Silo mentality in teams: emergence, repercussions and recommended options for change
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Published Version
Date
2024-05-23
Authors
Jeske, Debora
Olson, Deborah
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Published Version
Abstract
Purpose: This article summarizes practitioner observations on three research questions. First, the factors that lead to the emergence and persistence of such teams. Second, the repercussions of siloed teams. And third, practical suggestions and recommendations that practitioners can employ to prevent silo formation or address existing silos. This article thus complements recent academic work that has previously explored the formation of silos. Design/methodology/approach: The authors used the input of current team leads from a focus group along with their consulting experience to explore these three research questions. The team lead input and consulting expertise are integrated with academic research on silos.Findings: The emergence and persistence of silos was mostly attributed to company characteristics (size, growth and stakeholder management) as well as communication inefficiencies (lack of role clarity and ownership within teams), which in turn were impacted by situational variables (pandemic and turnover). The authors noted the effect of team composition effects, team competition and organizational changes (rapid growth and restructuring) as potential contributors to the formation and persistence of silos. The team lead experts and our consulting experiences were congruent with the literature focused on repercussions of silos, from poor information exchanges to inefficiencies, divisions and perceived isolation of teams from the organization. Solutions focused on project organization and documentation as well as the adoption of new decision-making tools and practices, and the creation of more exchange and learning opportunities. The authors added additional options to promote more visibility, appreciation, proactive monitoring within teams and organizational identification initiatives.Originality/value: The current article adds a pragmatic perspective to silos and how organizations can address these when they become problematic and hinder performance and collaboration.
Description
Keywords
Communication , Team composition , Organizational development and change , Silo formation , Silo mentality , Team competition
Citation
Jeske, D. and Olson, D. (2024), 'Silo mentality in teams: emergence, repercussions and recommended options for change', Journal of Work-Applied Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWAM-07-2023-0064