Q: I am in a sales team consisting 26 other employees. In our department, there is fierce, cut throat competition, as everyone is trying to come out as the best salesperson. In all our interactions, there is a lot of envy, sabotage and malice, yet our line manager does not seem to care. We never work as a team. What should I do? Should I leave and find another place where there is better teamwork?
It is rare to find a group of human beings working together without any form of rivalry among them. Competition is in fact not a preserve of human beings alone. It is common among all living things. Healthy competition at work is often a powerful catalyst for, among others, quality improvement and greater efficiency. Unhealthy competition consists of elements such as the ones you have cited in your question, and it invariably brings about adverse repercussions on the competitors themselves, their environment and desired outcomes.
Competition stirs passion in people, but it can erode teamwork if left unchecked. Think of an Olympic game where competitors are left to their own devices. Without regulation, there could be mayhem as every team will do anything to bring the trophy home. There needs to be a referee to maintain order. Similarly, line managers have an important role to ensure that competition among their team members fuels passion to achieve objectives, while preserving the organisational values.
What does it mean to become the best salesperson in your organisation? Does the criteria of becoming the best include certain key desirable behaviours besides just selling? How long do your best salespersons stay in your organisation? Are individuals encouraged to sell regardless of the cost to personal or organisational values? If envy, sabotage, malice and other such effluent from unhealthy competition flow freely into the business, your organisation’s fortunes will eventually prove unsustainable.
You might benefit from sharing your sentiments with your line manager, HR manager, or CEO. The quality of teamwork in an organisation plays an important role in staff engagement and retention, which are critical for business.
If the unhealthy competition continues, it might be advisable to start looking elsewhere. But before you bolt, remember that in the course of your career, you will occasionally sustain a bruise or two. No champion raises a trophy without having endured some difficult situations.
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