Updated: February 26, 2021
Ask ACE
Get over 'silo mentality' in your organization
By John Shorb, the Delphi Group Inc.
Q: We often have unproductive conflict across organizational boundaries, such as production department vs. sales, production vs. customer service and so on. How can we get over this silo mentality?
ACE advises: Silo mentality continues to be one of the most frequent characteristics of many businesses and organizations.
Causes can include:
- Goals, expectations and rewards focused on individual and functional area performance rather than cross-functional or total business performance.
- Inadequate understanding of the end-to-end process.
- Results reports focusing only on one’s functional area.
In some organization cultures it’s cool to win turf battles against other functional areas. Based on these examples, here are some solutions:
- Set goals and establish rewards and performance feedback processes with cross-functional counterparts.
- Ensure that training includes understanding of end-to-end processes and what each functional area contributes. Programs in which employees spend time working in other parts of the organization facilitate more collaborative relationships.
- Communicate overall business results as well as those dependent upon effective cross-functional relationships.
- Recognize and foster cooperation and collaboration rather than internal competition. Management must set the tone for this.
John Shorb, principal consultant with The Delphi Group, can be reached at jshorb@thedelphigroup.com.
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