I love to cook and am addicted to the Food Network show “Chopped.” Each episode, four contestants get a mystery basket of ingredients and have a short window of time to transform the often-mismatched contents of the basket into a delicacy. After they make their dishes, they face three judges who sample and comment on their work. Often, these critiques get heated, and contestants turn nasty. In a recent episode, a judge criticized a contestant about the way a particular vegetable was pickled. The next contestant, having also pickled that particular ingredient said that he was serving it “properly pickled.” Immediately, one of the judges said “What’s on my plate is not pickled properly.” Now, was that second contestant just confident in his pickling process, or was he jabbing his fellow competitor?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being confident. But taking pot shots at someone for the purpose of trying to advance at their expense is NOT GROUNDED! Maybe you are better at something than a co-worker, maybe your pickled dish is better than that of a fellow competitor, but what is the advantage in being a jerk about it? Show a little humility and let your work speak for itself.
The guy who had the “properly pickled” vegetable was pretty much an arrogant jerk the whole program. But he won: his cooking was better than the other contestants’ food, and “Chopped” is a cooking contest not a congeniality award. But I am guessing that if his cooking had been closer to the next competitor, he would have gotten chopped. Attitude isn’t the only trait that matters, but trust me, co-workers, managers, and potential employers will factor in your attitude in any situation. So why can’t you be the best at what you do AND have a great attitude?