Some people argue that successful leaders in government, industry, or other fields must be highly competitive. Other people claim that in order to be successful, a leader must be willing and able to cooperate with others.

Which quality is critical for a successful leader? Competition or cooperation? Different people have different viewpoint, but as far as I'm concerned, I believe that cooperation, though both of them are important, is more necessary for a good leader to achieve success in an organization in the context of complex, changing world. The reason lies on several aspects as follows.

First of all, I have to concede that a leader equipped with a sense of competition will be quickly adaptable to an intense competitive environment, either psychologically or physically, who often regards competition as a normal state in every field in modern times. In politics, leaders need to deal with the competition in national defense, science and technology, social safety, economic development among countries in the globe; In business, they have to cater for the fierce competition in market, product, price, service, creativity. Various sorts of contests in sport, high-technology, and the like held in every year in the world vividly manifest that competitiveness is important, because it always involves in a win-lose thing——on side will earn honor and prize, the rest may be disgraced by their failure, which in turn spurs the desire for victory of leaders in an organization. The stronger sense of competition leaders are possessed with, the more efforts they pay to win, a positive process for an organization to develop better, all of which must be based on right values and morals, means to succeed. Additionally, whether a leader stands out in a competition depends on his inner quality to be successful.

Competition does not mean no cooperation, conversely, cooperation in diverse fields is ubiquitous and exhibits more and more important, according leaders are required to more collaborate with insider and outsider groups to push an organization to a better situation. But, cooperation is not free-riding or equalitarianism, which will seriously undermine the performance of an organization. So, for a successful leader cooperation is a more significant matter to achieve an organization's goals.

In the inner of an organization, leaders should learn to cooperate with their groups to accomplish their organization's aim, for leaders, limited by their knowledge and skills, energy and time, cannot finish everything without the help of teamwork, particularly in a larger unit. For instance, in Alibaba, an ecommerce magnate in China, leaders in different departments must work closely with the members of their department to fulfil tasks assigned by the company, and they together must collaborate to promote the development and sustainability of the organization in an ever-increasing competitive environment. In fact, such success for a leader lies partly on his willingness, partly on his competence. For one thing, the willingness of cooperation from a leader will make his followers sure that they have the ability to do for the success of an organization, that the leader is willing to sincerely communicate with them and share his ideas: this kind of mutual trust is the basis of cooperation. For another, a leader must be role models for his employees, one or more facets superior to his followers, if not, it is well known that no one will be committed to an incompetent leader, not to mention to keep a long relationship with him in work.

In the external of an organization, leaders must remain a good relationship with different partners in order to realize their organization's goals. Leaders in the government keep close contact with other countries in the world to combat all kinds of criminality like terrorism, drug-trafficking, violence, to control the global warming climate, to start trade intercourse, and so on. Commercial leaders in a company must build up pleasant relations with suppliers, clients, financial institutions, government, or sometimes even competitors, which will help them tap resources that a company needs to expand and sustain. The success of an organization can't do without a good external environment, especially in difficult times like financial shortage, therefore, successful leaders can often help a company in the mire go through various sorts of difficulties. Don't forget that a win-win strategy is fundamental to establish cooperative relations with diverse partners.

In conclusion, the awareness of competition is necessary for leaders to achieve success, but for leaders keeping good cooperation with internal and external partners is similarly crucial for managing an organization, even more important for success.