At Growth By Design, we believe intentional choices lead to impactful growth, whether you're shaping a thriving organization or a meaningful life. Today we delve into the powerful insights organizational psychology and positive psychology offer us on how the choice between competition and cooperation impacts our performance, creativity, and sense of fulfillment.

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The Competition-Cooperation Paradox

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on a deceptively simple question: Am I competing, or am I cooperating? Competition is taught to us early. We are praised for grades, for promotions, for recognition – anything that sets us apart from others. It is this very competition that drives high performance, especially when we’re up against skilled peers. Yet while competition drives outcomes, studies show it also increases stress and physiological arousal, which, over time, can take a toll on well-being and team cohesion.

Cooperation, in contrast, can deliver similar performance benefits without the same stress burden. Cognitive research in 2024 found that both cooperation and competition improved performance, but only competition led to increased stress and sympathetic nervous system activity. Cooperation, on the other hand, represented a healthier and more sustainable path to high performance.

If we get the same benefits from cooperation without the negative side effects, why are we still competing so much?

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“Competition has its place, but cooperation gets us further.”

— Simon Sinek

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Coopetition: The Real-World Dynamic

The line between competition and cooperation is rarely clear-cut, particularly within organizations. Research from Wharton shows even small contextual cues that are well intended (such as hackathons or employee recognition programs) can devolve team collaboration into rivalry, undermining trust and collective performance if prolonged or left unaddressed.

Researchers diving deep into cooperation/competition in organizations suggest that the most creative and high-performing teams aren’t purely cooperative or purely competitive. Instead, they harness both—balancing the motivational energy of competition with the trust and openness of cooperation, knowing that rising tides lift all boats. This ideal is what researchers call “coopetitive” – a blend of collaboration and rivalry, where colleagues work together toward shared goals while also vying for scarce resources like promotions or recognition.

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“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

— Helen Keller

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Applying the Science of Cooperation

Positive psychology emphasizes the benefits of prosocial behavior – acts that strengthen social bonds and collective well-being – in organizational and social settings. Cooperation is the foundation of prosocial behavior. Teams that cooperate are more likely to experience higher morale, greater creativity, and sustained engagement. When we choose to cooperate, we build psychological safety, foster trust, and create the conditions for collective flourishing.

Here’s how you can apply these insights in your life and leadership:

• Foster Psychological Safety: We talk a lot about this on this blog – you must intentionally create spaces where people feel safe to share ideas, admit mistakes, and challenge each other constructively. Competition destroys cultures in the absence psychological safety.
• Notice the Cues: Pay attention to subtle signals in your environment. Are you being nudged toward competition (e.g., leaderboards, individual bonuses) or cooperation (e.g., team goals, shared recognition)? How can you as a leader reward shared success?
• Get Coopetitive: Don’t shy away from healthy competition—it can drive growth. But make sure it’s balanced with a foundation of kindness, trust and shared purpose.
• Promote Learning Goals: In your teams, emphasize learning and growth over pure performance. This will encourage flexible, creative responses in both competitive and cooperative environments.
• Celebrate Collective Wins: Recognize and reward not just individual achievements, but also collaborative efforts and shared successes.

The Lifestyle and Leadership Choice

Ultimately, whether we compete or cooperate is a choice we make—often many times a day. Both have their place, but the research is clear: cooperation is not just kinder, it’s often more effective and sustainable. In organizations and in life, the most successful people and teams are those who know when to compete, when to cooperate, and—most importantly—how to leverage both with integrity and intention. This concept is succinctly captured by the African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

So friends, let’s choose to go far, together.

Onward and upward!
Katie