Silo mentality?

• There are at least two causes of silo mentality:
• The culture reinforces divisional or functional competitiveness rather than team work - you get what you pay for!
• Heads of divisions/functions are themselves competitive and aggressive, liking to win rather than share.
• Is this an opportunity for you to display some leadership?
• There is no point legislating for better team work if the above two conditions are not addressed.
• Moralistic exhortations won't do much good either.
• There has to be a change in how performance is rewarded. Without team rewards, team members will look out for themselves first.
• Also, team members must see significant benefits to them of operating in a more team orientated fashion.
• Thinking creatively, could you show your team some leadership by identifying synergies between your department and a few others?
• What initiatives can you take that could convince one or two other departments to work more closely with yours?
• What example can you set for the rest of your team?
• How is this an opportunity for you to show leadership rather than a problem?
• How clear are you about what's in it for you? How compelling would similar benefits be to other departments?
• What could you do to influence the culture to change - specifically to reward team work as least as much as individual results?
• What practical steps could you initiate to foster closer communication between departments.
• Unless some formal processes are institutionalized to support closer communication, will power alone will wane in time.