How to Improve Team Communciation (By Connecting Organizational Silos)

For a variety of reasons, teams struggle to communicate with one another. Therefore, it's crucial for leaders to understand how to improve team communication. 

As a leader, you may be in charge of a team, department, or organization. To achieve the goals you set, you will need to communicate information between these different parts.

A major roadblock to achieving your strategic goals is communication silos. Though you may understand the importance of connecting communication silos to help your people collaborate, it can be hard to do this while still performing your day-to-day operational tasks. 

This blog post highlights how to improve team communication by connecting your organization's communication silos. 

How to Improve Team Communication - ANTHONY'S PERSPECTIVE

If you're a senior leader, you're likely spending upwards of 80 percent of your time communicating. This level of communication is necessary to lead others, collaborate with departments, and effectively cascade your plan throughout the organization. Therefore, if you want to become a more effective leader, I encourage you to focus on improving your communication. However, one of the biggest challenges we run into within organizations that prevents effective communication is communication silos.

When I refer to "silos," I mean fractured teams or groups within your organization where information isn't flowing. You can think of silos as forming a communication gap. This is a problem when intended communication isn't being received by others because of these gaps.

In addition, internal departments or groups may have different goals, intents and assumptions. As a result, even if communication does make it across the gap, it may be misinterpreted because of these differing perspectives. This inevitably leads to rifts of trust and understanding among your internal groups. And the further your teams are from one another, the more difficult it is to work effectively together.

If trust has eroded throughout your departments, the act of leading through communication becomes significantly more difficult. To overcome this, it's necessary to call-out these shortcomings to work to establish a foundation of trust. Only then will it be possible to establish effective communication.

Once trust has been reestablished, it is then necessary to focus on defining and establishing communication processes and expectations. These pieces are critical because without the right foundation and systems, then you risk fear, confusion, and uncertainty throughout your organization.

I encourage you watch my video for further detail and insight on this topic.

FURTHER INSIGHT

To gain a well-rounded perspective on how to effectively break down communication silos within your organization, we recommend reviewing these pertinent articles.

• Cross-Silo Leadership
  
  Learn how to create more value by connecting experts from inside and outside the organization.
  
• You're Creating Communication Silos Right Now
  
  Are communication silos pitting your people against each other because they're more loyal to their department than the organization?
  
  
• Why You Need to Understand Your Communication Interdependencies
  
  As a CEO its critical to understand how to improve team communication and interdependencies and how they impact the implementation of your strategy plan.
  

CONTRARIAN CORNER

In this segment of Leader's Digest, we highlight a new approach to dealing with the topic of discussion. This will identify alternative modern solutions for your consideration

Take a look at the following article, which applies a different perspective on how to treat communication silos.

• Stop Breaking Down Silos and Start Connecting Them
  
  

  We need to change the conversation to focus on bridging silos and creating open lines of communication and collaboration between teams.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

Here are some of our actionable tips that you can use now to begin the process of improving team communication by addressing communication silos.

• 7 Strategies to Break Down Silos in Big Meetings
  
  In team meetings, it can be difficult to get the participation of other departments. This article outlines seven strategies you may use to spark discussions, promote collaboration across departments, and create connections between them.
  
  
• The Silo Mentality: How to Break Down the Barriers
  
  Most organizations of all sizes view departmental silos as a growing pain. This article outlines five steps strategies to help leadership teams create a shared vision and break down communication silos.
  

• Knowledge Silos in the Workplace: What They Are and How to Overcome Them

  Communication Silos often create knowledge silos. Costing organizations millions of dollars annually, harming business culture, and killing teamwork. This article explains what communication silos are, how they form, and the clear harm they're doing to your organization.
  

WEIGH IN

You're invited to become a part of the conversation.

Participate in this poll question:

Why do you believe organizational silos form?

• Different goals
  
• Inefficient systems
  
• Too many active projects
• Corporate inertia

Click here to provide your answer and view the collective results.

NEW BLOG POST: 8 REASONS YOU NEED A FACILITATOR FOR STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION