A Unified Vision Will Eliminate the Silo Mentality

The role that collaboration plays in the modern workplace cannot be gainsaid. As long as teams work together, a complex task seems easier, jobs can be done quicker, and clients end up being happy with a task. In fact, 88% of workers prefer working in a collaborative atmosphere than a competitive one, according to Forbes.

Sadly, the idea of a work environment that embraces collaboration might be nothing but a pipe dream for most organizations. Despite managers working overtime to encourage their staff members to collaborate, most departments might still work in silos. This is a recipe for disaster, especially if you fail to fix this situation soon.

Here is some more information about the silo mentality and how a unified vision can help:

What Is The Silo Mentality?

The silo mentality is an anti-collaboration mentality in which different workplace departments fail to communicate effectively with their counterparts. For instance, department A might be concentrating on a task that is essential to the success of the task of department B. However, none of these departments are sure of what the next one is up to. If not careful, this can harm your employee scheduling strategies along with productivity, according to Humanity.

Most organizations will blame task segmentation, managerial differences or even security claims for these silos. While silos can spawn productivity hurdles, inter-departmental cohesion problems as well as impair productivity, getting rid of them isn’t an option. Through these silos, departments can work on their craft to ensure that they deliver to their best ability.

The Silo Mentality Starts With the C-Suite

Employees do not necessarily need to work in collaboration, but managers do. The management team needs to meet up at least on a weekly basis to discuss the key aspects of the job. They should address issues to deal with the tasks that need to be completed as well as the process to follow for completion.

Since leadership differences might easily spawn the silo mentality, these sessions should also be used to discuss such differences. If possible, opposing managers should be ready to settle on some compromises for the greater good of the organization.

Signs That Your Team Has the Silo Mentality

The silo mentality might slowly encroach itself on your organization, but it might take even longer to identify this. With time, you might notice that multiple departments are being rather redundant in fulfilling shared tasks. Two departments might save a file twice instead of saving the files on different versions of the same location.

Additionally, departments might have misaligned priorities with most competing with each other. For instance, while you expect a business leader to work with their team to provide financial information, they might be busy dealing with another client’s tasks. This mayhem means that completing jobs that are bound to involve the whole organization will be an uphill task.

A Unified Vision Will Help

The problem, in most cases, lies in that the organization leaders and employees might not see the bigger picture. They may be so focused on a single assignment that the role that it plays in the achievement of the entire organizational goals seems like a superficial thing. When briefing leaders and employees for a task, it is essential to include details about the role that the task will play as an organization’s goal puzzle piece.

Additionally, incentivizing the achievement of a business milestone is wise. Employees will be more likely to commit to your goals once they feel that their efforts will be rewarded afterward. Such incentives should also be garnered towards promoting collaboration. When referring to the achievement of a goal, it is, therefore, best to refer to it as a team fulfillment.

Conclusion

Teamwork can only exist in your organization as long as the rest of the staff members aren’t trying to compete with each other. With a mindset that they are aiming for the greater good of the organization, the silo mentality can become obsolete. Consider championing your organization’s key goals to promote productivity.