You probably know it well, the us and them mentality, the internal competition, lack of collaboration across the organisation. Silos that prevent the flow of information between departments, teams, employees, countries and cultures. What's happening? Why do silos occur? Why do we oppose each other internally in an organisation?
One of the most classic hierarchical systems, top down, consists of departments, each with their own core competencies, which in theory collaborate on a common goal, namely to bring the entire organisation forward as a unit. The theory is that this is the one of the most efficient system.
Yet we hear time and time again about communication and collaboration problems: “The others do…”, “The fools in department X…”, “They just pass on their problem to us”, “Why should we help them?”, “Why have they not informed us that customer Y called a week ago with the message about this and that… ”
The tribal behaviour dilemma is biologically conditioned
We humans are wired by nature to always organise ourselves into smaller tribes (yes, we are pack animals), which results in tribal behaviour within the group. Exactly the same as silos. It was originally essential to our survival, as smaller packs could move faster than a large one, everyone knew everyone, and the internal communication was therefore more efficient and the survival rate higher.
We can draw parallels from the early tribal behaviour and to the teamwork known in companies today. It is simply in our nature to form smaller groups within the large group, and there is nothing wrong with that as long as we are aware of the psychological and biological aspect of it. The way to get rid of negative silo formation (tribal behaviour) is, among other things, in how and how much energy we put into developing and educating our employees and teams.
Working with tribal behaviour and silo formations
A 'tribe' can be any part of an organisation that has become selfish, ie. it perceives itself as completely unique, a separate entity that is only loyal to itself, its own department, or region. And not in relation to the organisation as a whole. And as such, at the risk of ending up with a negative common goal. But why is this tribal behaviour so strong, and why does it continue to exist? Here are some facts:
- Tribal behaviour is part of the drive to self-preservation
- Tribes create identity
- Tribal behaviour creates an emotional connection in a world where people feel a need to belong
- Tribes are safety zones, a place you can call home, which creates security and safety
- Tribal behaviour is the basis of unity and strength for better or worse. Sometimes for worse: superiority and we-are-better-than-you mentality
- People are typically motivated by their own interests first, then by loyalty to the tribe and finally to the organisation as a whole.
I bund og grund kan den menneskelige hjerne socialt ikke kapere så store grupper, netværk og systemer, som vi opererer med i dag. Der kan være alt imellem 20 til 150 mennesker i en stamme (Dunbar. 1997. Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language. Harvard University Press.). That is, according to Robin Dunbar, the maximum number. If you exceed that, new tribews are formed.
How do we prevent negative tribal behaviour and silo formation in our organisations?
TRUST. It may sound banal, but trust is the key to success when it comes to collaborating across an organisation. Trust consists of four things:
Openness
Acceptance
Reliability
Honesty
- Openness:
It is alpha and omega to inform about the decisions one makes and account for one's actions so that they are transparent to others. This is to ensure that there is a fertile ground for communication and knowledge sharing. This applies to all parties in an organisation: We must support a culture where we question each other. One cannot become a part of something or interact with others without being interested in what is going on and gaining insight into the contexts. A "tour de chambre" between departments can be an eye opener that you can make use of.
- Acceptance
Must be understood as basic acceptance and respect for our fellow human beings and colleagues: I am o.k., You are o.k. We are o.k., You are o.k. An acceptance that we are all part of the same organisation and have the same overall goal. Including the acknowledgement that what we do in each of our teams or departments has an effect on what the others do. And the other way round as well. Here, transparent leaders and social events help.
- Pålidelighed:
The ability to comply with agreements is central to the work of optimising collaboration across the organisation. Adherence to agreements internally within the tribe is usually a matter of course. But as soon as it comes to those in the other tribes, the ‘silos’, often times the same rules do not apply. Take responsibility for ensuring that the agreements with the other departments and teams are also complied with, otherwise it is a bit like sawing off the branch you are sitting on.
Alignment of expectation and joint agreements are gold.
- Honesty:
Honesty is a quality that helps to reflect our values and attitudes. Honesty implies sincerity and thus an absence of deception. One of the reasons is that honesty simplifies communication because one typically trusts honest statements, not necessarily because they are objectively true, but because they reflect ‘your’ version and understanding of the situation, and we can then work from that. In addition, honesty helps build trust between people. Therefore, do not burn the bridges, do or say anything that you would not be able to handle yourself or can then vouch for.
Fra naturens side fungerer vi rigtigt godt i mindre grupper, er effektive og kan overskue situationer. Det er derfor, vi har teams. Problemet er bare, at vi kan komme til at glemme den større sammenhæng. Den langsigtede strategiske plan og det fælles mål. Vi skal konstant påmindes om vores mål og delmål, succeser og styrker. Vi mennesker er som udgangspunkt gode til at samarbejde, vi har gjort det i tusinder af år og overlevet lige netop af den grund. Men der er behov for gode ’stammeledere’, der kan samle de forskellige ’stammer’. Aktive lederteams er et rigtigt godt eksempel på, hvordan man rent praktisk kan komme silodannelser til livs ved at fokusere på samarbejdet teams imellem. En klog mand sagde engang: ”Hvis du skal have folk til at bygge et skib, slæbe tømmer, samarbejde, arbejde hårdt og tætne planker, så skal du give dem drømmen om at sejle på havet.” Med andre ord: Hvis vi kan se og forstå målet, er engagerede og motiverede, så er der ikke nogen grænser for, hvad en fælles indsats fra hele organisationen kan udrette. Men det kræver i første omgang TILLID.