“You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that,” Michael Jordan said. In society, there is a subset of people who are highly competitive individuals. Not only do they work hard, live with elite discipline, and develop a clear vision, but they also show up every day with a competitive mindset that helps them succeed. Here are five characteristics of high-performing competitive people:
- Compete with Themselves: Highly competitive people consistently compete with themselves on a daily basis. While they thrive on competing with others, they also find significant motivation when they try to improve from yesterday or from the previous repetition. Their competitive focus always begins with competing to improve themselves.
- One More Opportunity: Highly competitive people consistently want one more opportunity to improve. Even if the previous repetition was sufficient, they’re constantly wanting to develop even more precision related to the skill. Competitive people often spend long hours training and preparing in order to fine tune their craft.
- Develop Their Scorecard: Highly competitive people develop various scorecards to gather data and track their progress. People who love competition crave seeing their numbers improve as its proof that their process works and of their progress. It also allows them to continually improve from the previous opportunities, further increasing their motivation for success. The set standard for those scorecards often increases as they reach one goal and move to the next.
- Challenge Others Daily: Highly competitive people regularly challenge others to rise to their level of competitiveness. Those who are willing to compete improve their skills while those who back away from competition often stay the same or regress. Competitors challenge others in both words and actions: they encourage and push people to give more, but they also compete with others in every drill. Challenging others is one aspect of pushing boundaries and raising standards for competitors.
- Relentless Effort: Highly competitive people consistently give relentless effort even when they may not feel like it. Relentless effort is very noticeable among competitive people. They don’t allow themselves or anyone else to take repetitions off, they win nearly every drill, they complete each task with discipline, and they’re never satisfied with their effort. Even on days when they’re not at their best, they still outperform most people.
The difference between hard work and competitiveness is evident when seeing it in action. Many people work hard and succeed in their own way, but a high compete level raises people to a standard very few actually achieve. Developing a truly competitive team culture raises the standard for everyone and prepares teams for more success.
What are the characteristics of highly competitive individuals and teams?