I have an unpopular opinion: workplace competition should not be encouraged in the Sea Services. Whether it’s establishing a training program where junior officers compete to complete qualifications before their peers, or entire Coast Guard assets trying to out-mission other Coast Guard assets, this attitude is toxic to overall mission readiness and impairs our ability to use one another as force multipliers in achieving the ultimate goal of mission success. This idea can be difficult for some junior officers to accept, myself included, as many of us joined our respective services having competed our entire lives in academics, athletics, or other extracurricular activities. We attained our positions by proving we could outcompete our peers and most of us enjoy being challenged. But we should harness this drive to build an esprit de corps rather than break it into fractions of what could be better accomplished through cooperation.
Of course, it would be impossible to eliminate competition entirely as there is always a need for capable officers placed in elite positions. The irony that this essay is being drafted for consideration in a junior officer essay competition is not lost on me. My argument is that we should inspire collaboration and allow the best performers to advance. Encouraging competition in the workplace leads to divisive, intimidating environments where people have their best interest in mind rather than focus on the collective betterment of the organization they serve.
As an apprentice marine inspector I worked toward attaining six qualifications in three years with three other junior officers. When we met with the senior marine inspectors individually, they would tip us off on different inspections opportunities and encourage us to talk to our training officer to ensure we were slated for these positions before our peers. It was obvious the senior inspectors were trying to create competition among the junior officers; our training officer even told us it was a healthy competition. I am certain they did this with our best interest in mind, but we each were dealing with personal issues (pregnancy, cancer, motorcycle accident, etc.) that pulled us together and encouraged us to work together rather than against one-another.
In this circle of trust, we were able collaborate in studying and attending inspections, which allowed us to attain our qualifications together. Furthermore, we still like each other, and newsflash: the Coast Guard is really small and it is not wise to burn bridges. If we had undercut each other, secretly attending obscure inspections, studying individually, and testing for the qualifications at separate times, I have no doubt that animosity would have festered and led to an unbearable and unproductive workplace. Through collaboration we increased our knowledge in marine inspections and made the work more bearable.
This diminutive example of how competition can corrupt team cohesion is light in comparison to the potential impacts of competition on tactical teams where internal rivalries could also raise safety concerns. When placed in high-risk, dangerous environments the need for collaboration is more critical as it is a key safety component in risk mitigation and safety of the crewmembers. It’s unlikely sailors would sabotage each other because of internal competition, but they must trust each other when executing dangerous missions. If they frequently collaborate together rather than compete for top positions and collaterals trust has a better chance of developing in the workplace.
I recently heard a Coast Guard lawyer say, “When someone tells you, ‘that’s how we’ve always done it,’ your ears should perk up.” Senior officer’s anecdotes and sea stories are invaluable, and it would be ignorant to disregard their experiences, but to ensure progress in workplace optimization these personal opinions should be backed by evidence-based practices. By continuing to encourage competition without considering the consequences, we risk losing good employees while promoting self-serving sailors. In 2017, the Harvard Business Review published a study on competition in the workplace. Not surprisingly, it found that employees react differently to competition, and that when employees feel they are lagging behind it triggers anxiety and can cause people, “to resort to mis-selling, fraud, and lying to customers.” A familiar and recent example of this was displayed on a grand scheme in the 2016 Wells Fargo account fraud scandal, where the company faced billions of dollars in criminal and civil lawsuits.
Is it possible to motivate our employees and elicit performance improvement while still allowing room for competition? Sure. We don’t have to eliminate competition entirely, but we need to find ways to allow employees to compete together rather than against one another. In 2012, Google sought to find what makes the perfect team by reviewing 50 years of academic papers and data, ultimately finding that the key to team success was “psychological safety” within an organization. Members of a team have to trust their coworkers and feel safe voicing their opinions without fear of being reprimanded or ridiculed. Employees can still feel safe in competition, but it’s critical for supervisors to manage their teams to ensure their competition does not lead to anxiety and stress and cause the employees to cut corners or undercut their team. Trust and collaboration is critical to team success.
I continue to watch as my top-performing peers leave the Coast Guard for opportunities outside of the service. My friend was recently reordered to be top selected for the next pay grade, only to officially request leaving the service. It is not a lack of commitment or loyalty to the Coast Guard that is driving these high-achieving junior officers to leave— it’s that we’re managing our junior officers wrong. If sailors do not feel safe voicing their concerns or trust that the organization and their coworkers have their best interest in mind, they will leave the service. If we encourage collaborate and foster a workplace where employees feel valued and know their contributions matter, there is a better chance for retention.
Competition amongst sailors is a disease that attacks productive, healthy workplace climates and leaders should strive to replace competition with collaboration. If the competition is unavoidable, that competition must be monitored and managed to ensure efforts are not fractured into self-betterment over mission readiness and success. Although the majority of my career I have worked for senior leaders that valued competition above collaboration, the officers that taught me to collaborate have made the biggest impact on my career and through their actions I have remained in the service and have been proud to be in the Coast Guard.
My best memories in the Coast Guard are not from achievements or personal successes in the service, but from shared memories and experiences with my teammates. Overcoming obstacles and working together toward a common mission while building camaraderie and trust have made the biggest impact on my career. Whether it’s conducting routine marine inspections, permitting marine events, catching drug runners, or saving boaters in distress, I am most fond reflecting on the collective experience with my team. We must foster these experiences, and we risk tarnishing them if we focus on competition over collaboration.
