Working with Colleagues: Should You Collaborate or Compete?

Randall Peterson, founding director of the Leadership Institute at
London Business School, studies coworker dynamics. He says lately,
the idea of head-to-head competition for advancement has gone out
of style in favor of a more cooperative ideal. In reality, he says,
interpersonal relationships at work can be both. Sometimes you
cooperate closely with colleagues. Sometimes you compete directly
with them. And sometimes it’s most effective to work independently.
He explains how to deal with each scenario. And he shares how
managers can help their teams find the right balance. Peterson is a
coauthor of the HBR article “When to Cooperate with Colleagues and
When to Compete.”