In a society where productivity has become almost a religion, competitive people seem to have more incentives than ever to remain competitive .

Bearing in mind that professional life is increasingly mixed with private life, moreover, this competitive spirit emerges in all kinds of situations : trying to capture the attention of someone influential, flaunting wealth, when it comes to being the neighbour with the best public image or even when you want to compete with others in the amount of followers you have on social networks like Instagram.

The result of this is that, nowadays, almost everyone knows a good number of competitive people who value the fact of surpassing others more than the stimulus of effort itself. This can make these people prone to opportunism, manipulation or even the desire to sacrifice all their work (and that of the people working with them) to unprofitable projects simply because they are ahead of other competitors.

Ways of dealing with competitive people

The above makes competitive people much more than the muscle of companies and organizations; they can also be the spark that initiates unnecessary conflict, a source of anxiety about friends and family, and the propagators of a bad work climate.

Fortunately, there are ways of dealing with these types of people so that their more negative side is placated .

1. Don’t let the other’s ego take over

An effective way to prevent competitive people from always trying to attract the attention of others is, simply, not to reward this type of behavior . For example, when in an informal meeting or at a party a person competing for attention is constantly interrupting others and talking about his or her experiences, tastes and opinions, he or she can be politely asked not to interrupt and at the same time to keep the conversation going.

In these cases it is a bad strategy to behave in the same way as the competitive person in question, competing with him in a contest to see which monologue is imposed on the other, since this does not break with the logic of competitiveness.

2. Asserting oneself

When dealing with competitive people it is not only important to maintain a framework of relationships favourable to the majority; it is necessary to defend one’s own rights .

Therefore, if the arrogance and arrogance of the other undermines our dignity, it is good to make calls for attention so that this type of situation is not repeated and, in the process, order can be maintained. In these cases assertiveness is the key.

3. Controlling the working environment

If the negative effects of having a competitive person around are noticeable at work, either because he uses unethical tricks to reach his goals or because he sets different goals than those planned, one of the strategies that can be followed is to intervene directly on the work climate by changing the system of rewards or “penalties”. For example, if the person in question intends to bring others down by hoarding all the performance bonuses, placing limitations on these motivation mechanisms is a very effective solution.

It is important to note that this is a measure with a collective impact, and that it does not affect only the competitive person. However, this fact can also be an advantage, since it is taken as a fair measure that affects everyone equally.

4. Educating in principles of equality

If the competitive person in question is young and willing to participate in his/her education and training, it is good to lead him/her to reflect on the moral values behind his/her behaviour and how they fit into a culture that values equal opportunities. But this is not a task that should be undertaken only from theory; it can also be taught from the practice of games and group activities in which what matters most is the interest of the collective.

In medium-sized and large companies, it is increasingly common to invite all members to participate in games of a collective nature, such as football or paintball, for this reason. In this sense, for example, the case of a company located in China that has developed a team of castellers (Catalan tradition) in which its workers can participate to make the most spectacular human towers has attracted the attention of the media.

5. Reverse engineering to discover the origin of competitive behaviour

There are often cases in which people who do not stand out for being competitive start to get involved in behavioural dynamics of extreme individualism .

In these cases it is quite possible that a recent change in the daily context of this person has had the effect of this change in attitude. Exploring the reasons for this transformation is one way of managing the way this person affects us and sometimes even makes it possible for us to help them.

6. Managing fear and paranoia

When one is in a situation that is perceived as dangerous or high risk, one of the first manifestations of anxiety and fear that this produces is competitive behaviour .

Not being able to trust anyone makes others be seen as a means to an end or sometimes as potential threats to be protected from. In these cases, communication and the establishment of agreements with guarantees are very useful to make this defensive attitude not a problem.