Research shows that factors like culture, systems and incentives shape our behaviour. So, to break down silos and foster integration effectively leaders might benefit from starting small.

The economy is changing, and so must we.
I attended an excellent if sobering analysis of our economy presented by economist Cameron Bagrie, put on by the Marketing Association. His message was unambiguous: facing the most significant economic ‘Reset’ since the early 90s, the economic playbooks from the last thirty years just won’t cut it.
We’re moving from a period of abundance to scarcity of resources and labour.
From a period of cheap money to a longer period of more expensive funding.
From a period where shareholder value has been dominant to a period in which looking after staff, and therefore customers and clients, is paramount.
Using the memorable phrase ‘think small to stand tall’ Cameron urged businesses to embrace change, adapting what's within their control. For example, challenging pre-existing ways of doing things and the siloes that take root.
How to break down those siloes
In her book 'The Silo Effect: the peril of expertise and the promise of breaking down barriers' Financial Times journalist Gillian Tett explores the challenges businesses face overcoming siloes of the mind and the behaviour they produce, as well as the benefits of silo-busting.
As a trained anthropologist Tett emphasises how cultural norms shape human behaviour in groups. Process is but a symptom of how business cultures and teams have learned to think about what they do. Healthy division of labour quickly gives way to entrenched ways of working. Tett writes:
“The word “silo” does not just refer to a physical structure or organisation (such as a department). It can also be a state of mind. Silos exist in structures. But they exist in our minds and social groups too. Silos breed tribalism. But they can also go hand in hand with tunnel vision.”
Time to practice what you preach
For leaders it’s time to stop the fashionable rhetoric of transformation and get into the practice of busting siloed thinking and behaviour.
In fact, you might actually want to consider changing your own behaviour first by scaling down your efforts.
It seems counterintuitive. Surely it's the job of the leader to inspire, articulate a grand vision of a better future and set the overall intent of the organisation?
Yes, but that's arguably the easy bit.
In our quest to create big change on a big scale in a big way, we fail to recognise the truth of how we as humans change our behaviour: it occurs in smaller ways than we imagine and it takes longer than we think.
In our impatience to implement changes fast, there’s a natural tendency to declare intent first, then work out what to do. This is a high risk approach. The 'action gap' that often ensues simply exacerbates change fatigue among teams. The next time a fresh initiative is launched, teams are far more sceptical that anything will change as a result. Disengagement creeps through the ranks.
Enacting the change
Instead, once you've identified the specific silos you want to bust, it's better to keep your efforts specific and commit to breaking them down them over the longer term.
What follows is some guidance on how to enact these smaller change experiments with a view to building momentum exponentially over time:
Identify one or perhaps two initial projects that will benefit from a small group changing their work behaviour to get to a better outcome.
Give this team a space and environment that enables them to work together. This could simply be a set of desks they can make their own. You don’t need to redecorate a meeting room and call it an Innovation Centre or Ideas Kitchen (innovation, there’s an abstract noun).
Appoint a leader for the team (not from senior management). Be clear on expectations. Act as a sponsor and consult available to them
Let that smaller team model the silo busting for others. It’s amazing what a smaller team of diverse thinkers can achieve in practice compared to a committee of senior managers theorising about how to redesign an entire process.
Ask the team to share regular progress with the wider group and be up front about the learnings - the good, the bad and the ugly.
Diagnose these learnings and apply to other suitable projects this time with different team members.
Even if the first efforts don’t yield the progress you’re expecting, don’t declare failure prematurely or stage a senior management intervention to impose process from the top down.
Repeat the exercise with adjustments from those learnings, accepting that it takes perseverance over time to yield benefits. Progress is rarely linear and comes in fits and starts, not neat quarters.
In parallel with running these experiments you can review and adjust the incentives, both social and financial, to create the motivation for key leaders and teams to experiment with changing their own behaviour over a longer timeframe. We often expect change without adjusting these incentives and wonder why nothing eventuates despite the intent.
It’s time for leaders to get real about what it takes to break down silos and find more productive ways of working. Lasting behaviour change takes time and research shows that the benefits are realised through compounding effects.
Start small with your teams and you may be surprised at the size of the results.
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