“My division is structured into eight teams – and the differences in climate, communication and productivity could hardly be greater. How can I establish a shared culture and foster productive collaboration?”
Divergent working climates, insufficient communication and teams operating in isolation are far from uncommon. Where several leaders work in parallel, silos can quickly emerge. Each team optimises its own remit, while the shared perspective across the wider division gradually fades.
Start by listening
Before initiating any measures, you need a clear picture. Hold individual conversations with your team leaders. What are the underlying reasons for the lack of willingness to cooperate? Where are there tensions, ambiguities or unresolved conflicts? The consolidated insights from these conversations provide the starting point for a joint team-leader meeting and the development of concrete solution pathways.
Clarity around roles and responsibilities
Many friction points arise simply from a lack of clarity: Who is responsible for what? Who owns which objectives? What do reporting lines look like? Establish a shared understanding of tasks, roles and themes across the entire division. Make the strengths and weaknesses of existing processes and interfaces transparent – and work together to improve them. Less complexity means less potential for conflict. Also review the distribution of resources: individual teams being either overburdened or underutilised can create resentment and reinforce separation.
Communication as the foundation
Poor information flow is the most common cause of tension between teams. How is communication handled when tasks span multiple teams? Which platforms are used? Where are the gaps? Involve team leaders in shaping the necessary adjustments – not as a directive from the top, but as a jointly owned solution.
Make shared objectives visible
Highlight the areas in which success can only be achieved as one collective team. Cross-team objectives create a stronger sense of unity – and reduce internal competition, which can fuel envy and resentment. Critically review existing incentive models: do they reward collaboration – or competition?
The team of team leaders
Leaders shape culture. Consider how your team leaders can begin to see themselves as a team in their own right – ideally as a peer group that supports one another rather than drawing boundaries. Especially in periods of pressure and stress, we tend to narrow our focus. A strong “team of team leaders” counteracts this tendency – and sends a clear signal to the entire division.
PIVARO Takeaway
Silos do not emerge overnight – and they do not disappear by instruction. Anyone seeking cross-divisional collaboration must shape it deliberately and collectively: through clarity of roles, openness in communication and leaders who consistently model the behaviours they expect from their teams.