“Break down silos” has become the go-to recommendation to address collaboration problems. Leaders use it like a mantra, teams reorganize around it, and it transcends sectors. Yet the same problems persist as when siloes are enacted. Research shows that three in four cross-functional teams underperform when it comes to key metrics, suggesting that there is a flawed perception of silos and why collaborations collapse. The persistence of the problem raises a different question: what if silos aren’t a problem, but a misunderstood source of strength we have yet to fully leverage?
Throughout my work as a strategist focused on making change feel human-centered, I’ve seen collaboration falter not because people resist working together, but because efforts to improve collaboration start by breaking what people have intentionally built. When impact requires a shift in approach, I use four reframes to help understand how to activate, rather than break, silos and change outcomes:
-
Reframe the problem: Understand that silos exist for a reason.
Silos are defaulted into things to dismantle but when leaders pause to ask teams what they value about their work and what they believe they do well, they begin to understand why they exist. Silos grow out of specialties, interests, and lived experiences, which form the foundation of individual identity and group culture. They provide structure, accountability, and, most importantly, shared purpose. Breaking them down implies tearing down existing operational structures, including the trust and responsibility people have developed within those “walls”. Taking a step to understand how silos function is the first step toward identifying how to activate what already works in service of cross-functional work.
-
Reframe connection: Activate silos to forge true connection.
Activating silos avoids building bridges to unreceptive, unresponsive, or even nonexistent counterparts. Instead, it invites people into a shared space where curiosity makes distinct skill sets and individual priorities visible as assets rather than threats. Decades of research on psychological safety show that teams where people feel safe to speak up and take risks innovate and share information more freely. This matters because connection, not forced integration, is what enables collaboration to take root. Activating silos also support cultural connection instead of cultural assimilation, honoring the value of existing teams, communities, and subcultures while linking them through shared purpose.
-
Reframe collaboration: Minimize opportunities for disconnection, isolation, and alienation.
Problems arise when silos are influenced by isolation, disconnection, and alienation. These things take hold when people or teams feel unrecognized, communication lacks clarity, priorities feel competitive, and shared purpose feels more like a buzzword than a collective goal. APA’s 2024 Work in America survey found that higher psychological safety, including a sense of belonging and comfort at work, is closely linked to individual performance. When people feel seen and secure, relationships form more naturally, creating the conditions for collaboration that feels like a lived experience rather than an effort to assimilate. Leaders assume proximity will lead to alignment, overlooking the power of intentional actions to build a collective voice.
-
Reframe empowerment: Meet teams where value is created.
Efforts to strengthen team effectiveness often remain focused at the top, where alignment is closely tied to financial performance. This creates a disconnect with the middle of the organization, where cross-functional initiatives and specialized teams translate strategy into action and much of a company’s value is created. These teams rarely fail due to a lack of effort or expertise–more often, they struggle under leadership assumptions about silos and collaboration that don’t reflect their lived experience. McKinsey research shows that deploying team-focused approaches can realize performance improvements of up to 30%, illustrating that strengthening teams throughout the organization contributes to better outcomes. In this context, empowerment shifts from imposing uniform models of teamwork to enabling the conditions that allow teams to do their best work, connected by shared purpose rather than forced conformity.
Leaders don’t need another restructuring exercise to create shared purpose. They need to rethink how collaboration starts and how it is sustained to access real team effectiveness that leads to organizational success. Silos are not the problem, even when the impulse to dismantle them is. When leaders build bridges that treat identity and expertise as assets rather than obstacles, collaboration stops being forced and starts becoming real.