A leader’s position carries with it responsibility to inspire followers and use power wisely. It also includes teaching others to jump barriers and give up their silo thinking in order to explore new possibilities.
A few years ago when I was at a friend’s apartment, I noticed that her dog, a big German Shepard that stood maybe 24” high, was confined to the living room by a piece of wood placed at each doorway. The barrier was only 18” inches high – a height the dog could have walked or jumped over with ease.
I knew this because my dog Emelie, a mix of Border collie and Samoyed raised exploring beaches and mountain paths, easily jumped the piece of wood. In fact, she roamed all over the house, jumping or knocking down the barrier if it got in her way. The other dog, who only got out to a small yard three times a day, looked at Emelie, whined, and after a couple of times testing her freedom and being disciplined for doing so, was too afraid to venture forth into risking another jump.
An executive coaching client recently commented to me that she values my creative input because her staff can’t see or won’t speak up about the ‘possibilities’ of a situation. She is a ‘roamer’ but her staff uses what I call ‘silo thinking’ – confining their perspective to a narrow column of influence. A silo is a structure used to store materials, in this picture it is grain on a farm.
Grain silos on a farm
Silo thinking in followers means that instead of looking out to the horizon, employees see the walls of the job description, the risks of speaking up, and the fear of going out of their comfort zones to explore unknown territory. They’ll share ideas with peers but won’t speak up at meetings or with their managers.
The influence of their corporate climate, consequences of making a mistake in front of others, and their own ‘mental training’ are just some reasons for their ‘silo’ thinking. It could be age – never being asked before for creative ideas – or conditioning over the years by being told what to do, how to do it, and when to do it instead of being empowered to individualize their work. Or the fact that people don’t want to expand for fear of the repercussions of what new activities they might be asked to participant in or that they would have to move out of their usual role to take on leadership themselves of an initiative.
My client consistently strives to inspire, model creative thinking, and provide opportunities for staff input. She is persistent in efforts to overcome her staff’s ‘silo thinking’ and resistance to jump barriers. However, with each subtle shift in behavior from individuals, my client gains confidence to continue her efforts to engage her staff in barrier jumping behavior.
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