Within the framework of every organization, there is a tendency for departments to act as autonomous entities. Unless leaders help followers see the ‘big picture’ (systems thinking), these little kingdoms independently compete for limited resources without regard for the effect it will have on the entire organization.
In this book, Patrick Lencioni defines silos as ‘nothing more than the barriers that exist between departments within an organization, causing people who are supposed to be on the same team to work against one another . . . in most situations, silos rise up not because of what executives are doing purposefully but rather because of what they are failing to do: provide themselves and their employees with a compelling context for working together.’
The notion of context is critical since, without it, individuals at all levels of the organization easily lose focus and begin moving in different directions. Often these diverse courses conflict with one another and with the fundamental mission of the organization.
Lencioni presents a model for combating the tendencies organizations have towards establishing silos, those hindrances within an organization that ultimately lead to political in-fighting and deadly turf wars. His model consists of the following four components:
- Establishing and clearly articulating a thematic goal. This is a single, qualitative focus that is shared by the entire organization and that applies for only a specified time.
- Establish defining objectives. These are action items that members of the team realize must be completed to accomplish the goal.
- Standard operating objectives are the ongoing priorities of the organization that are shared by all members. These standard operating objectives often include topics like revenue and expenses, customer satisfaction, productivity, quality, etc.
- Lencioni’s last component is metrics. Simply stated, this is about measurement. Although each department has ‘numbers’ to meet, they must understand how they fit into the ‘big picture.’
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The size of the organization is of little consequence. The propensity to establish silos is prevalent everywhere because of our human nature to self-protect. The model Lencioni presents is a viable option.
Enjoy the journey . . .