Leveraging Your Team: A Leader's Essential Role in Breaking Down Silos
In my many years of working with companies as a leadership coach, I've observed a common challenge that persists even among the most promising leaders. It's a pattern that often emerges after our leadership team meetings: leaders return to their departments and fall back into the habit of working in silos, not engaging their team in the department’s priorities and often with exhibiting poor cross-departmental communication.
This observation has led me to reflect on a critical element to great leadership. It's not about doing everything yourself; it's about empowering and guiding your team to achieve collective goals. Let me share a couple of examples that illustrate this point and offer a perspective on how we can break free from these limiting practices.
The ‘Rocks’ Dilemma
One area where I frequently see this issue manifest is in the implementation of Rocks - our term for 90-day, high-priority projects designed to move the needle significantly for the business. Many leaders approach their Rocks with the mindset that they must personally handle every aspect of the project. This is a misconception that can lead to burnout and missed opportunities.
Instead, I encourage leaders to think of themselves as quarterbacks or project managers for their Rocks. Your role isn't to do all the work yourself, but to coordinate, delegate, and oversee the project's progress. By involving team members and leveraging their diverse skills and perspectives, you not only distribute the workload more efficiently but also foster a sense of ownership and engagement among your staff.
Remember, the goal is to achieve the desired results, not to prove that you can do everything on your own. Trust in your team's abilities and give them the chance to contribute meaningfully to these crucial projects.
Getting Your Whole Company Involved
To illustrate how effective team leveraging can work on a larger scale, let me share a success story from one of my long-standing clients - a large digital marketing company I've been working with for years.
At the beginning of 2024, we identified "leveraging AI" as the company's theme for the year. Recognizing AI's potential as a competitive advantage in their industry, the leadership team decided to approach this initiative in a way that would engage the entire organization.
Instead of keeping the strategic planning confined to the boardroom, they chose to gamify the process company-wide. Each leader was tasked with challenging their teams to brainstorm ways to best leverage AI for their division, department, or the company as a whole.
This approach yielded several benefits:
It drove engagement at all levels of the organization, from entry-level employees to senior management.
It fostered a culture of innovation, encouraging everyone to think creatively about how AI could improve their work.
It broke down silos by creating a shared goal that spanned across departments.
The initiative culminated in a company-wide "pitch-off" where the top ideas from each department were presented to the entire company. The person with the best AI leverage idea won a big prize, and their concept was implemented company-wide over the following months.
This example showcases how leaders can tap into the collective intelligence of their organization. By creating an environment where every team member felt empowered to contribute, the company not only generated numerous innovative ideas but also boosted morale and cross-departmental collaboration.
Breaking Free from Silos
The key takeaway from these examples is clear: as leaders, our job is not to have all the answers or to do all the work. Our role is to create an environment where our teams can thrive, collaborate, and contribute their best ideas and efforts towards our shared goals.
Here are a few strategies to help you break free from silos and leverage your team more effectively:
Encourage cross-departmental communication and collaboration, maybe occasionally sitting in in other departments meetings.
Delegate responsibilities and trust your team members with important tasks.
Create opportunities for your team to contribute ideas and solutions.
Recognize and reward innovative thinking and collaborative efforts.
Lead by example - demonstrate the importance of teamwork in your own actions.
Remember, true leadership is about amplifying the strengths of your team, not trying to be a lone superhero. When we stop working in silos and start genuinely leveraging our teams, we unlock the full potential of our organizations.
In my decades of experience, I've seen time and again that the most successful leaders are those who know how to bring out the best in others. So, I challenge you to reflect on your leadership style. Are you truly leveraging your team's potential? If not, it's never too late to start. The results might just surprise you.
