Managers are often asked to be team builders. They’re expected to turn a collection of individuals into a high-performing group, the members of which support each other in the workplace and may even be friends outside of work.
Sounds good, right? The whole is bigger than the sum of its parts. People share resources, ideas and common goals. They develop a shared identity, often built on a combination of their skill sets (“We’re techies” or “We’re design experts”) and their perceived status in the organization — from underdogs to superstars.
Aided by their leaders, they also identify a common enemy, usually an external competitor. The team unites to defeat the opposition, just like in all those movies that have us standing up and cheering at the end.
But hold your applause for a minute. Teams have a potential down side that we need to examine. All it takes is a few wrong turns for a team to become a silo — an insular group that may do fine work, but doesn’t play well with others. A silo takes care of its own… period. Silos can hold back change, impede innovation and cause unnecessary expense.
Here’s a quick look at the differences:
| Characteristics of Teams and Silos | |
| Team | Silo |
| Common identity | Common identity |
| Shares info | Guards info |
| Sees big picture of organization | Sees picture of own goals |
| Networks across groups | Avoids outreach |
| “Us and Them” | “Us vs. Them” |
| Boss’s style: collaborative | Boss’s style: controlling |
Leadership is the key here: A leader expands a group’s horizons, connects the members — the team — to a bigger vision. Yes, they may be scrappy underdogs or creative artists, but they are always part of a bigger effort.
Leaders keep teams from becoming silos by:
- Defining clear roles and goals for team members
- Encouraging employees to have a problem-solving mindset for all colleagues, not just those on their team
- Sharing information about the organization’s major strategies and initiatives
- Giving team members clear direction about priorities
- Pushing significant decision-making power to team members on the front lines
- Communicating in all directions — up, down and sideways — in the organization to make certain the team’s collaborative approach is recognized and rewarded
I hope you’re leading a collaborative team, not managing a silo. What if you’re trying to help a turf-protective bunch change its ways? I offer some tips in today’s three-minute podcast: What Great Bosses Know about Teams vs. Silos.
Poynter’s “What Great Bosses Know” podcast is sponsored by The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. You can download a complete series of these podcasts free on iTunesU. Poynter’s leadership and management expert Jill Geisler shares practical information on leadership and management that’s valuable for bosses in newsrooms and all walks of life.
