Leading with the Competition StrengthsFinder Talent

Competition StrengthsFinder TL;DR

The competition StrengthsFinder talent means you need to know if you’re winning. You might think, “why are we playing if we’re not keeping score?” 

You experience a constant drive to surpass the goal set or to be better than last time. This mindset can motivate you to get a lot done and even, when healthy, to find win-win opportunities.

If you want to grow as a leader, you will need to be able to reset when you fail.

The underlying question that drives these thoughts is, “does my contribution matter?”

If you’re already familiar with StrengthsFinder, you can skip over the next section.

How do you lead well with competition in your StrengthsFinder top 5?

So you’ve taken the StrengthsFinder assessment, received your results and found competition in the list. Now you’re wondering how to grow or leverage this strength in your leadership. 

I love winning. I used to feel guilty about this strength because it seemed primarily self-serving. But I've discovered that winning doesn't have to be about me, and now I get to help other people and teams win.

These are three strategies I’ve seen leaders with the competition strength use to move their focus on winning from me to we.

1. Play the next play. 
2. Build your team.
3. Begin a practice of play.

Play the next play.

You won't always win. 

That’s not the news people with the strengthsfinder competition talent want to hear. But it’s reality, and reality is your friend.  

This term entered our home when my kids started playing basketball. It’s a fast-paced game, and when you make a mistake, you don’t really have time to dwell on it. You have to come down the court, reset and play the next play. 

Life is like that a lot of the time. We’ve got to let the past be the past and move on to the next thing. It doesn’t mean we can’t learn from our mistakes, but dwelling on them isn’t helpful.

You don’t want to be stuck in a game you can’t win.

If you want to grow as a leader, you will need to be able to reset when you fail, and you will need to help others on your team reset when they fail. You’ll be like the coach from the sideline saying, “it’s ok, you can do it, just play the next play.”

Build your team.

My most significant insight into my competition strength was when I realized how often I used competition language for my group. I would say things like, “if we can get work together to make [whatever we were currently focused on] happen, then we can really win at [whatever the bigger objective was].”

I was leading a team, and I wanted that team to win. Not so much so I could say my team won, but because I wanted them to experience winning. 

As a leader, you can leverage your competition strength by focusing on how to help your team grow and improve. View them as a coach would. When they win, you win. Look at how they can improve individually and collectively. 

By slowing down and being present, you can temper the drive your strengthsfinder competition talent can create.

Ask your team members about their individual goals and help them work toward success. Helping others win both develops your own competition talent and keeping your ego in check. 

Begin a practice of play.

There is a genuine danger that your competition talent can go into overdrive and become unhealthy, leading you to need to win at all costs and see the end as always justifying the means.

One effective strategy for keeping this drive in check is to play. Do something just for fun. No goals. No score.

For me, this looks like a creative activity without set output. Just sketching because I can, not because it helps me improve or contributes to another project.

By slowing down and being present, you can temper the drive your strengthsfinder competition talent can create. 

Next steps for StrengthsFinder competition leaders.

As you learn to lead using your competition strength, you can help yourself and your team move from participating to winning.

No more participation trophies here. And no more winning at all costs. 

You can be a leader who wants to excel but helps others win, looking for those win-win opportunities. 

Leaders with the strengthsfinder competition talent can struggle with an antipattern of winning at all costs. Learning the strengths antipatterns will allow you to continue growing as a healthy, intentional leader. 

You are on an extraordinary journey to living and leading from your strengths. You can explore the list below to learn about the rest of your top 5 strengths.