Why Silos Form, and What Helps People Work Across Them

I recently worked with a senior team and asked each person to write all their current projects on Post-it notes. They put them on a wall so everyone could see them.

As the wall filled up, the team discovered far more overlap than anyone had realised. Similar work was happening in different areas, and several projects depended on one another without those connections being clear.

No one had deliberately withheld information. People were simply busy ploughing their own furrow, and hadn’t recognised quite how much they had started working in silos.

Think about your own organisation:

• What work might be duplicated across different teams?

• What knowledge could help another function make a better decision?

• Where does progress depend on personal relationships rather than established ways of working?

Each function may meet its individual objectives while the organisation as a whole misses an opportunity, wastes resources or responds too slowly.

Why do silos develop?

Silos aren’t necessarily a sign of poor leadership or difficult relationships. They often grow from the way an organisation is structured.

We group people by expertise and give each function its own responsibilities, targets and pressures. This creates focus and accountability, but it can also narrow our view.

It feels easier to work with colleagues who understand our priorities, use the same language and approach problems in a similar way. Under pressure, that pull becomes stronger. We concentrate on what we control and what others will measure us against.

Different communication styles can add another layer. Understanding how colleagues approach information, decisions and communication differently can make it easier to collaborate across teams.

In many of the scientific and research environments I work with, sharing knowledge across disciplines can create new connections, advance research and contribute to discoveries. Yet deep specialisation, different terminology and separate projects or funding streams can make that exchange harder.

The challenge isn’t to remove specialist functions or disciplines. We need them. It’s to prevent valuable knowledge, ideas and decisions from becoming trapped within them.

How does silo working hold you back?

You may notice:

• Work progressing across several projects without sufficient coordination

• Different functions giving conflicting messages

• Decisions being made without input from everyone affected

• Problems emerging when responsibility moves between teams

• People protecting their own priorities rather than considering the wider outcome

Silo working can also affect trust. When we don’t understand the pressures facing another function, it becomes easy to interpret different priorities or delayed responses as a lack of commitment.

This can also leave important issues unspoken at senior level. If that feels familiar, you may also find What is your leadership team not talking about? useful.

What helps people work across boundaries?

Whilst larger-scale restructuring may sometimes be necessary, most of the time progress begins with a few practical changes.

1. Make current work visible

Map the projects taking place across different functions. Look for duplication, dependencies, competing priorities and opportunities to share expertise.

2. Start with the shared outcome

Before discussing individual responsibilities, clarify what everyone needs to achieve together. This helps people make choices that benefit the whole organisation, not simply their own function.

3. Bring people together around real challenges

Cross-functional or interdisciplinary collaboration works best when it has a clear purpose. Choose a live issue and involve the people who hold different information, expertise and perspectives.

4. Explore dependencies early

Ask what each team needs from others, and what others need from them. Discussing this at the start of a project can prevent delays and frustration later.

5. Recognise contributions beyond functional boundaries

Celebrate people who share knowledge, remove barriers and help another team succeed, not only those who deliver within their own area.

Senior leaders set the tone. When you remain curious about other functions, share information openly and place collective success above protecting your own area, others are more likely to do the same.

Strong organisations don’t remove every boundary. They make it easier for information, ideas and accountability to move across them.

Where could greater visibility and stronger connections make the biggest difference to your organisation?

If silo working is limiting collaboration, slowing decisions or creating competing priorities, explore our Senior Team Development and Coaching work, or contact me to discuss what would help your team.

Kate Jennings