Competition in a Team: A Tool for Boosting Efficiency or a Destructive Force?
Competition within a team is a natural process, and its character determines whether it becomes a driver of growth or a destructive force. Let's explore two main types of competition and methods for managing them.
Healthy competition — is rivalry aimed at developing skills and fostering innovation without damaging team relationships. From a neurophysiological perspective, it activates the dopamine system, encouraging achievement and strengthening motivation.
Let's discuss what you need to foster it:
If your employees willingly share knowledge, conflicts transform into constructive confrontation, and colleagues' success inspires rather than provokes envy, then you definitely have healthy competition within your team.
Let's discuss what you need to foster it:
- Having a common goal that the team believes in and supports
- Trust and open communication — try to avoid spreading gossip
- Democratic culture and team support
- Emotional safety, where mistakes are seen as part of learning
- Focus on improving results, not on defeating colleagues
- Transparent rules and success metrics (clear KPIs/OKRs, fair evaluation)
- Opportunities for sharing experience and successful cases
- Rewarding all participants for their contributions, not just "winners"
- Encouraging cross-functional collaboration
- Using gamification for healthy rivalry
If your employees willingly share knowledge, conflicts transform into constructive confrontation, and colleagues' success inspires rather than provokes envy, then you definitely have healthy competition within your team.
Toxic competition — is aggressive rivalry based on fear and manipulation, leading to fragmentation and burnout. It provokes a cortisol surge, which can demotivate or "break" employees.
The following conditions foster toxic competition:
With toxic competition, you'll observe a disunited team. For example, colleagues avoid helping each other or frequent personal conflicts occur, leading to high staff turnover. Additionally, people in such an atmosphere are more prone to emotional burnout, and employee productivity suffers.
The following conditions foster toxic competition:
- Rigid hierarchy and favoritism, when there are "favorites"
- Authoritarian leadership that suppresses initiative
- Unclear goals or their substitution with personal leadership ambitions
- Lack of feedback systems and "Agile-loop"
- Public criticism without support, which creates fear of making mistakes
- Unhealthy atmosphere (gossip, sabotage, information hoarding)
- Unhealthy incentives (for example, mandatory overtime without compensation)
With toxic competition, you'll observe a disunited team. For example, colleagues avoid helping each other or frequent personal conflicts occur, leading to high staff turnover. Additionally, people in such an atmosphere are more prone to emotional burnout, and employee productivity suffers.
These factors will help you assess the current situation in your company and develop a plan for change.
However, when managing competition within a team, there are two more key aspects to consider:
However, when managing competition within a team, there are two more key aspects to consider:
If you create a competitive environment in your company, it's better to direct rivalry outward.
You can choose a competitor company or even challenge external circumstances (for example, market challenges) as the object of competition. It's important to avoid competition between departments — this is a very common practice within companies that reduces productivity and worsens team atmosphere.
Men and women play different games: some play "to win", others play "for relationships."
In a female-dominated team, it's much more difficult to manage competition, since women need a sense of safety more, which they defend more strongly or simply avoid competition altogether. Additionally, women have higher activity in the insular cortex, which processes the negative emotions of risk.
Men's competition is expressed in more controlled processes — fighting for status or resources. Men more often choose competitive scenarios, since testosterone increases the activity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (risk and excitement). Loss of resources doesn't turn into a prolonged personal conflict, as it does for women. Loss of status is experienced more severely, which may force them to drop out of competition. After grieving briefly, they can return or resume cooperation if it's offered, provided they haven't lost interest or given up.
The mixed team paradox: research shows that men in mixed groups improve productivity by 15%, while women lose motivation (for example, in races their speed drops by 12%).
In a female-dominated team, it's much more difficult to manage competition, since women need a sense of safety more, which they defend more strongly or simply avoid competition altogether. Additionally, women have higher activity in the insular cortex, which processes the negative emotions of risk.
Men's competition is expressed in more controlled processes — fighting for status or resources. Men more often choose competitive scenarios, since testosterone increases the activity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (risk and excitement). Loss of resources doesn't turn into a prolonged personal conflict, as it does for women. Loss of status is experienced more severely, which may force them to drop out of competition. After grieving briefly, they can return or resume cooperation if it's offered, provided they haven't lost interest or given up.
The mixed team paradox: research shows that men in mixed groups improve productivity by 15%, while women lose motivation (for example, in races their speed drops by 12%).
In conclusion, I'd like to say that a wise leader doesn't eliminate competition but directs its energy into constructive channels. Your choice determines whether the team will grow stronger or sink into endless conflicts.
The key to balance is emotional safety. When mistakes become part of learning, and colleagues' success inspires, the team gains that very "antifragility" that turns stress into growth.
The key to balance is emotional safety. When mistakes become part of learning, and colleagues' success inspires, the team gains that very "antifragility" that turns stress into growth.
