I sat with my client June (not her real name) who was a recent external appointment as CEO of a significant engineering company.
She was complaining about the silos between the five corporate departments and how they resisted any attempts to open up and deconstruct the silos.
“What have you done so far?” I asked.
“Well I’ve met with the department heads and explained that we are losing time, money and competitiveness by the very existence of those silos. I showed them the evidence and they all agreed it was necessary to break down those silos. But nothing happened” she said.
“Have you seen what occurs when those department heads are away?” I asked.
June thought for a moment then said “Last month two of them were on leave and I did notice that their people communicated to resolve issues affecting them both.”
“So if you were to look at each silo, who do you think is the lid of the silo that keeps it in place?”
“My direct reports, the department heads – I know that” she shot back.
“OK, why do you think they are behaving like that, despite the evidence that it’s holding the company back?” I asked.
“I don’t know yet; I’m trying to get to the bottom of that” she said. “That’s why I called you.”
“Which would you prefer: you have the conversation with each of them; or me?” I asked.
“I’d like you to coach me to have that conversation” was the immediate response.
“Ok, what is the background they are coming from?” I asked, getting straight into it.
“Three of them were applicants for the position I have taken. The other two have been in their current roles for over ten years and will retire from there.” June explained.
“Which of these three root causes do you think are in play then: fear, habits or ignorance?” I asked.
June nodded “All three actually. I think they have issues with each other after the job application and I know that the older two are struggling to keep up with the changes with the new technology we’re bringing in.”
“Would you be prepared to ask them what they think are the root causes of the silos and what their role might be in keeping them in place?” I asked.
“Yes” she replied.
“And how do you think they’d respond to you asking them if they were willing to lead their teams to collaborate with courage, better practice and continuous learning?” I continued.
“They’d say yes, but whether they’d act on it...” she left off.
“Could you ask them to allow you to hold them accountable to do so, seeking the desired consequence of recognition and reward, rather than possible restructuring.” I tested.
June smiled “I’ll be a tad more diplomatic than that and give them a time limit for the achievement and clarity about how we’ll measure the outcome.”
“Thanks June, that sounds like a winner” I said.
It took four months and the voluntary redundancy of one the older managers, and success was achieved. The company became more competitive and efficient.
The right identification of cause, the right conversation followed by the right action – timely application of remedies. It’s all in the leadership.
