Hi, I’m Max, a high performance coach.
Fundamentally, here’s my take on human behavior in a nutshell – human beings are vastly complicated creatures. And there are so many aspects to us that drawing hard and fast distinctions anywhere in the human experience is a futile endeavor.
And leadership is no different.
Being a leader is a nuanced role – and in today’s reading we are going to attempt to draw on different aspects of leadership that fall under two main domains – The Competitor and The Creator. Both mindsets have their place in leadership, and understanding the strengths and potential pitfalls of each can help you navigate your role more effectively.
Today’s reading will focus on identifying the characteristics of each mindset, allowing you to assess where you stand and how to leverage the strengths of both while avoiding their excesses.
Let’s dive in.
The Competitor Mindset
The competitor mindset is often characterized by a focus on winning and outpacing others. In my time working with athletes, and also athletes who then started businesses, this is a very prevalent mindset. This drive can be a powerful force for achieving significant results and pushing boundaries. Competitors thrive in environments where quick decisions, immediate actions, and a relentless focus on the end goal are required. Sales people, athletes, bankers and high powered women in positions of power with a mission I have seen in my private practice have fallen in this category.
1. Reactive
Competitors are often highly reactive. Their decisions are driven by the actions of others—they’re constantly scanning the environment for threats and opportunities to outdo their rivals. Again, athletes turned into business owners are a classic for this trait.
- Strengths: The fundamental strength of a reactive businessperson is their ability to think on their feet. They are able to scrape together results and pull together wins where others wouldn’t.
- Potential Excesses: Being overly reactive can lead to short-term thinking. From my time with business owners who are highly reactive, they can have a tendency to get caught up in the nuances of winning and losing rather than the big picture vision of their company.
2. Fixed on Wins and Losses:
For those with a competitor mindset, success is often measured in terms of wins, losses – hard and fast outcomes. This, in my view, tends to lend itself to more excesses than strengths. But nevertheless, let’s take a look.
- Strengths: A focus on winning creates very clear expectations for a team – this is why we are here to get this outcome. Competitors can often set the pace in their industries, leading to rapid advancements and high achievement, at least in the short term.
- Potential Excesses: An excessive focus on winning can narrow one’s vision, leading to a tunnel-vision approach. Issues like sustainability, insight and culture become challenges here.. When winning becomes the sole focus, leaders turn into managers, putting their tasks before their people.
3. Ill Will Towards Competitors:
A competitive mindset can sometimes foster ill will towards others in the same space. Seeing competitors as adversaries rather than potential collaborators can present its own set of challenges.
- Strengths: There’s definitely something to be said for the best leaders having a killer instinct. I’ve often thought in working with sales teams that if their lives had gone in a different direction they may have ended up as con men. But no doubt this insatiable drive to win has its place at times.
- Potential Excesses: When competition breeds ill will, it can lead to a destructive work environment. This is where I see business owners get lost in the need to win, at their detriment. Business outcomes become personal. Really not ideal…
The Value of Competitiveness:
There’s undeniable value in being competitive. And the reality is, we live in highly competitive capitalistic economic conditions. And denying this element of business life can be naive. Again, this article is only pointing out aspects of leadership performance, the point here is to take what’s valuable.
The Creator Mindset
Now to The Creator – which in my experience is characterized by building, innovating, and contributing something of lasting value. This approach requires patience and a long-term vision but, in my experience, leads to lasting success.
1. Vision Focused:
Creators are driven by a clear vision of what they want to achieve. They are less concerned with what others are doing and more focused on their own path.
- Strengths: A vision-focused approach provides direction and purpose, often informed by values and a heart centered approach. This clarity leads to consistent progress and often is what innovates industries.
- Potential Excesses: However, an excessive focus on vision can lead to a disconnect from the immediate realities of the market or operational challenges. Visionaries can in this way, be a little like artists, getting lost in their ideals and struggle to compromise.
2. Patient
Unlike the competitor, who may be focused on immediate gains, the creator is patient. They understand that building something of value takes time, and have made peace with this in their execution.
- Strengths: This long-term approach can result in more sustainable success, as it’s based on careful planning and a commitment to quality. From this perspective, they can outlast their competitors due to their lasting commitment.
- Potential Excesses: On the flip side, excessive patience can sometimes result in missed opportunities or slow responses to market changes. Again, inflexibility becomes a challenge here.
3. A Clear Foundation for Decision Making
Creators have a clear foundation for making decisions, guided by their values, vision, and long-term goals.
- Strengths: This foundation provides consistency and resilience, enabling creators to navigate challenges with confidence. It also fundamentally makes it a lot easier for team members as the leader becomes predictable, in a positive way creating an aligned culture.
- Potential Excesses: The key excess in decision making is that the leader can at times be unwilling to evolve the decision making process because they believe that this is a betrayal of the original vision.
The Strength of The Creator:
The creator mindset fosters innovation, resilience, and a deep sense of fulfillment. They also recognize the power of people and creating new leaders within the organization. By focusing on creating something meaningful, creators can build legacies that last far beyond the immediate successes. And in my experience working with business owners, they tend to have a clearer foundation in their companies.
Conclusion: Do NOT find the balance.
Again, this is not about choosing one. This whole idea of ‘finding the balance’ is in my mind a short sighted idea. The best leaders in my view possess all of these qualities but the thing that sets them apart is when they choose to use which element.
Take a moment to reflect on your current approach.
Give yourself some action items.
Or if you’d like, let’s have a conversation. Book it here.
Max. High Performance Coach.
