How to encourage cooperation: companies benefit when workers cooperate to achieve objectives. The key is to hire team players and to make collaboration part of the culture.

Security Management, July, 2007 by Gratton, Lynda

EVERY ORGANIZATION SHOULD strive to create cooperative relationships, because cooperation can be a boon to the bottom line. In a study my team conducted of top-performing companies, all of them nurtured cooperation over competitiveness. Those companies that fail to develop a cooperative mind-set do so because they face barriers created by competitive behaviors. In many cases, these barriers are erected in an unconscious manner. Managers must first recognize when they are fostering a competitive environment. Then, they must nurture cooperation.

Competitive Mind-set

Peter is a senior executive in a large company that manufactures and services high-technology equipment. In our interviews with the engineers, many commented that senior executives,...

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