#Define silo mentality how to

You don’t have to be a CEO or have a MBA to understand how all of those things, when executed well and ingrained in the culture, would lead to amazing financial returns. I can’t think of many organizations out there that don’t want to be more collaborative, have an aligned vision, communicate better or improve trust and accountability. Actually, this can exist in small businesses as well. If you have ever worked in a large corporation this might sound familiar to you. Senior leaders finally realized that the military in general and various task forces at the tip of the spear had to transform into modern twenty-first century organizations that were aligned behind a single narrative for the vision. The traditional hierarchical structures, cross-branch sub-cultures and information sharing methods were fighting against us. Why? In large part due to a vague vision, bureaucracies and organizational silos.

#Define silo mentality how to

In the early days, many would agree that yes, coalition forces working to quell insurgencies and defeat Al Qaeda in Iraq, for example, had disjointed visions for how to accomplish this lofty goal. And was that single mission understood clearly by all? Did it mean different things to different people? Was the “what” clearly defined but the “how” more loosely defined by different units? But imagine piling on all of the other conventional forces, intelligence agencies and allied forces across the globe trying to work towards a single mission. In the Navy SEAL teams – and the platoon, troop and Team level, we approach leadership, collaboration and communication in a decentralized manner. We had the best warriors, intelligence specialists and civilian organizations at our disposal yet weren’t nimble enough to move at the speed these wars required. A few years into the wars, American and coalition forces started to realize the twentieth century military mechanism wasn’t going to work against a dangerous, dynamic and vastly decentralized enemy.

In many of my writings, I equate the ever-transforming global business environment to the military’s post 9-11 reality. It is the duty of the executive leaders and management to prepare and equip their teams with the proper mindset and vision to break down these destructive organizational barriers. Departmental silos are seen as a growing pain for most organizations of all sizes. Unlike many other trendy management terms this is one issue that has not disappeared over the years. Silo is a business term that has been passed around and discussed at many boardroom tables over the last 30 years.