How can we get management team members out of their functional 'silos' and make them work collectively for the whole unit?
Many leadership teams are made up of the heads of different functions within a business unit. A key problem is to get members of such a group to think strategically, instead of simply representing their functions, and battling with each other over resource allocation. In an atmosphere such as this it is often difficult to get team members talking, if they fear to expose any 'weakness' in their functions which may be exploited by others. Yet is essential to take the time to overcome this. This can be quite a challenge to achieve - but can be done, and is essential in the modern busines environment.

Why is this a problem?
Here's a common situation: A top team of (say) a large division typically comprises the managers of various departments, plus some principal experts, support and admin, and so on. Members attend meetings with the attitude of a 'senior representative' of their functions

What can be done?
It is essential to secure some free time to discuss the role of the team, preferably at a venue away from day-to-day work. The team leader has the pivotal and strong role to play here, and must try to communicate the key business goals of the team and get get reactions/feedback from all members.

The sort of contributions needed from team members must be set out clearly by the team leader, who also must be direct with positive and negative feedback, based on recent examples.

Case Studies: Getting managers out of 'Line Silos'

A Division manager wished to transform his management team so that it could work at a more strategic level, and asked us to help. In the past, each Department head had simply been the most senior representative for his function. Team meetings would focus on resource / people management issues. When the manager requested they get together to discuss this, at first there was reluctance to participate, suspicion and most importantly, confusion about what new role the team should have. This was reinforced by the style of the leader, who was a very facilitate, quiet guy. We encouraged him to take a much stronger lead. He then presented an unequivocal need for the team to focus on overall strategy, customer needs and cross-functional solutions to problems. Once they really knew what he wanted, the attitudes of team members began to change. They started to sit up in their chairs! The atmosphere began to change from suspicion to one of constructing a new mission for the team. This was only a beginning (and took about a day of discussion) but development continued as the prime issue for team meetings in the future.