August 22, 2022
We have heard about the importance of breaking down organizational silos for decades. And, while most in leadership roles know the value of creating a more integrated organization, they admit it is not easy.
According to Harvard Business Review, “the vast majority of innovation and business development opportunities lie in the interfaces between functions, offices, or departments—requiring horizontal collaboration. Firms with more cross-boundary collaboration achieve greater customer loyalty and higher margins.”
It seems a no-brainer to work to eliminate silos. Yet, they still exist. What causes the phenomenon where departments or employees within an organization are isolated and unwilling or unable to effectively share information and work together toward a common goal? According to Indeed there are a core set of reasons (listed below). I encourage my colleagues to analyze your organizations through the lens of the list. It may be even more valuable to ask your department or company heads to conduct the assessment.
The issues highlighted in this list are worth an in-depth discussion. I have added my thoughts below each area (in italics)—as I find the reasons for lack of integration of efforts complex and nuanced. It takes critical thinking to ensure that while creating a cross silo management style, we don’t inadvertently reduce healthy competition and the energy that comes with success.
1. Absence of a sense of “team” resulting from departments losing sight of the big-picture goals that apply to the entire organization and focusing instead on the team’s or department’s agenda at the expense of the organization’s objectives.
I believe that most department leaders are easily able to identify teams that tend to lose sight of the big picture in lieu of their own objectives. These are often high performing, disciplined departments. They also tend to break the norms and do whatever they need to do to get the job done. The challenge for executives is channeling this energy and not disincentivizing the high performers. The question we as executives need to answer is: what do we highlight when talking to organizational leaders? What do we shine a spotlight on as good practice? What do department leaders believe the executives value?
2. Competition for limited resources causes competitive department executives to focus on their team’s needs rather than those of the organization.
This is a fact. There are times when there is only so much to go around, and smart department leaders who are held accountable for performance make sure that their staff have the resources required to get the job done. We all have done this. The challenge for executives is to structure resource availability in such a way that resources are more readily available for teams that work in a cross functional manner. If for example, one department decides to develop a new line of business that fully integrates several other departments, this should result in a visible surge of resources (i.e. project management, specialized technology). The value of cross-silo collaboration needs to be easy to see.
3. Inadequate communication especially in cases where trust and communication are absent in the leadership team’s decision-making process.
Communication is one of those areas where I am not sure executives ever really get it right. Overcommunication is clearly better than under-communication, yet I find the real issue is what are the most important things for people to know? When a leader provides too much information about the direction of the organization, staff can find it overwhelming, and they are uncertain about the key takeaways. I have come to believe that when something impacts staff directly, the information must come from the top of the organization—i.e. layoffs, changes in benefit packages, any kind of a temporary halt on raises, mileage, change in performance evaluations, etc. If it comes directly to them, not filtered by anyone in middle management, and when there is a clear invitation to contact the executive with any questions, staff trust the information. They may not like the content, but they trust the integrity of the information. And if this is done often enough, staff believe leaders and are naturally more committed to the mission.
4. Poorly thought-out and short-term incentives resulting in a team’s objectives being at odds with the company’s overall goal. For example, rewarding the sales department for the number of signed contracts and paying little attention to the organization’s ability to perform these contracts at required standards.
This is something we discuss a lot in our weekly all-company leadership meetings. If someone successfully bids on a new contract, with no knowledge or support from Finance, IT, HR, Facilities, the chance for failure in execution of the contract is significant—and can result in significant reputational risk. We have leveraged technology to assist in this process—requiring input from each of these departments before there is a “go-ahead” to submit a proposal. Implementing this kind of discipline has been challenging. It is imperative that Finance, HR, IT, Facilities, etc. be prepared to provide accurate and thorough information to the people out there trying to generate new business. My experience is that absent of a cohesive response, where everyone owns a piece of the responsibility and a piece of the success, the results are more rigid silos.
I find the discussion of breaking down silos interesting and compelling, and as always, I welcome your comments.
