While we see many competitions in our lives, collaboration is still a very important endeavour for all of us. We achieve more with groups and teams rather than as individuals. Great buildings and remarkable achievements usually belong to groups and communities, not individuals. Think about it. Rome is an empire shaped by large number of people. The DNA is discovered by two scientists collaborating together. Every country is sustained by its citizens working together for the common good.

However, we need competition to survive. This is because we need standards and benchmarks to gauge our progress and development. Without such benchmarks, we lose sight of the goals and objectives that we have been aiming for. Our societies will stagnate and we will not make any significant progress. Advancement of technology will slow to a crawl and creativity is stifled.

Looking at collaboration and competition, one might wonder how do we then strike a balance between the two. To this question, a good response will be: “Challenge yourself, collaborate with others.”

Let’s explore this statement in two parts.

For the first part “challenge yourself”, it will be good to note that we only progress if we are doing better than what we have achieved previously. Of course – as in all things in life – there are occasional hiccups and setbacks but we always get back on our feet, don’t we? It is only in challenging ourselves that we improve.

However, we should not have this competitive mindset when working with others. Hence the phrase “collaborate with others”. This is because when we do that, we will inadvertently create conflict between others and ourselves. This produces friction that will negative affect our working relationships with others and lower our work productivity. Thus – when working with others – collaborate.

This is also the reason why you are strongly encouraged to work as teams during lessons. You will realise that collaboration is equally important when working with your colleagues in your later years. So, start now. Make an effort to share with one another your thoughts about the lessons and instill a sense of camaraderie and esprit de corps in class. This will give you the grounding needed in the workplace.

And remember, always set higher but realistic objectives to further improve yourself everyday.