Ways of Cooperation

There are ways to facilitate cooperation, and they are the same no matter the environment, from big business to peewee football. 

1. Focus on doing well. Attempting to do well and trying to beat others are two separate mental processes. It is impossible to concentrate on both. Of the two, cooperating with yourself and others to create a positive outcome has more rewards.
2. Allow ample time.  Cooperation comes to a grinding halt as time pressures increase. Time pressures produce non-agreement, decreased information exchanges, and firmer negotiator demands. The perception of available time facilitates cooperation. 
3. Use similar language.  If someone is hoping you will cooperate with him or her on a particular venture, ask questions using the same works they used to describe the plan originally. This creates congruence, and you will appear to be more cooperative and interested even though you are critically challenging and gathering additional information.
4. Share leadership. Cooperation as a form of leadership, equally shared by all group members. By sharing the leadership, you allow others to take on initiative and to be integral parts of the group.  There is an increased sense of "ownership" of plans and ideas by all members, an the work environment is pleasurable. 
5. Learn cooperative problem-solving tools. These are really creativity tools by another name. A simple tool is brainstorming. What happens is that someone invites another to offer wild suggestions so that others can find ways in which they can tag along, create, or cooperate. Other techniques include suspending judgment, clarifying goals and objectives before seeking cooperation, and evaluating others' plans in a non-threatening manner.
6. Practice reciprocity.  When someone helps you out, make it a point to help them. Express your gratitude by helping them before they expect it. A policy of general reciprocity - people helping people - facilitates cooperation. This particular technique has been shown empirically as one of the few ways to gain an adversary's cooperation.
7. Share resources and information.  When people are vying for knowledge, work space, personnel, or anything to help them get the job done, cooperation decreases. Resource exchange, however, encourages one person to work with another. 
8. Reinforce team efforts.  Rather than praising one person for a job well done, utilize a team approach to problem solving. When the team does well, the entire group is rewarded.  This minimizes individual competition, and maximizes cooperation. Distribute the rewards equally among group members. 
9. Act cooperatively.  Individuals who have witnessed a cooperative act will "pass it on," sharing some degree of cooperation with the next person they meet. Anytime you help another person feel better, you have increased the probability that he or she will be cooperative toward you. Actions speak louder than words and encourage another person to cooperate with you.
10. For your health's sake, experience cooperation. Make it a point to notice how much better you feel when you cooperate with others. Once you experience the positive feelings, there seems to be no other way to work except cooperatively.