BREAK DOWN SILOS
WHY IT MATTERS
As organizations increase in size and complexity the natural tendency is for people and work to become more isolated and secluded. Isolation means the work of an organization is done in vacuums, with nobody knowing what anyone else is doing, and people staying out of each other’s way instead of working together for their mutual benefit. Leaders who break down silos between people and work exploit the full strength of the organization as they push people to work together with openness and interconnectedness. Leaders who fail to break down silos will see missed opportunities, unharnessed potential, wasted resources, duplicated work, miscommunication, and continued inefficiency eat away at their hopes for success.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders who break down silos help the organization work together as a cohesive unit, rather than as a group of disconnected or competing parts. They want to benefit from the strength that comes from people working together with full unity of purpose. They seek to build the synergy that comes when people exert themselves in an efficient and effective way to reach the same goal.
Leaders that break down silos believe groups will always be more similar than they will be different. They see through what differences exist and envision how people and teams can help each other achieve their goals. They learn the interests, purposes, goals, and objectives of the individuals and teams across the organization, then identify where possibilities for collaboration exist.
Leaders that break down silos collaborate and partner with others as a preferred means of completing their work instead of working alone. They look for ways their work, projects, and skills could blend with other’s efforts and proactively seek after partnerships. They likewise identify those in the organization who could help them achieve their goals and invite them into their work. They identify and sponsor means and mechanisms that allow for collaboration and the combining of resources.
Leaders that break down silos purposefully gather together people from different fields of expertise and people who have different ways of viewing the world. They thrive on diversity. The natural dissonance created by people’s differences makes them feel safer instead of making them feel threatened.
Leaders that break down silos look for unnecessary red tape in the organization’s processes, and procedures. This includes anything that adds little value, complicates, or slows down the work. They enlist the efforts and thinking of others to look for ways to do things better. They help others see they exist to support each other’s work, not to defend and protect their own turf. They help people see how their role fits into the bigger picture, and how they can help others succeed.
Leaders that break down silos open up communication channels across the organization laterally and vertically. They know communication and information sharing is key to silo breaking. They provide forums and opportunities for people to gather, connect, share knowledge, and strengthen each other.
BELIEFS
BEST PRACTICES
SELF-REFLECTION
PSYCHOMETRIC 360 QUESTIONS
As organizations increase in size and complexity the natural tendency is for people and work to become more isolated and secluded. Isolation means the work of an organization is done in vacuums, with nobody knowing what anyone else is doing, and people staying out of each other’s way instead of working together for their mutual benefit. Leaders who break down silos between people and work exploit the full strength of the organization as they push people to work together with openness and interconnectedness. Leaders who fail to break down silos will see missed opportunities, unharnessed potential, wasted resources, duplicated work, miscommunication, and continued inefficiency eat away at their hopes for success.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders who break down silos help the organization work together as a cohesive unit, rather than as a group of disconnected or competing parts. They want to benefit from the strength that comes from people working together with full unity of purpose. They seek to build the synergy that comes when people exert themselves in an efficient and effective way to reach the same goal.
Leaders that break down silos believe groups will always be more similar than they will be different. They see through what differences exist and envision how people and teams can help each other achieve their goals. They learn the interests, purposes, goals, and objectives of the individuals and teams across the organization, then identify where possibilities for collaboration exist.
Leaders that break down silos collaborate and partner with others as a preferred means of completing their work instead of working alone. They look for ways their work, projects, and skills could blend with other’s efforts and proactively seek after partnerships. They likewise identify those in the organization who could help them achieve their goals and invite them into their work. They identify and sponsor means and mechanisms that allow for collaboration and the combining of resources.
Leaders that break down silos purposefully gather together people from different fields of expertise and people who have different ways of viewing the world. They thrive on diversity. The natural dissonance created by people’s differences makes them feel safer instead of making them feel threatened.
Leaders that break down silos look for unnecessary red tape in the organization’s processes, and procedures. This includes anything that adds little value, complicates, or slows down the work. They enlist the efforts and thinking of others to look for ways to do things better. They help others see they exist to support each other’s work, not to defend and protect their own turf. They help people see how their role fits into the bigger picture, and how they can help others succeed.
Leaders that break down silos open up communication channels across the organization laterally and vertically. They know communication and information sharing is key to silo breaking. They provide forums and opportunities for people to gather, connect, share knowledge, and strengthen each other.
BELIEFS
- Organizations that excel make it simple, clear, and easy for their people to work together and become each other’s greatest asset.
- To succeed in today’s modern world, organizations need to be agile and light on their feet, not bogged down by silos.
- If your organization is heavy, slow, and overburdened by red tape you will eventually drown in your own bureaucracy.
- If you make it hard for people in the organization to work with you they will go find what they need somewhere else.
- Open lines of communication help people talk. Once they talk they can understand. Once they understand they can collaborate.
- Even though groups in organization play different roles, everyone is on the same team and can find ways to support each other.
- You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying to work with people and groups who see the world different than you do.
- If you do your work alone you will miss something that could have made your work better if you had collaborated with someone else.
BEST PRACTICES
- Ask for the suggestions and ideas of others.
- Communicate openly across the organization.
- Form and draw on personal networks.
- See all perspectives in all situations.
- Look for counsel from people outside your area.
- Ask different groups to collaborate together.
- Create an environment that requires integration.
- Look for ways to create synergy with others.
- Surround yourself with diversity.
- Be proactive in assisting others outside your team.
- Form relationships with those with similar goals.
- Create partnerships that add value to all.
- Involve people in decision making.
- Give your time to help others succeed.
- Participate in cross-department projects.
- Share information openly and freely.
- Create alliances to work towards shared goals.
- Build bridges of understanding.
- Create relationships with people in different areas.
- Do away with unnecessary “red tape.”
- Share your skills and abilities with others.
- Create an organization free of complexity.
SELF-REFLECTION
- Do I push the organization to work as a cohesive unit, or do I allow them to work as a group of disconnected parts?
- Do I help the barriers between different people and groups come down, or do I enable their isolation?
- Do I focus on the similarities between people and groups, or do I place greater focus on their differences?
- Do I identify how my work can connect to that of others, or do I never see beyond my own responsibilities?
- Do I prefer to work and collaborate with other people, or do I prefer to do my work and be left alone?
- Do I prompt the organization to freely reach out to each other, or do I put up fences across the organization?
- Do I identify unnecessary “red tape” and get rid of it, or do I put up barriers that slow down the work?
- Do I open up communication channels across the organization, or do I fail to create means for people to connect?
- Don’t spend so much time connecting with others you take your eye off of what is happening on your own team.
- Don’t breach a particular silo if the organization has strategic reasons for maintaining its independence.
- Don’t break down silos blindly without pausing to identify the strategic advantages that may or may not come.
PSYCHOMETRIC 360 QUESTIONS
- I love to work with people who have different talents than me.
- Working with people who do things different than I do them is very productive.
- When I am working on a project, I take advice from anyone.
- When it comes to the end result, the more the merrier.
- Sharing information makes for a stronger organization.
- I actively look for ways I can share what I know with others.