What is it about competition? You can take people who up until this point have had no interest in a subject or discipline and challenge them within a competitive environment and they soon care for nothing more than winning the competition. In the last few days I have seen this happen to Hollywood stars, sports giants and Hillel directors alike (an interesting cross sample – right?)
On Dancing with the Stars this week, recording artist Brandy said that there is nothing more important in her whole life right now than winning the dance competition. Asked how being an athlete affects his attitude, NFL quarterback Kurt Warner said his need to win puts his workout and practice schedule into overdrive.
At a meeting at the University of Maryland Hillel, Ari Israel, the Executive Director, explained the record number of students attending this year’s GA as the result of a competition between the largest Hillel’s Directors. This competition was a result of Jerry Silverman’s (CEO of Jewish Federations of North America) challenge to have the college students represented.
While the competition among Hillels benefitted a greater cause – Jewish community involvement – the ferocity of the competitors on Dancing with the Stars serves as just as powerful a message.
If stars, who – let’s face it – have better things to do than humiliate themselves trying to learn a discipline they are unfamiliar with, and are probably motivated by the payday – get so consumed by the competition that they personalize it – imagine how you could channel that drive for good.
Leaders use everything at their disposal to inspire people to better the world. Too many times we shy away from competition in our arenas thinking about the excluded and the losers. But, perhaps we need to focus on the energy created, the level that can be accomplished, the creativity that starts to generate by mining our human competitive spirit. There might not be a better way. Are we really ready to sacrifice all that?
Leadership Lesson: Competition if used wisely can fuel creativity, energy and accomplishment. Think about how you can inject some healthy competition into your organization.