Does competition need to be a comparison?

Michelangelo vs Leonardo da Vinci.

Two of the world’s greatest living artists publicly commissioned to go head-to-head on the same building wall in direct competition against each other. 

The Signoria (leaders of Florence) could see it already.  The Florence Council Hall would be the envy of the world as this very public concorrenza (or competition) would drive each artist to new creative heights. How spectacular it would be to have two of the finest pieces of art the world has ever seen on one wall!

However, this was a competition where neither artist thrived. The presence of the other invited constant comparison of each other’s artistic skill, causing frustration and then eventually paranoia. While their sketches showcased their unbelievable ability they both ultimately walked away from their works unfinished and the Signoria were left to lament what could have been.

Competition - a zero-sum game?

Competition is a bit of a hot topic in sport (or at least the perceived lack of it through junior and youth sport). However, the fact that there is a 174-foot wall in the Florence Council Hall that doesn’t have masterpieces from both Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci highlights the importance of being clear about how we see competition.

It's too often seen as a binary entity. That there are only two possible outcomes when we compete - we win, or we lose. When you look at competition in this way, it is a comparison, and the result defines our standing compared to others. Winning then becomes an all-encompassing focus and, by extension, losing is to be avoided at all costs (and is potentially catastrophic if it does happen). In that case what you’ll see is anxiety, or as in the case of da Vinci and Michelangelo, it’s better to just walk away. 

We need to move past the binary and re-think what we mean by competition and competing. Luckily there are already examples of how we can do it, and the benefits of doing so.

Competere

Let’s start by looking at where the word competition comes from. The root word is compete, which is derived from the Latin word competere.

Breaking that down we have;

com = together

petere = aim at, seek

To compete then, is to come together to strive for something.

Coaches are in a position to influence what players are striving for and the place to start is being clear on how they frame competition.

Comparison and the motivational climate

As sport leaders and coaches, we often end up creating an environment (through our actions, behaviours, or structures) that encourage seeing competition as a comparison. 

Motivational climates can help us understand the impact of this. Motivational climates come out of the work of Achievement Goal Theory and look at what you’re focusing on when performing a task or activity.

When the focus is on improving on the task at hand then you are in what is termed a mastery climate (or are task/process orientated). Whereas if the focus is on performance in comparison to others, then you’re in a performance climate (or are called ego-orientated).

A mastery climate has been associated with increased enjoyment, engagement and intrinsic motivation while a performance climate has been linked to burnout, performance anxiety and negative emotional states.

Great coaches have tapped into this to influence their players. Pete Carroll’s (Superbowl winning coach of the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL) coaching philosophy is famously rooted in competing and finding competitive edge. Yet, he says in his book Win Forever,

The NFL is famously ruthless when it comes to win and loss, yet Carroll is a Superbowl winning coach who managed to move away from seeing competition as a form of comparison. For him competition provides the place for the individual to stretch themselves, therefore it changes how you think about your opponent. Pete Carroll expands,

As a coach, you have a large influence in the setting of the motivational climate for your players. Think about what you’re setting as the inspiration for players. Is the inspiration to get better, stretch themselves and reach their potential? Or is the inspiration beating the other team?

Check your mindset

Another way to understand the impact of how you frame up competition is through the concepts of mindsets. Carol Dweck’s book Mindset explores this in more detail, but the concept at its most basic level is when you’re thinking about talent and ability, there are two potential mindsets you can have - a fixed mindset, or a growth mindset.

If you have a fixed mindset, you believe that your talents and abilities are fixed. If you win, you are more talented than your opponents and your abilities are validated. If you lose however, it confirms you are not as talented as your peers.  It’s not too hard to see that with a fixed mindset losing can be psychologically crushing, therefore something to be avoided at all costs. This can lead to a very real fear of failure and behaviour where people choose the easy option (if I stick to something I definitely know I can do, I am unlikely to lose) or sometimes don’t even try (if I don’t try, I can’t fail), thus losing the opportunity to stretch and develop.

If you have a growth mindset, you believe your talent can be developed. Competition is a chance to test yourself and just part of the journey to maximise your ability. With this mindset, failure is a chance to learn and grow, as you’re just not there yet. It makes picking the harder challenge a no-brainer. Timothy Gallwey, shares in The Inner Game of Tennis, a surfing analogy on what obstacles become: 

Often the context we work within can encourage comparison. This becomes heightened the higher the level due to competition structures that emphasise winning (through ladders/league tables and monetary incentives for being at the top of the tree). However, somewhat counter-intuitively, top athletes like Roger Federer have shown a growth mindset, while we hear the language of mindsets being used by successful coaches such as Carroll, Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), and Wayne Smith (All Blacks). Last season’s AFL Premiership-winning coach Chris Fagan (Brisbane Lions Head Coach) has a go-to phrase of having a “growth mindset.”

These successful players and coaches have found a very real “competitive edge” in setting up their environments to emphasise growth, development, and the process. Across the world and in different sporting settings we see the best of the best subscribe to a growth mindset and mastery climate and see the positive performance benefits that come from them.

So, what for you as a coach?

Both motivational climates and the concept of mindsets help to explain why it’s so important to reframe how we view competition. The binary win/loss view lends itself to viewing competition as a comparison and with that, a fixed mindset or performance climate. This shuts off the opportunity to reap all the positive benefits of growth mindsets and mastery climates.

As a coach if you have a clear picture of what competition is (and isn’t) then it acts as a guide for your decision-making. You can think about this in:

• What you value, highlight and reward. Is it learning, growth, and taking on the challenge - or the score?

• How you react to mistakes. Are they opportunities to learn and develop, or are they to be punished?

• How you define success. Is it your win/loss record, or the development of your players and yourself across the year?

John Wooden, arguably one of the greatest coaches ever (UCLA men’s basketball team) defined success as

I love this definition as it ties into everything discussed so far. It’s a definition that encapsulates a mastery climate and growth mindset, having an internal focus using competition to help to reach your potential.

Theodore Roosevelt once said that “comparison is the thief of joy” and if we treat competition as comparison, it can also be the thief of confidence, motivation, performance, and persistence. Even in the 1500’s this was the case - just look at Michelangelo and da Vinci! In fact, after Michelangelo left Florence, he headed off to Rome where the pope approached him with an opportunity to redecorate the Sistine Chapel. This time he wasn’t forced into an environment with constant comparison and was able to let his talent shine. Over 500 years later that ceiling is still proving very popular!

Once you start talking about what competition means, it becomes almost impossible to not talk about winning. Here are 3 minutes on winning with Frank Dick, the former Director of Coaching for the British Athletics Federation.

Want to discuss anything you’ve read? Email us at [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you!

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