A cooperative attitude inhibits destructive competition. While competition among teams can be healthy in that it brings out personal and team bests, energy and commitment to work, it can quickly lead to negative or dysfunctional behaviour. Competition can turn some people into fanatics, so single minded in their pursuit that they become blind to the consequences of their actions. They desire to win at all costs, so they turn to unfair practices, manipulate or alienate those around them and ignore rules or stated guidelines. In addition, destructive competition can impact workers in ways a boss might not anticipate. Destructive competitive behaviour has no place in a cooperative and collaborative work environment. Organizations with teams that cooperate gain greater rewards than those who compete.
“Is it not enough that I am good at my job?” The simple and short answer to this question is, “no!” In 1627, English poet, John Donne, wrote that “no man is an island unto himself.” No matter where we are in our given profession we are not islands unto ourselves, especially in today’s digitally-connected organizations. It is imperative that we learn to avoid relying and depending upon the ability of any one person to simply “do my job.” We must begin to trust in and place value on the ability to connect, cooperate, and work positively and harmoniously with other people.
Organizational success is based on how well people connect emotionally with their leadership and with those around them in their work teams. What’s more, workers must emotionally connect with a leader in a positive and energized manner before they buy into the leader’s vision. Some surveys show that as many as half of workers feel low levels of work engagement stemming in part from poor leadership. If any one person, regardless of technical ability, cannot connect and cooperate with other people, their technical expertise will not advance the goals and objectives of the team.
A cooperative attitude is a behaviour skill that is part of what creates effective collaborations and highly functional teams. Without a cooperative attitude, disruptive competition and conflict reign – two conditions in which errors are highly likely, staff morale and motivation are low, performance is inconsistent and unreliable, communication and cooperation are nonexistent, and everyone has a secret agenda.
A corporative attitude begins with the skill of Positive Presence™. Positive Presence is a new and deliberate way of thinking and behaving that makes the connection between human energy and behaviour and is easily practiced and developed right on the job. For many, it is just a lot of common sense, but for others it is a slow and gentle process that requires the help of both team mates and leaders.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.