From destroying the silos to managing flows

In today’s fast-paced business environment, the term “breaking the silos” has become a popular mantra for organizations striving to enhance collaboration and agility.

The metaphor of silos, which conjures images of isolated, towering structures on a farm, has been used to describe the compartmentalized nature of business functions.

However, while the intention behind breaking these silos is to foster better communication and teamwork, the metaphor itself may not fully capture the dynamic and interconnected nature of modern organizations. If all we do is break the silos we have an undifferentiated  mess that is open to the elements.

Instead of focusing on breaking silos, we propose a more positive and accurate metaphor: the flow of a water from ponds of capability to steams of activity and back again.

This metaphor emphasizes the interconnectedness and the importance of both functional expertise and cross-functional collaboration.

Imagine each business function—Finance, R&D, Regulatory, Operations, Clinical, etc.—as a deep reservoir or pool of capability, knowledge, and resources. These pools are shaped by their functional terrain, climate, and time, holding deep expertise that is essential for the organization’s success. However, just storing this resource doesn’t achieve anything. The real magic happens when these resources flow through the organization, much like water in a river or stream.

The rivers and streams of activity represent our cross-functional teams. They are the conduits through which resources from different reservoirs combine and flow to get work done. These teams connect silos, carve new channels, and sometimes flood boundaries, depending on how governance, values, and team design enable or obstruct their course. The “water” they transport can be used for useful tasks, driving innovation and achieving organizational goals.

In this ecosystem, some of the water flows out of the system into the ocean, representing staff turnover. Some water is cleaned and processed, returning to the reservoirs in a closed-loop system, representing people returning to their functional bases after gaining new experiences and skills in cross-functional teams.

What we like about this more positive metaphor is that it emphasizes the interconnectedness and the importance of both the function and the cross-functional team. Instead of trying to break one part of the system, we are trying to improve the flow around the whole system.

We need the functions to develop deep capability, our cross-functional teams to combine and apply this to doing useful work, and the expertise we develop working in cross-functional teams to go back and improve our functional capabilities.

This metaphor also helps functional leaders see their roles as positive, valid, and recognized within the system. If our goal is just to break the functional silos, it will be hard to enlist their support. By focusing on improving the flow, we can create a more collaborative and agile organization where both functional and cross-functional teams thrive.

In conclusion, while breaking the silos has been a popular approach to improving organizational collaboration, it may be time to embrace a more positive and accurate metaphor. By thinking of our organization as a water ecosystem, we can better appreciate the interconnectedness and importance of both functional expertise and cross-functional collaboration. This shift in perspective can help us create a more dynamic, agile, and successful organization.

In our cross-functional teams training programs we develop this metaphor with tools and insights on how to improve flow, reduce turbulence and improve connection across the system, please get in touch to find out more