The saying two heads are better than one is absolutely true, the best results for whatever task you are completing come from working together. As children my two sisters and I learned this lesson. Ours was a household where we had weekly ‘to do’ lists. Each of us earned separate allowances for completing our individual jobs. If one finished early, they had no one to play with. We quickly figured out that if we worked together to finish the entire list then we could all go have fun together.

I enjoy a little healthy competition and recognize the benefits of competitive motivators. That said when you are working on a team toward a common goal the competition is best aimed outward. When aimed internally it breeds distrust, resentment and territory battles that ultimately distract from completing the common goal.

New media and advanced technology tear down communication hurdles and make collaboration today even easier from coast to coast and internationally. Recently I had the opportunity to work on a groundbreaking campaign. The team was located from California to New York and everywhere in between. We all showed respect toward one another and truly worked together to achieve goals. We broke down barriers for how much could be accomplished in a limited amount of time and against some substantial hurdles.

If you are spinning wheels, check yourself - how are we working together as a team? where is the competition aimed?