Is competition necessary at work to sustain motivation?
Hi everyone, I am a software engineer since 5 years now.
Over time, I have realized that I am ambitious but not competitive. I do my work as I enjoy doing the same and when my heart is in it. This has two facets:
- I am not bothered when someone is doing better than me. I am loved by all. Nobody sees me as a threat. I love helping everyone.
- Without feeling competitive, there are times when I lack the motivation at work. This also means I don't have the heart to snatch or ask for the better projects of my colleagues when I know they really want to do it. I am fairly excluded from the power hunger games.
I want to seek advise on what are the ways you have sustained your motivation at work and your ambition to climb the career ladder if not for competition? How much has a competitive spirit fuelled your career growth?
![Mid-Level Software Engineer [SDE 2] at Amazon company logo](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Famazon_logo.jpg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3Dff5f2302-08be-43bc-b7b1-d381ba508d99&w=48&q=75){kind=logo}
Discussion
(3 comments)- 3
2 months agoSenior Software Engineer at CompassCongratulations on your gift.
I've had phases in my life where I was trying to climb the corporate ladder and treated it as a competition. This has always led to me being unhappy.
On a podcast today I heard the founders of Oxide talk about one of their favorite questions to ask candidates is "tell me about a time you were happy at work" and they said they have never heard anyone give the answer "when I got promoted" and that resonated with me.
My main motivation now is my family. I am fortunate to be in a high salary job that allows us to live a comfortable life with the flexibility of working remote. My other motivation is curiosity. Wanting to understand how things work is what led me down the path to being a software engineer.
- 12 months agoMid-Level Software Engineer [SDE 2] [OP]Amazon
Thanks for the lovely answer Frank.
- 0
2 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroI wouldn't say competition is necessary to maintain motivation, but it certainly helps if you have the right type of competition. Here's the difference between wrong and right competition:
- Right: "I want to be the most helpful and beloved person on the team. The main metric I care about is how many people I can empower."
- Wrong: "I want all the best opportunities for myself. I will tear down others to get them."
I'm a very competitive person, but I've always made sure to channel the spirit of morally right, friendly competition. If you're smart and don't join a team of sharks, this mentality will carry you a long way. I've built a career off of building people up instead of tearing them down.
That being said, you should be deliberate with your promotion, especially at Amazon due to SDE 2 -> SDE 3 being notoriously difficult. I highly recommend going through the following thread and its attached course: "How to navigate the difficult SDE 2 to SDE 3 promotion?"
