Competition and collaboration are always together in some way.

Friendly or combative. Blending well or askew.

We can lead with competition: I win. You lose.

Or

We can lead with what competition truly means. The word comes from the Latin competere, to strive together. If you win, I win too.

That is a very different choice from competing to beat you down and beat you out.

That’s where collaboration comes in: working together toward a shared goal, even when we have questions and don’t fully agree. We intend to build something together, with goodness, that matters and benefits people.

Collaboration asks a lot of us. It means listening, sharing credit, and staying at the table when we disagree.

Champions know this. They compete hard, then come together to win what not one of them could win alone.

In auditions, I competed for acting jobs in rooms full of talented people who wanted the same part I did. Then the cast was chosen, the competing stopped, and we had a show to build together.

In outside sales, the atmosphere was cutthroat. We were each judged on numbers: how much money we brought in.

I remember competing with another sales agent many times to earn an account. Often I stopped and spoke to that agent. I told them to go for it. Try fully to earn the business.

There is plenty of work for everyone.

You may not care for your competition. You can still learn from them. You can even refer business their way.

What if they don’t play the same way? You can only control how you compete and collaborate.

And people see how you compete and collaborate. They remember integrity and trust above all other actions.

For me, that means doing my best. To support. To encourage. To promote others and myself.

Doing my best doesn’t require you to do your worst. Your success takes nothing from me.

Competition and collaboration don’t have to fight each other. They can blend well.

Try it today. Send one piece of business to a competitor. Or ask what you could build together.

Win-lose or win-win. Your choice, every time.

Thanks – Michael (he, him)

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This is also good to think about – Thwart or Goodwill.

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