Toxic competition
The best teams I've worked with were surprisingly competitive. The worst teams were too.
A lot of leaders say they don't want competition inside their organization.
What they usually mean is they don't want politics.
They don't want people hoarding information, taking credit for others' work, or scrambling for position.
Neither do I.
But healthy competition is different.
People know what success looks like. They can see the numbers. They understand the rules. And they want to win.
They compare results. They push each other. They take pride in improving their numbers.
Toxic competition happens when people compete for status.
Healthy competition happens when people compete for results. Individual level. Team level. Org level.
To start building it, choose one metric to focus on and review it with the full team.
Celebrate what's working.
Learn from top performers.
Help others improve.
And identify the barriers holding everyone back.
Healthy competition comes from knowing the score and creating the right conditions for everyone to win together.
