Does our competitive nature drive us to advance in our careers?
Drive and determination are not unique to the competitive athlete. They are necessary to exist in our world. That said, they are not as readily present in the world outside of sport, though they are quite an asset when navigating most corporate or public sector leadership structures. Today we look at the ways in which competitive drive intersects with the ascension to positions of leadership in life after competition.
There are a wide variety of statistics from varying sources (of varying reliability) that put the percentage of former college athletes who have risen to corporate and public sector leadership positions anywhere from 50% – 95%. The variables of such a number make pinning down an exact number very difficult at best, and yet the point is clear. There are a lot of former athletes who rise through the ranks of their given professions to occupy positions of leadership. Our point here is less about statistical analysis, and more a matter of understanding why it might be that former competitors move on into leadership positions.
According to the NCAA, the probability of a high school athlete continuing on to play a sport in college varies by sport and level in college. Overall, the median range is in the 4%-6% range. As competitive as high school athletics can be, this means that around 95% of athletes will not have the opportunity to compete beyond their high school years. Those that do generally have that opportunity as a result of their natural athletic ability, opportunities for advanced training, geographic location and level of competition in their previous experience. The problem here is that lots of people have ability and opportunity. Given these advantages, it remains that these variables simply aren’t enough. Those who have lived that level of competition know that there are key variables that weed out even the most gifted athletes. As we all learn sooner or later, you go nowhere without drive and work ethic. These traits become a predictor of athletic success.
So then, can this also become a predictor of leadership potential? There are certainly many common skills that are found both in competition and leadership. We learn through competition the values of hard work. We learn to plan and prepare for success, and how to adapt under the heat of competition. We learn to be confident, and yet how also to be humble. We learn the value of bringing to our work a strong presence of leadership, and at the same time how to bring together a collaborative team of subordinates with complimentary skills and abilities. We learn the balance of so very many of the things that make a leader a leader. We learn them in the crucible of competition and not in the isolation of a classroom or a simulation. It is learning that is tested and real.
The idea of advancement is built into the competitive nature. Whether moving up the depth chart, into higher leagues or competition, or blowing by personal records, we are wired to move up. We aspire to whatever level is next. It becomes the manner in which we define ourselves. As athletes, we look to shave seconds, strokes, points, or spots on a depth chart. We are built to move up, and it becomes the manner by which we define ourselves. Moving up creates value. It is how we increase our worth.
There is no real point to assigning value to this idea. It is not good or bad. It simply is. For many of us, the concept of advancement becomes an integral part of our ability to develop self worth. We define ourselves by our ability to move up the ladder, and as such that becomes our focus. We have the work ethic, the determination, and in many cases the core skills demanded by our respective professions demanded by leadership positions. We are wired for advancement.
So, then, does it become a condition of experiencing fulfillment that we advance to leadership positions? Like most questions we face in our lives after competition, the answer is a highly subjective ‘It depends…’
If we have experienced fulfillment in our competitive lives by advancing up the ladder of our competitive ranks, it does stand to reason that we would be driven to do the same after our lives in competitive sports is over. Moving up means success. Success means value. We experience the concept of being valuable and feel fulfilled. It does make sense. That said, there is an element of this equation that far exceeds the process of advancing. What happens when we HAVE advanced, and find ourselves in that position of leadership, with all of the accompanying expectations that come with it?
It’s one thing to climb the mountain. It is another thing entirely to find oneself at the top, wearing all the vestments that come with the ascent.
It is two very different things to become a leader, and to be a leader.
As it happens, we are also well equipped by our competitive experiences to be a leader. We become comfortable developing relationships. We function within a team. We value work ethic and loyalty. We know what it feels like to make decisions under pressure, and to suspend our personal feelings to the better interests of a team. There are so many different elements of leadership training that attempt to simulate the very things that occur in each moment of our lives in competition. We arrive at the gate so very well prepared for both the challenges of ascending to leadership, and to assuming those very same responsibilities.
As leaders, our long-term sustainability and ability to excel depend entirely upon the degree to which we experience some form of fulfillment from that very experience. If we ascend to positions of leadership driven entirely by our competitive nature, yet void of a feeling of fulfillment, we will experience a feeling of futility. We will reach the summit of the mountain, and find ourselves immediately looking to that next peak. By focusing on the intrinsic rewards that come with those very positions of leadership, we stand a far better chance of experiencing a different level of fulfillment, and with it a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that is so very much a reason why people lead in the first place.
To the matter of discussion. Do we ascend to positions of leadership as a means of climbing the ladder? If so, how do we experience the elements of fulfillment that drive most leaders? Can we feel fulfilled at the end of the climb, or does the attainment of a leadership position leave us simply looking to the next ascent?