“I’ll be blunt, the biggest barrier to Australia having the convenience of seamless government services is what I refer to as a plague of fiefdoms. The siloed thinking across departments and agencies has to stop.”
Said Minister Bill Shorten in a recent address at the National Press Club.
And he is not the only one to point out the downside of silos and what he called “turf protection”. We see it in all large organisations and between any organisation and their stakeholders.
Of course, some organisational structure is essential. Silos are useful. But silos often become those fiefdoms the Minister was decrying, getting in the way of effective delivery.
I’ve done a lot of work this year with teams from State Government finding it difficult to make their silos disappear so they can work as a single team and learn from each other.
Here are some things I’ve learned about how to make your silos work a little better.
Get together as often as you can
There is no substitute for getting into the room together – physically where possible, virtually where you must. Get together across your silos. Sit beside ‘them’ and talk to them. Look at the issues together.
Walk in each other’s shoes
Share your perspectives, your dilemmas, your aspirations. Talk to each other. Most importantly, listen to each other.
Just try stuff
Agree on few small steps you can take together to bridge the gaps between you. Experiment with your processes. Learn your way beyond the silos together as you do the work.
Sounds simple. Is simple. Takes commitment. By coming together, walking in each other’s shoes and experimenting with new ways to do things, you can work together better, whatever the state of your silos.