Intra-organisational collaboration and the silo mentality

The B325 website describes intra-organisational collaboration as:

Situations where individuals from different departments and functions work collaboratively to achieve joint outputs for the organisation.

On the subject of intra-organisational collaboration, I’ve just watched a great 50 Lessons video with Sir Richard Evans, talking about the dangers of individuals working within their own silos.

Dealing with the silo mentality is one of the biggest challenges in managing intra-organisational collaboration.

• Both managers and their staff have a tendency to operate within their comfort zones.
• People often hide behind management structure and poor processes and use them as an excuse.
• It is easy to forget we have a responsibility to the business as a whole, and that there is only one share price for the business.
• Individuals must remember that the person in the other department is not the enemy.

Interestingly, the B325 course materials hint that the key is not to break down these silos as Sir Richard suggests, but instead focus more on the need for collaboration across organisational structures.

(Source: Skillsoft Ireland Ltd, 2012).