I call for a ban on the word “Silo”
Getting approving nods in a meeting feels good. I would actually venture to say it’s addicting. People think you said something smart. You feel smart. And with that, you’ve built up an addiction that you need to feed.
For an easy fix, look no further than using the word “Silo”. “We need to stop working in silos”. “We need to break the silos in our organisation”. The nods will come as a warm, beautiful summer in your large organisation. A corporate high.
But, it will not create any actual value.
The problem
When you end up talking so much about silos, it creates a fictive reality that teams actually are working in a silo and purpously ignoring everything outside their bubble.
It creates an unessesary us vs them that feeds frustration on one side, and a complete oblivion of that frustration on the other side.
For what is “breaking the silos” more than a statement of desire? Where are these silos that everyone is talking about? And when you talk about silos, do you really mean that the “other people” don’t work on what you think is important?
I’m not trying to offend anyone because it’s so fast to use (negativ) internal lingo. Having said that: If you want to work with other people and teams, you need to start with communication.
Yes, we should collaborate more, but it starts with communication
For two teams to work together, it needs to be over a common cause. It needs to be something that the people from both teams can actually contribute to, and that helps both teams towards their goals.
This is harder than it seems, especially in large organisations, because all teams usually do their best to make their products better, and it’s often based on an OKR that is set, which is again based on a goal or strategy.
That’s why it’s easier to talk about silos instead of doing the actual hard work.
Storytelling and communication outside your bubble is major key to actually be able to work with others. You need to make it clear a) why this is important b) how this helps us closer to our goal and c) how the other team can contribute.
There’s multiple ways to do this, but I would recommend to, you know, just have conversations. Don’t go for the large meetings where you tirelessly go through a power point, only to then try to get a consensus for colleboration.
Send DM’s. Talk in the hallway or by the coffee machine. Put less pressure on the other part to make a major decisions, but instead sprinkle ideas how this-thing-we-can-work-on is benefitially good for everyone.
Everyone is human. Everyone has emotions. Everyone wants to take good decisions. Help each other out rather than “fight”.
Sometimes the matching is really good and stars align, and sometimes right now isn’t a good time for the other team to work together. That’s ok. Just because you’ve been ready for a long time doesn’t mean other teams can or should throw away everything they’re working on.
So please, stop talking about silos. There are no silos. Just people trying their best every day.
Just communicate more.
Hey, you made it to the end! 🎉
P.S. If you would like to collaborate with stakeholders, check out Collaboration With Stakeholders.
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If you would like more stories like these, check out Failing Forward.
