Do you feel competent or competitive at work?
If it is both, things are not bad, but if it is only one, you will feel a greater and more stable well-being if you feel competent.
Competitiveness privileges rivalry and that stressful benchmarking against whom we want to overcome or be better.
Competence is the ability to perform a task or skill, whether through the acquisition of knowledge, constant practice, or both.
Competitive people or companies can invest many resources that are not necessarily related to their competencies: advertising, lawyers, image, public relations; Meanwhile, the competent ones concentrate on doing their tasks exactly as the client needs them.
All of this is relevant because, as can be seen, a competent person will feel good and happy if his or her participation in the process of a product or service fully meets the requested standards. The competitive one, only if you win.
Competence is one of the basic psychological needs that we all require to feel satisfied at work, according to various research by Wilmar Schaufeli, Edward Deci and Richard Ryan
The other three, which I will describe very briefly, are: autonomy, the ability to decide for themselves how they do their tasks; healthy human relationships, feeling appreciated, cared for in a positive work environment; meaning, feeling that what you do is useful, not only for your personal life, but for the community or part of it.
Competence is that part that allows us to effectively confront our environment and be able to learn to develop and face flexibly what the changing world of work demands.
Organizations can do a lot to make their employees feel competent.
The traditional and most used step is to strengthen the ability to acquire new knowledge and skills, which should not be neglected.
The best companies, even the most competitive ones, have robust staff education and training programs. They turn to external advisors or even build their own universities, all depending on the size of the organization.
However, there is one trick that is very necessary for all leaders, at all levels, to have a competent team: delegate tasks and responsibilities.
It happens that many insecure leaders do not dare to take these types of actions that make people and organizations grow, but it is the best way to build competencies.
It consists of assigning increasingly challenging jobs that stimulate the growth of talents, gradually, without exposing people too much to risky failures.
It is a process that can only be achieved with a positive leadership approach. Let’s say that with a lot of love, with activities that really challenge their skills and with many possibilities of success, and as that popular phrase says: “Without fear of failure”, we will all learn something.
Each team achievement provokes greater commitment among collaborators, making them feel encouraged, vigorous and dedicated.
When our leaders or colleagues make us feel competent, we feel very motivated to continue growing, producing and offering results, not only at work, but in life.
Contact:
Rosalinda Ballesteros is director of the Institute of Integral Wellbeing Sciences of Tecmilenio.
Twitter: w360tecmilenio
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The opinions expressed are solely the responsibility of their authors and are completely independent of the position and editorial line of Forbes Mexico.
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