Comments on: Is a Competitive Streak the Real Gen Y Flaw?

By: TweetMyJOBS Europe

TweetMyJOBS Europe — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 21:28:00 +0000

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.

By: Laura Kimball

Laura Kimball — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 04:07:59 +0000

"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.

By: ElissaPR

ElissaPR — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 11:03:19 +0000

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.

By: Megan Cassidy

Megan Cassidy — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 08:15:48 +0000

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.

By: Ashley Funderburk

Ashley Funderburk — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 01:20:12 +0000

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.