Home topics workplace hr-and-staff Advice Leadership Advice Management Advice Why competition is killing your business Loren Webb May 2, 2019 Byline: Wendy Born Any kind of competition within an organisation limits the ability for that organisation to reach its full potential. There is no place for competition within the confines of a team, function or company. Competition should be kept to external competitors as this provides the consumer with the best possible outcome, market conditions. When competition exists inside an organisation the results are silo’s, protectionism, poor behaviours and nepotism. Internal competition also poses risks to employee engagement, productivity and profits and stress levels. At a micro level employees stop talking to each other and sharing information, they become overtly nice, not wanting to upset or rock the boat. Gossip increases, passive aggressive behaviours such as agreeing to do something and then doing nothing afterwards, backstabbing or rumours and gossip ensue. Neurologically we are hard wired to compete, it’s at the heart of our very survival as a human race. Generated from centuries ago when we had to be the fittest, strongest and healthiest to ensure our very survival. Today, we continue to compete for everything from sport, jobs and status through to winning the heart of our spouse. Our competition also includes surrounding ourselves with our tribes to ensure we have safety in numbers while competing against the next tribe, this is often described as “keeping up with the Jones’s”. While survival of the human race isn’t really the