Each week, we share an applied tip or did-you-know to help you build knowledge and hone essential skills that help you kick butt at work and in life.
Standing Up to Silos
Show me a company that hasn’t dealt with silos, and I’ll show you a company with only one employee. Seriously! Even Jeff and I sometimes fail to share information as much as we should. As companies and teams grow, communicating and collaborating across emerging groups inevitably becomes more challenging. One oft-quoted stat says that 39% of employees believe there isn’t enough collaboration between teams in their organizations. Atlassian’s 2024 State of Teams report highlights this issue: “50% of knowledge workers have worked on a project and only later found out that another team was working on the same thing.” DOH!
Stats aside, we’ve all been there at some point—no one seems to be talking to each other, ten teams are creating ten different docs with the same info, and the inefficiency of it all is frustrating as hell. While some problems might be structural or cultural and beyond your control, as a middle manager, there are still things you can do to drive positive change at the individual and team levels.
Create Individual Connections
People communicate and collaborate more effectively when they know and like each other. Make it a point to create connections for yourself and your team.
Build a Shadow Network
Identify people at your level in relevant teams, reach out, and establish a regular cadence of checking in and getting to know each other. I call this a “shadow network,” but there’s nothing nefarious about it. You don’t need to wait for your manager to create these connections for you. Consider organizing a regular group meeting at your level to share information and build relationships across multiple teams.
Create a Buddy System
Work closely with a specific team and still feel siloed? Collaborate with the team leader to match cross-team pairs, giving everyone a go-to person for questions and better understanding each other’s work.
Organize Structured Activities at Shared Social Events
At many company-wide or cross-functional social events, teams still tend to cluster together. Work with organizers to dedicate even just a short period to an activity that intentionally mixes things up, providing a structured way to get to know people on other teams.
Implement a Shadowing Program
Develop a program where employees spend time observing the work of different departments. It doesn’t need to be a full-on rotational program—even just sitting in on a meeting can be beneficial. Shadowing helps employees understand other teams' challenges and processes, fostering empathy and collaboration across the organization.
Promote Cross-Functional Mentorship
Jeff has shared with me that one of the most impactful mentorship experiences he’s ever had was with a leader from a completely different department. Encouraging cross-functional mentorship aids in knowledge sharing, builds a deeper understanding of various functions within the company, and broadens individual perspectives and skill sets.
Think About the System
As a leader, it’s also your job to zoom out and think about how you can broker and facilitate communication and collaboration at a higher level.
Map the Ecosystem
Do you have a clear picture of how your team relates to and interacts with other teams? Create a map that describes each team’s purpose and function, what information they need, and what information they have and can share. Work on this activity with your team so everyone is actively considering and contributing.
Collaborate on Norms, Procedures, and Tools
You might already have norms and standards within your team for how you use Slack, email, meetings, your intranet, and other collaboration tools. Reach out to other teams and work to establish shared practices and regular rhythms for communication and knowledge management.
Be Proactive About Learning
The more your team knows about other functions, the more they will empathize with their colleagues and, frankly, the better they will be at their job. I mean it! When I learned more about sales and marketing, I became a better learning leader. So, host regular lunch-and-learns or other educational sessions to help your people better understand other functions.
Pool Training Resources
If you have a training budget and use it to plan professional development sessions for your team, consider which other teams might also benefit from what you are learning and invite them. Collaborate with other leaders to pool your budget and plan training topics that are relevant cross-functionally.
Share Goals and Capacity
During quarterly or annual planning, it’s easy to become fixated on your own team and forget that you’re part of a broader ecosystem. This can lead to conflicting goals and projects that rely on each other’s time and effort without considering overall capacity. Reach out to other leaders to align your priorities and ensure that any planned work fits within everyone’s capacity plans.
A Final Thought
Dealing with silos is something every company faces as it grows, but breaking them down is not an impossible task. As a middle manager, you have the power to drive positive change. Take the initiative to bridge gaps and foster stronger relationships between departments. By doing so, you'll create a more cohesive, efficient, and innovative workplace. So, go ahead and put these strategies into action—you’ll see your team and your company thrive!
