When you show up for work each day, what is your first priority upon arriving?

• Do you go straight to your work area without connecting with anyone?

• Do you head straight for the coffee machine for your fix of caffeine to carry you through the morning?

• Do you circle the office telling stories and reaffirming your place on the pecking order?

• Do you stop and talk to people and make them feel important and validated?

One of the most common reasons for the creation of silos in any workplace is for self-protection.  If a person or a team doesn’t feel trusted or safe within an organization, they are going to align with each other and create walls around themselves to keep the wolves out and the sheep in.

How do you knock down silos?

Create a culture of trust and safety.  Trust and encourage each other each to be transparent with thoughts and ideas and take action when action has been promised. Build a feeling of safety by taking care of each and every person on your team.  No matter where you are on the structure of the company, know that everyone wants to feel like they have value and are appreciated by everyone else.

How safe does your team make you feel at work?

~ Paul Kearley
Managing Partner, Dale Carnegie Business Group – Maritimes Division
(506) 432-6500