askST Jobs: My colleague and I are up for the same promotion. Can we still work well together?

In this series, business correspondent Timothy Goh offers practical answers to candid questions on navigating workplace challenges and getting ahead in your career. Get more tips by signing up to The Straits Times’ Headstart newsletter.

Q: Can competition for the same opportunity damage an otherwise good working relationship?

When peers compete for the same promotion, project or client opportunity, some tension is inevitable.

A colleague’s success can suddenly feel like your loss, and information that was previously shared freely may start to feel like a competitive advantage.

The key is to compete for the opportunity, not against the person, said Tan Weixi, managing partner at Workplace Asia.

“Employees should make their own case... Be clear about the value you bring, make your aspirations known and ask what you need to demonstrate,” he said.

“But avoid building your case by highlighting your colleague’s weaknesses – if your colleague gets the opportunity, ask for feedback and understand what you can do differently next time.”

Tan said that people can usually tolerate losing, but what they struggle with is feeling they lost unfairly.

Hence, managers also have an important role to play. They should make the selection criteria and decision-making process for a promotion as transparent as possible.

“When people understand how a decision was reached, they are more likely to accept an outcome they dislike,” said Tan.

“Otherwise, when the rules are unclear, colleagues stop competing on performance and start competing on politics.

“That is when a healthy relationship can become adversarial – with people withholding information, taking credit or quietly undermining each other,” he added.

Sam Neo, founder of storytelling and mentorship platform Stories of Asia, said that when two colleagues compete for the same promotion, the person who misses out may naturally have some negative feelings.

“But whether those feelings grow or diminish from there very much depends on how the winner engages with them during and after the competition,” he said.

“In this case, we should also consider what the working arrangement is post-promotion. It might be a little awkward at the start if the newly promoted person becomes the boss of the one he is competing against.”

Neo said that when employees take on bigger roles, whether they are now leading their peers or, at times, more senior colleagues, they need to learn to “wear a different hat, communicate expectations and recalibrate their mindset”.

“If there was an existing good working relationship, I don’t think it gets damaged just because you get promoted,” he said.

“What’s important is how you leverage that relationship and trust to take things forward, rather than switching gears immediately to pull the boss card, assuming you now manage them.

“Good leaders also don’t have to use their authority – they influence with their capabilities and leverage trust and empathy to get things done,” he added.

Tan said that ultimately, organisations should not try to eliminate competition.

Ambitious employees will, and should, compete for opportunities, but the goal is to create an environment where they can do so without feeling that they have to undermine someone else to get ahead.

“You can compete for the same prize without turning your colleague into the problem... Win the opportunity if you can, but don’t lose the relationship trying to get it,” he said.

Timothy Goh is a business correspondent at The Straits Times. He covers commodities and currencies, with occasional forays into listed companies.