is that the generation seems to believe that the 90% actually counts for most of the other 10%, and it simply doesn't. And since they've been rewarded for showing up for so long, they don't know who their "enemies" are.

Just a few thoughts...
laurenfernandez

Do you think that there are different levels of working hard? I mean, I know that no matter how hard I push myself, there will ALWAYS be someone doing it better. It's what keeps me going a lot of the time. The You Showed Up mentality drives me bonkers. I think it's also why we try to talk a lot about promotions/raises in #u30pro - and it's usually the topics where I see managers jumping in.

Competition can be healthy, if you know how to channel it correctly.

Great thoughts. Thanks for stopping by!
David Spinks

I've always been competitive.

Competition can lead to bad things, but it can also inspire great things. It has driven me mad with jealousy and it has pushed me to do better.

Is it someone that's specific to Gen-Y? I don't think so. It's human. For 20-30 year olds especially, with their whole career ahead of them, it makes sense that they'd get competitive.
Jason Arican

While it's human nature to be competitive (see: The Cold War), I think that professional competitiveness is even more so attributed to being American. We're the Capitalism capital of the world! Greed is good, baby!

Agree with you guys that healthy competition is good. Like I mentioned on the u30pro fb page, you have to let it drive you and not consume you. Someone will always be more successful, so work hard but stop to appreciate what you have. Otherwise you'll always want.

The sniping and whatnot that I think Laura is talking about here can be associated with Gen Y in a way, and that way is being so connected to peers through social networks, blogs and such. People look at follower counts, active blogging communities, speaking gigs, etc. but don't see how hard that person works behind the scenes. That can lead to the jealousy and pettiness that we see a lot.
laurenfernandez

I think it's easy to focus on 20-30 year olds with this - mostly because they can help keep the foundation going. But, in chats with Beth Harte recently, she told me that she's experienced it at her level. I wonder if its something that's just part of your personality/mark-up? And if you do use the competitive nature in a positive way, how can you deal with those who shine a negative light on it?
MrGamma

It's horrible. You name it, rivalry in the workplace leads to sabotaging and many instances paranoia that someone is trying to sabotage you.

I call it a lack of skills. People who cannot recognize their place, and those who cannot find the worth in others. If we all had enough to do and real objectives to achieve rather than this flaky PR stuff that pretends to pull the wool over the eyes of even the most seasoned veterans then things would be different.

Emotional intelligence doesn't come easy and it is no substitute for good communication.

Cock blocking isn't acceptable at any social event. Why should it be in the workplace?

Just to add (I am not a lawyer)... Anti-Competition/Anti-Trust laws are in place for a reason, without them, few of us, no matter how entitled any generation might think they are wouldn't stand a chance against those who came before them in many instances.

The competition should be internal with yourself. Nobody else. The marketplace is huge, and it is only as small as we choose to make it.
laurenfernandez

I think you hit the nail on the head with the negative side of competition. I think it creates animosity if it's not channeled properly. I like to benchmark myself against people my age that I think are excelling (Stuart Foster, for example, kicks ass) but it doesn't really alter my goals.
MrGamma

I knew a guy in college who begged me to work on his project. In hindsight it wasn't to have me work on it, it was to steal my time investment from another rivals project.

He was insanely competitive, born into it. There was absolutely nothing to gain on his part. Nothing but emotional satisfaction on his part I guess.

Comparing yourself to another as a means to thrive is great. Sabotaging a rival or competitor due to emotional insecurities is just insane. It happens more often than people realize.

If it helps, a worst case scenario, real world example is when skaters take batons and cripple other skaters they are competing with.
laurenfernandez

Yuck. I'd never use comparing myself as a way to sabotage someone else! That's horrible. If you are doing it for the smug satisfaction of beating someone else.... GTFO.
MrGamma

I am not sure that comparing yourself to another is a means to sabotage another.

You may be mis-understanding the concept of what comparing and sabotage is.

Comparing yourself to Leonardo Da-Vinci is a way to better understand yourself as an architect.

While planting a bomb in a building would be sabotage to your competitor, most likely due to your own insecurities as an architect.

If it helps, I rarely accept drinks or food when provided by people who I am not immediately affiliated with. Even then, I tread carefully.
laurenfernandez

I was responding to this part: "Comparing yourself to another as a means to thrive is great. Sabotaging a rival or competitor due to emotional insecurities is just insane."

I do understand the difference between the two.
MrGamma

oh, it's just the way you put it that had me going...

I trust you know the difference. If anything, there is a level of respect that people should maintain when competing. A mutual respect for your enemies or your competition is probably a virtue. Anything else could be seen as kamikaze. No matter how entitled any generation is, there always another generation that has the head start.