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The unchecked growth of physical, psychological and data silos has degraded collaboration in the workplace. Siloed thinking, practices and resource management all contribute to this cumulative disconnect.
Why then, do silos persist? And what can leaders do to break them down?
Silos Stripped Bare
Despite their bad rap, silos actually have a practical side.
“Whether its function serves GTM, R&D, product development or engineering, resources and funding are much more easily managed in segments,” shared Rick Garza, director of global customer services communications at Palo Alto Networks. “This allows a company to maneuver fluctuating markets with the ability to shift allocations and resources in segmented, focused areas each quarter.”
Silos are, in a way, part of corporate culture. At the heart of it, companies accept silos as the norm despite the challenges they create because we’ve grown accustomed to some level of interpersonal disconnect.
“Human beings develop habits typically in three to four months, and we have three years of entrenched behavior working from home,” observed Rakesh Kishan, managing principal at Trascent, a global management consulting firm.
Take, for instance, hybrid and remote work. The shift was initially jarring, but it has become routine. Workers have adapted with aplomb and continue to adapt as new — and often disconnected — technologies are added to the work stack.
To date though, the silo conversation has suffered misdirection, with almost exclusive attention directed toward the time and process management side of things. But cultural alignment around a shared purpose should command equal footing on the slippery slope silos create.
And this is where leadership ultimately fails to combat silo culture and where technology can be channeled for good to repair the existing, fragmented approach.
Leadership Reframing Silo Standards
Leaders are focused on the company’s mission, but there is often a disconnect when the “one dream” is broken down into actionable chunks. The mission is diluted, and managers are tasked with KPIs that are at odds with this mission. And when this confusion takes hold, actions that appear beneficial in isolation are mistaken for valuable benchmarks.
“The purpose of leadership is to get different elements in an organization, the different silos, to act as one team with one dream,” said Kishan.
Taken to the extreme, examples of this disconnect and the tension it creates are seen in action when sensational stories hit, like Volkswagen doctoring emissions records or Wells Fargo employees opening fake customer accounts. In both cases, misguided, silo-incentivized employees with a distorted sense of priorities took actions that had a negative impact on these organizations.
Fortunately, AI can help companies avoid these scenarios by aggregating mission-critical information and facilitating alignment and understanding company-wide.
“In every organization, leadership has to clarify boundary constraints,” cautioned Kishan. “Yes, we must hit KPIs, but we must not compromise security, integrity or safety.”
So, how does that look beyond the talking points? Garza has tips:
- Leadership alignment is crucial, with senior leaders setting an example of collaboration and transparency.
- Cross-functional teams drive the transformation and specific goals and metrics.
- Training and incentives are key, with a focus on skill development and recognition for effective collaboration.
- Technology and tools should facilitate cross-functional work, with pilot projects showcasing benefits and building momentum.
- Continuous feedback, celebrating success and sustained effort are essential.
And clear company-wide messaging is a must, which requires internal communications to have a prominent seat at the leadership table. This team is charged with facilitating a seamless flow of information within the organization — and it’s an all-encompassing effort to get this right.
“It's essential to promote a culture where employees are motivated to comprehensively understand various company functions and departments, fostering opportunities for cross-organizational collaboration,” said Garza.
As it exists today, smart search and predictive capabilities offer impressive personalization, aggregation and access to information.
But in our race to resolve the silo curse, we must also recognize that AI is imperfect. It can suffer hallucinations and, short of proper protocols, has the potential to share sensitive information not meant for company-wide consumption.
Also, we must carefully consider how, and if, AI can fill the hole the pandemic left when we abandoned in-person communications as the norm. The loss of camaraderie and mentorship is a byproduct of the cultural silo we’ve created, and it carries an isolating element that’s felt by many.
The Last Cultural Silo: Camaraderie & Mentorship
Interpersonal interactions and conversations, in any aspect of life, offer meaning beyond precise knowledge downloads. But nonverbal communication teaches lessons as well, and body language is either absent or very controlled when connecting through a screen. Context is missed, and so too are advancement opportunities.
“Silos result in the loss of learning, and this is particularly true when we consider the transmission of expertise from mentor to apprentice,” said Kishan. “The senior engineer builds a relationship with the junior engineer, and that in-person interaction, working side by side, is missing from the workplace today.”
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To accommodate this, some companies are choosing to dismantle silos with a return to the office or staggered in-person events — and AI can assist there as well.
“AI-powered predictive modeling will create optimal schedules for cross-functional teams to collaborate in the office,” said Kishan. “It will guide the creation of a diverse and inclusive workplace, with a mix of coworking and concentrated focus areas, and remind us of the power of human connection.”
Today, emerging VR capabilities also offer interesting potential, and perhaps hologram technology will come of age. Metaverse workplaces could help us reframe the ways cultural silos currently limit us, and AI will undoubtedly handle the rest.
But it all starts with a company’s leadership choosing the path that advances its unique cultural, data and resource management needs. From there, work can begin to realign the parts to act as one team with one dream.
Regardless of approach, the days of silos need to be numbered, with emerging AI-powered technologies figuring prominently in this planning. Companies functioning in blissfully unaware, fragmented workplaces should take note.
