? ?When to Cooperate with Colleagues and When to Compete
蘭德爾·彼得森（Randall S. Peterson）克里斯汀·貝法爾（Kristin J. Behfar）｜文 ? ? ?

There are dangers in all workplace relationships—not just those in which conflict or competition is pronounced but also ones where you’re happily collaborating with someone or able to work largely independently of each other. That’s because the parties involved always have differing agendas, which will never be 100% compatible and may diverge even more over time.

職場中的各種關(guān)系都隱藏著風(fēng)險——不僅是存在明顯沖突或競爭的關(guān)系，還有那些你很樂于與之合作，或者在很大程度上能夠彼此獨立開展工作的關(guān)系。因為不同利益相關(guān)方總有不同的日程安排，這些日程并不能永遠(yuǎn)保持一致，隨著時間的推移可能會有更多分歧。

We’ve studied?cooperative rivalries?on the job for more than 25 years and found that the way professionals handle them can make or break their careers. We have seen how easy it is to view relationships as simply negative or positive. Virtually all are a mix of both and require careful thought to manage. To do so effectively, you must first understand where you and your colleagues fall on the conflict-collaboration spectrum.

我們研究工作中的合作競爭關(guān)系已超過25年。結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)，職場人士應(yīng)對它的方式可以成就或毀掉他們的職業(yè)生涯。將工作中的關(guān)系簡單視為消極或積極很容易，但職場關(guān)系幾乎都是兩者的結(jié)合，需要仔細(xì)考慮才能進行管理。要想有效做到這一點，你必須首先了解自己和同事在沖突-協(xié)作范圍中的位置。

Once you’ve figured out the type of relationship you and your colleague have, you can use various tactics to manage it. That requires you to step back from the existing emotional and behavioral dynamics and carefully analyze your situation. Consider how your disparate and mutual interests align with the goals of your organization. Ask yourself what is in it for you and what is in it for the other person. How do his or her interests create risk for you? What can you tolerate, and what must you prevent? And how can you ensure that the benefits of working together are realized?

一旦弄清楚你與同事之間的關(guān)系類型，你就可以運用各種策略進行管理。這就要求你從現(xiàn)有的情緒和行為動態(tài)中退后一步，仔細(xì)分析個人情況?？紤]你的多元化利益和共同利益如何與組織的目標(biāo)保持一致。問問自己，它能給你和對方帶來哪些好處？對方的利益會給你帶來何種風(fēng)險？你可以容忍到哪一步，又必須防止哪些方面？你要如何保證合作帶來的益處？

Conflict

沖突

In an outright conflict your counterpart is trying to take something that you want or need. It is a zero-sum relationship that ends when one party wins and the other loses the sought-after reward, such as a promotion or a plum assignment. Consider Jim and Jane, who are both being considered for a senior managing director position at a large private wealth-management firm. (All the case studies in this article are hypothetical but are drawn from various real scenarios we have studied.) Jane has worked for months to cultivate a prospective client, and if she succeeds, it could be a deciding factor in whether she gets promoted. She learns from a junior associate that Jim is also trying to land this high-net-worth individual, even though he knows that Jane is already in pursuit. He’s done this before, which is why she has grown to loathe him.

在直接沖突中，對手會試圖拿走你期望或需要的東西。這是一種零和關(guān)系，只有一方獲得獎勵而另一方失去時，例如升職或美差，這種關(guān)系才會結(jié)束。以吉姆和簡為例。他們是一家大型私人財富管理公司高級常務(wù)董事候選人。幾個月來，簡一直在爭取一個潛在客戶。如果她成功了，這可能成為她升職的決定性因素。她從一位初級助理那里得知，吉姆也在努力贏得這位高凈值人士，盡管他知道簡已經(jīng)在和對方聯(lián)系。他以前就這樣做過，所以簡越來越討厭他。

If Jane ignores the situation, Jim will no doubt press on. If he wins the account, he’s unlikely to share any of the credit. Her peers and subordinates might then lose respect for her for not taking steps to protect herself, given that Jim’s predatory behavior is widely known. But if she directly confronts Jim, it could force others to take sides, and she might find herself abandoned by colleagues who fear retaliation from Jim, want to be on the winning side, think that she’s the one being petty, or have concern only for the firm’s bottom line.

如果簡忽視這個情況，吉姆無疑會變本加厲。如果他贏得了這個客戶，他不太可能分享任何成果。鑒于吉姆的掠奪行為廣為人知，簡的同事和下屬可能會因為她無法自保而失去對她的尊重。但是，如果簡與吉姆直接對抗，可能會迫使其他人選擇站隊。害怕吉姆報復(fù)、想要支持勝利一方、認(rèn)為簡很小氣或只關(guān)心公司底線的同事可能會選擇拋棄她。

To manage the situation, Jane will need to figure out the best way to fight back without burning bridges. That requires emotional maturity and discipline. She can start by considering her counterpart’s strengths. (You need to know your enemy well and even acknowledge why he might be hard to beat.) What might the client value in Jim that Jane doesn’t have, and what could she do to change this? She also needs to revisit the importance of the issue in contention. Is the deal really vital to her promotion? Next she should consider workarounds or countermoves. Perhaps she could let Jim take this win and project her worth to senior leadership in other ways. Or if she determines that landing this client is key to her advancement, she could reach out to some of Jim’s prospects and use that as leverage in a discussion about how she and Jim could create and abide by boundaries. In a conflict relationship you need to be clear about what you must protect and what’s not possible, given the circumstances. Confrontation is both necessary and costly, so work closely with allies and do not engage your rival alone.

為了處理這個情況，簡需要在保證后路的前提下找出最佳的反擊方法。這需要在情感上成熟自律。她可以首先考慮對方的優(yōu)勢。（你要非常了解自己的對手，甚至承認(rèn)他可能很難被擊敗。）哪些客戶價值可能是吉姆具備但簡缺乏的？她可以作出哪些補救？她還需要重新審視這個問題在競爭中的重要性。這筆交易對她的晉升的重要性。接下來，她應(yīng)該考慮變通辦法或者對抗措施。也許她可以讓吉姆贏得這場勝利，轉(zhuǎn)而以其他方式將自己的價值展現(xiàn)給高層領(lǐng)導(dǎo)。如果她確定贏得該客戶是她晉升的關(guān)鍵，她可以接觸吉姆的一些潛在客戶，以此作為籌碼，與吉姆討論雙方應(yīng)該如何制定并遵守一定的界限。在沖突關(guān)系中，你需要根據(jù)具體情況明確取舍。對抗很有必要，但是代價很大，因此要與盟友密切合作，千萬不要獨自沖上戰(zhàn)場。

Competition

競爭

This type of rivalry is very common in workplaces where pay and opportunities are routinely allocated by assessing and comparing the performance of employees. You and your colleague want the same things, but supply is limited. Unlike an outright win-or-lose conflict, competitive situations offer some flexibility, because value can still be found in other, albeit less attractive, options.

在工作場所中，薪酬和機會分配一般通過評估和比較員工績效進行，因此這種類型的競爭非常普遍。你和同事想得到同樣的東西，但資源有限。與赤裸裸的非輸即贏的沖突不同，競爭環(huán)境提供了一些靈活性，因為仍然可以在其他選擇中找到價值，盡管那些價值吸引力較小。

Consider Michael and Ellen, who’ve been asked by their boss to colead a priority project: developing their company’s new diversity, equity, and inclusion plan. Success or failure on the assignment will have an impact on the career trajectories of both of them. Michael would like to work cooperatively with Ellen but is deeply skeptical that he’ll be able to do so, since she has a reputation for throwing colleagues under the bus in difficult situations. While he’s confident that they can produce good ideas together, he worries that when they present their recommendations to their superiors, Ellen will insinuate that the best-received ones are hers and the more-controversial ones his.

來看邁克爾和艾倫的例子。老板要求他們共同負(fù)責(zé)一個重點項目：制定公司全新的多樣性、平等和包容計劃。項目的成敗將影響兩人的職業(yè)發(fā)展。邁克爾愿意與艾倫合作，但對他不確定自己是否可以和她合作，因為艾倫素有對同事落井下石的不良名聲。雖然他相信合作可以產(chǎn)生好想法，但他又擔(dān)心，當(dāng)他們向高層領(lǐng)導(dǎo)提出建議時，艾倫會暗示最受歡迎的想法是她提出的，而更有爭議的則是自己提出的。

Michael has several risks to consider when formulating a strategy for dealing with Ellen. If he raises his concerns at the outset, she’s likely to view it as an attack or dismiss him as paranoid, since she hasn’t done anything wrong yet. If he simply works with her in good faith, he may face the lopsided outcome he fears: her taking all the credit for good work and blaming him for any stumbles. If he takes a page out of her previous playbook and tries to secretly compete with her, using less-than-honest tactics—withholding key information, for example—he might develop a reputation just as bad as hers.

在制定與艾倫打交道的策略時，邁克爾需要考慮幾個風(fēng)險。如果他一開始就提出自己的擔(dān)憂，艾倫很可能會認(rèn)為這是一種攻擊，或者認(rèn)為他是一個偏執(zhí)狂而不予理會，因為她還沒有任何不好的舉動。如果他只是真誠地與艾倫合作，他可能會面臨自己擔(dān)心的不平衡結(jié)果：艾倫會將所有功勞歸結(jié)于自己的出色工作，而將失誤歸咎于他。如果他效仿艾倫以前的做法，使用不誠實的策略——例如隱瞞關(guān)鍵信息，并試圖與她進行秘密競爭，他可能會樹立與她一樣的不佳口碑。

The right move in cases like this one is to recognize where your goals and your rival’s are compatible and where they’re not and work from there to improve the odds of good outcomes while minimizing unwanted ones. For example, neither Michael nor Ellen wants this project to fail, and both are committed to enhancing DEI at their company. In every conversation with her, he will want to emphasize those shared goals and the importance of achieving them as a team. Perhaps he can rein in her competitive behavior by eliminating scenarios in which she might be tempted to undermine him. One option would be to get her to agree to create an ad hoc review committee with members from multiple departments to provide feedback and endorse the final recommendations. Or maybe he could persuade her that their bosses—instead of them—should present the results. By recognizing what drives a rivalry, those in it can find a way to reduce competition.

在這種情況下，正確的做法是弄清楚你和競爭對手的目標(biāo)哪些具有一致性，并且以此開始努力，提高獲得良好結(jié)果的幾率，同時最大限度減少不必要的目標(biāo)。例如，邁克爾和艾倫都不希望這個項目失敗，并且都致力于提高公司的DEI指數(shù)（DEI是多樣性Diversity、平等Equity和包容性Inclusion的縮寫——譯者注）。在與艾倫的每一次談話中，邁克爾都想要強調(diào)共同目標(biāo)以及作為一個團隊實現(xiàn)這些目標(biāo)的重要性。通過消除可能被艾倫試圖用于逐漸削弱他的場景，也許他可以約束艾倫的競爭行為。一種選擇是讓艾倫同意成立一個由多部門成員組成的特設(shè)審查委員會，提供反饋意見并支持最終建議。或者也許他可以說服艾倫，應(yīng)該由老板來展示成果，而不是他們自己。通過認(rèn)識到競爭的推動因素，競爭者可以找到減少競爭的方法。

Independence

獨立性

In the middle of the spectrum is independence, which entails deliberately reducing your reliance on others as much as possible—evading the problem rather than trying to fix it. Consider Scott, who felt that his colleague Nigel often bullied him. To avoid having to deal with Nigel, Scott got his boss to restructure their respective responsibilities so that they would interact less frequently—just in formal meetings when the rest of the team was present.

表格的中間是獨立性。這需要有意識地盡可能減少對他人的依賴，不能規(guī)避問題而要試圖解決問題。以斯科特為例，他覺得同事奈杰爾經(jīng)常欺負(fù)他。為了避免與奈杰爾打交道，斯科特讓老板重新劃分了他們各自的職責(zé)范圍，這樣他們就可以減少互動和交流——僅在團隊其他成員都參加的正式會議上見面。

One challenge with this approach is that it is difficult to maintain over the long term. Scott should consider how he will behave if circumstances change and he suddenly has to reengage with Nigel. Another is that avoiding Nigel might also isolate Scott from potential allies who could help him perform his job better—teammates who think he’s being noncollegial and is putting his own interests above the group’s. Given those dangers, we don’t highly recommend this approach. Instead, people in Scott’s situation should consider treating the relationship as a conflict or a competition.

這種方法面臨的一個挑戰(zhàn)是難以長期維持。斯科特應(yīng)該考慮，如果情況改變，他突然不得不重新與奈杰爾接觸，他該如何應(yīng)對？另一個挑戰(zhàn)是，避開奈杰爾可能也會導(dǎo)致斯科特與可能幫助他更好完成工作的潛在盟友，以及認(rèn)為他不合群并將個人利益置于團隊利益之上的隊友——隔離開來。鑒于這些危險，我們不是很推薦這種方法。相反，面臨斯科特這種情況的人應(yīng)該將這種關(guān)系視為沖突或者競爭。

Cooperation

合作

In a cooperative relationship you and your counterpart share key interests but also have separate ones, so you choose to work together on specific issues where your interests do align and not to compete where they don’t. That doesn’t require you to like or make any material or long-term investments in each other. It’s just a mutually beneficial transaction in which each party brings something to the table.

在合作關(guān)系中，你和對手有共享的關(guān)鍵利益，也擁有不同利益，因此你可以選擇在你們確實具有一致利益的特定問題上進行合作，在沒有共同利益的問題上不進行競爭。你們不需要彼此喜歡，或進行任何物質(zhì)或長期投資。這只是一個互惠互利的交易，各方都提供了一些有價值的東西。

Take Mohammed and Roberto, peers tasked with an assignment beyond their normal responsibilities: pooling their expertise on BRIC countries to produce an economic forecast for their organization, which sells research and analysis to corporate clients. Both will benefit if the report attracts media attention, draws new subscribers to their company’s regular annual forecast, and builds the firm’s credibility and standing.

以穆罕默德和羅伯托為例。他們共同承擔(dān)了一項超出了正常職責(zé)范圍的任務(wù)：將他們關(guān)于金磚國家（BRIC）的專業(yè)知識匯集起來，為組織做出經(jīng)濟預(yù)測，從而向企業(yè)客戶銷售他們的研究結(jié)果和分析。如果報告能夠引起媒體關(guān)注，吸引新的用戶來訂閱他們公司的定期年度預(yù)測，并建立公司的信譽和地位，他們都將受益匪淺。

The risks here are much lower than in relationships where partners are in conflict or competition. The main danger stems from the fact that things can change. For example, if Mohammed suddenly gets a time-intensive opportunity to work directly with the CEO of an important client in his region, he will have to decide whether to take it and reduce his commitment to the project with Roberto. To deal with such unplanned circumstances, Mohammed and Roberto might agree at the outset of their relationship to a set of reasons for reducing or ending their commitment to the project and pledge to give each other a certain amount of advance notice should they do so.

這種關(guān)系中的風(fēng)險遠(yuǎn)低于合作伙伴發(fā)生沖突或者競爭的關(guān)系。主要的危險源于事情可能會發(fā)生變化。例如，如果穆罕默德突然獲得了一個很費時間的機會，可以與他所在地區(qū)的一個重要客戶的CEO直接合作，他將不得不決定是否接受這個機會，并減少在與羅伯托合作項目中的責(zé)任。為了應(yīng)對這些意外情況，穆罕默德和羅伯托可能會在合作開始就達(dá)成一致：出于某些原因，可以減少或終止他們對項目的責(zé)任，并承諾在他們需要這樣做時提前一定時間通知對方。

Collaboration

通力合作

Collaboration happens when two parties have many key mutual interests and would both benefit from investing in the relationship to help each other. This is the situation that Sara and Maryam found themselves in when their respective employers assigned them to colead a small pilot venture that paired the coach-client matching technology of Sara’s firm with the deep coaching experience and client list of Maryam’s company. The assignment entailed creating new shared processes for managing coaches, soliciting clients, and ensuring there would be joint accountability if something went wrong. The work promised to be hard but enjoyable; they’d both learn new things and build a venture that neither firm could have created alone.

如果雙方有許多關(guān)鍵的共同利益，并且投資于這種關(guān)系可以使雙方受益，通力合作就會發(fā)生。當(dāng)薩拉和瑪利亞姆各自的雇主指派他們共同領(lǐng)導(dǎo)一個小型試點企業(yè)時，他們就處于這樣一種關(guān)系。該企業(yè)將薩拉所在公司的教練-客戶匹配技術(shù)與瑪利亞姆所在公司的深厚教練經(jīng)驗和客戶名單結(jié)合起來。這項任務(wù)需要創(chuàng)建新的共享流程來管理教練、招攬客戶，并且確定在出現(xiàn)問題時由雙方共同承擔(dān)責(zé)任。這項工作可能非常艱巨，但卻令人感到愉快；他們都要學(xué)習(xí)新事物，并且有望建立起兩家公司無法單獨創(chuàng)建的企業(yè)。

While such relationships feel psychologically safe and promise the most mutual gain, they are the hardest to disengage from if interests change, because the parties’ resources are intermingled. So at the outset Sara and Maryam should be cautious and take the time to understand their respective commitments—and those of their organizations—to the endeavor. That should include developing detailed plans for different scenarios, outlining their implications for each coleader and how they will be handled. For example, what happens if one company wants to pull back and the other wants to move forward, becomes the dominant backer, and insists that its person run the venture? Would the other party be willing to stick it out in a secondary role? Or if one company takes over the project and wants Sara and Maryam to continue to colead, would they both be willing?

雖然這種關(guān)系會給予人安全感，并且承諾最大程度的互惠互利，但是如果利益發(fā)生變化，他們的脫離難度最大，因為雙方的資源已整合在一起。因此，薩拉和瑪利亞姆從一開始就應(yīng)該小心謹(jǐn)慎，花費一定的時間了解他們各自以及所在組織應(yīng)該對這項工作承擔(dān)的責(zé)任。這應(yīng)該包括為不同的場景制定詳細(xì)的計劃，概述對每位共同領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者產(chǎn)生的影響以及相應(yīng)措施。例如，如果一家公司想要退出，而另一家公司想要成為主要資助者，并且堅持由其派出的代表來經(jīng)營該企業(yè)，這時該怎么辦？另一方會愿意繼續(xù)充當(dāng)次要角色嗎？或者，如果一家公司接手了這個項目，希望薩拉和瑪利亞姆繼續(xù)共同領(lǐng)導(dǎo)，他們會愿意嗎？

We all navigate a range of cooperative rivalries at work. Understanding and figuring out how to optimize each of them is crucial. The solution is not to find positive relationships and avoid negative ones. You must recognize that conflict and competition inevitably arise among interdependent coworkers but can still be managed in ways that reap rewards; that while independence might seem like a solution it is rarely, if ever, a panacea; and that your goals and your work partners’ will evolve over time. Career success depends on relationship management as much as any other skill. Get it right, and both you and your organization will benefit.

我們在工作中都需要應(yīng)對一系列的合作競爭。理解并弄清楚如何優(yōu)化它們至關(guān)重要。解決方法并不是尋找積極關(guān)系，避免消極關(guān)系。我們要認(rèn)識到，相互依賴的同事之間不可避免會出現(xiàn)沖突和競爭，但是我們?nèi)匀豢梢垣@得回報；保持獨立似乎是可行，但也不是長久之計；你和合作伙伴的目標(biāo)將隨著時間的推移而發(fā)展，事業(yè)有成不僅取決于其他技能，同樣取決于關(guān)系管理。如果做法得當(dāng)，你和組織都將受益。

關(guān)鍵詞：職場

蘭德爾·彼得森是領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力研究所（Leadership Institute）的創(chuàng)始主任，也是倫敦商學(xué)院的組織行為學(xué)教授。他與格里·布朗（Gerry Brown）合著有《董事會中的災(zāi)難：每個人都應(yīng)該了解的六種功能障礙》（Disaster in the Boardroom: Six Dysfunctions Everyone Should Understand）（Palgrave Macmillan出版，2022年）?？死锼雇　へ惙柺莻惗厣虒W(xué)院的客座教授。

陳戰(zhàn) | 譯? ? ?孫燕 | 校? ? ?騰躍 | 編輯