You Can't Break Down Silos

Here's the thing.

There is a common refrain said by those responsible for organisational change. "We need to break down silos". That is a load of absolute Rubbish.

You can't break down silos.

That's not strictly speaking true. You can break down existing silos, but new silos will form almost immediately.

Humans form communities. It's a fundamental trait of our species.

We form physical communities around the spaces we live in, social communities with those we click with, and ideological communities around those with common views (whether that's about politics, sport, or our favourite TV show).

And these communities form organically - even at work. Usually with the people we work with most often. We call these communities, silos.

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Be Aware Of...

When talking about communities, there are two important factors you have to be aware of.

First, there is a size limit. Research on non-human primates by British anthropologist Robin Dunbar found that there is a cognitive limit to the number of stable social relationships in a group. Between 100 and 230 - usually rounded to 150 which is often called Dunbar’s number.

This is actually a physical limitation in our monkey-brain.

While Dunbar himself states that this number is only indicative with a high degree of variation, regardless of the number, beyond a certain point communities naturally split.

The second factor to understand is that an unintended, but natural, consequence of communities is the emergence of "us vs them" thinking. The idea that those, not in your community, are “them”. A best, just an “other”. At worst, an enemy working against “us”. While there are good evolutionary reasons for this response, it is very damaging. I'll explore this in a later video.

But here's the thing.

In many organisations, it is actually important to break down silos at work.

Why?

Because most organic silos have formed around the organisational structure. Which, if you remember from a previous video, is not designed to optimise for customer outcomes or the creation of value.

And so, the natural size limit and "us vs them" nature of silos causes tension and conflict which interferes with the need to collaboratively deliver value.

So if these siloes need to be broken down, BUT silos will always, naturally, form, the role of those responsible for organisational change changes. Silos need to be deliberately designed, often through organisational structure, to be constructive to the purpose of the organisation and the needs of the customer.

~ Evan Leybourn / Melbourne, Australia

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