How to deal with a competitive female colleague at work

Under the constant pressure of the workplace, I have observed some female colleagues who act deliberately competitively with other co-workers. Just recently, I’ve been annoyed by one of my senior colleagues who always constantly wants to highlight her achievements, perhaps to give the impression that her job and life are fantastic. It feels peculiar if we have this thing at the office; I miss my other offices (suddenly)... This type of behaviour is quite annoying and depressing. Though her intention is perhaps to motivate her junior colleagues, she made me think she is such a competitive person. So, I’d like to teach myself to understand this behaviour, its impact on another colleague, and how to cope with constant exposure to super competitive colleagues at work.

As a result of working in a male-dominated domain, i.e. Engineering, I’m facing a strange competition with other female colleagues. We are not more than 10 people in our office, but the pressure to be recognised in our teaching/research and trusted for specific top jobs makes us more competitive. Some female colleagues have relatively low profiles at work. However, they tend to be more aggressive, competitive, and narcissistic when in a top position. This is understandable because the woman in the top job position has different characteristics, strategies and skills to climb the professional ladder. However, their competitive behaviour could disturb the teamwork performance and create anxiety in our work circle.

Some competitive people could be openly ambitious (superstars) who want to shine and be admired for doing high-profile work. They could inspire others and need constant praise for their efforts. On the one hand, a weightlifter likes to take on extra workloads at work. They hope to be a source of morale-boosting at work but have problems with deadlines and territorial. The other type is the speeder who wants it done yesterday or being precise. They could lift up the morale and motivation of others. The other type covers a person who is a saboteur, competitive, or sneaky person. They see another colleague as a potential threat by keeping the information from others and trying to get all credit for the work that the teamwork has done.

How do we deal with them? Take these tips: 

A) Encourage cooperation rather than competition. 

B) Treat them as equals and avoid responding to their competitive behaviour with arrogance or jealousy. 

C) Remind ourselves that we are capable, competent, exceptional and extraordinary as we are. We don’t need external approval or validation from others by telling them about our achievements.

D) Harness their competitive energy and get motivated from it. 

E) Learn to listen; we could learn valuable things to improve our abilities. 

F) Let the competitive colleagues work on their projects as long as they are beneficial for the workplace.

G) Find a particular goal that we could use to get them to work with us rather than against us.

H) Don’t take it personally or attempt to change it. It is their own inner insecurities and not about the people around them.

I) Sometimes, you need to surprise them with your confidence, high status, accomplishments, and appearance because they tend to be narcissistic and status-conscious.

J) Be selective about female colleagues you let into your inner circle. Pick the one that earns your trust and treats you as an equal.

Pekanbaru,
Sources:
http://www.wikihow.com/Deal-With-Overly-Competitive-Colleagues
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201109/how-keep-your-cool-competitive-people
http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/Caution-Women-Competing-at-Work.aspx
http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/the-eight-types-of-workplace-bitch-and-how-to-deal-with-them/story-e6frfm9r-1226600625232