Dealing With Competitive Colleagues Made Easy.
If you ask a seasoned employee of a reputed organisation how competitiveness has changed over the years, you’d be surprised to hear the views. While it is good to know that the attitude’s changing, what is alarming is the overly competitive attitude among the colleagues, making it not only difficult to achieve individual targets but also creating a less conducive workplace that is not healthy for a fruitful output. But not all competition is without a reason! Some workplaces are more competitive than the others and therefore welcome cut-throat competition.
For instance, Sales and Marketing. Companies into Sales and Marketing of products and services would welcome co-workers that breed on daily performance challenges. There are two things one should keep in mind: one, be aware of your responsibilities and whether your job description entails being competitive and, two, whether the competition at your workplace is forced or is creating a difficulty in the smooth working. Once we know how to approach it, we will know how to deal with it too. Let us see how we can deal with it rationally and reasonably.
Be Friendly At All Times: Keep in mind that it is your civil and friendly (neutral) behaviour that’ll help you save the day. Do not try to negotiate with an overly critical person if being friendly can help save the situation. While giving it back to the person in question would invite more altercation, not offering any emotional reaction would result in to worse. Let the other person know that you have an open mind and welcome healthy criticism.
Form an Alliance: If you are facing a problem working against them (because usually you will see them being open about their ambitious attitude and competitive spirit), try working with them. Not only will the alliance help you use their ambition constructively while you are at a task, it will also flatter them and inflate their ego with successful completion of a certain task.
Curiousity Helps: Try and ask them how they reach any particular decision to finish the task. If your co-worker is smart and knows how to contribute toward reaching a common aim, be a good listener, learn the tact and improve your abilities.
Talk When Necessary: If your co-worker is hostile and negative towards you, minimise contact with him/her. Talk to them when required. It does not mean that you start avoiding them as that would encourage them to be a tad more negative, it simply means not interacting with them anything aside from work. Play fair, regularly back up your work and be alert when dealing with such individuals.
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