The Need for the Carrot and the End of Unhealthy Competition

Luis Suarez describes the ‚unhealthy competition‘ and asks HR to lead the change to really collaborative organizations.

We human beings cannot deny helping others when in need. It’s in our genes. It’s part of our DNA, always has been. Yet, in a business environment, knowledge workers typically keep hoarding and protecting their own knowledge as an opportunity to not relinquish their own power i.e., that very same knowledge, thinking that the less knowledge they share, the more indispensable they become.

But it’s not really all that. It’s because knowledge workers have all along been encouraged to compete with one another versus helping, caring or collaborating with one another. It’s easier to manage individuals than to facilitate communities and/or networks working together towards a common set of objectives. …

An End to Unhealthy Competition

That, to me, is the biggest challenge of the future of collaboration. And HR is right at the forefront of determining whether collaboration will keep flourishing with the emergence of social technologies or whether it will bury it for good. I am not saying that to be an effective collaborator you need to be incentivized. I am saying that for collaboration to be effective within the workplace HR needs to fast forward into the 21st century and understand that the only effect of recognizing the performance of the individual versus the group is to evoke unhealthy competition.

via The Future of Collaboration Lies in Human Resources‘ Hands.

Well roared, lion: And I believe for Knowledge Workers it can and should work. My doubts are more on the Management and Sales side of the house. They are so driven by competition. I have seen to many examples. Only if you dangle a carrot before them, they are running. So in my opinion the question is how to stop unhealthy competition on the one side while accepting competition in certain areas.