By Bert Zethof

All of us have experienced or thought about the organizational phenomenon of working in silos. The image of disconnected storage bins is useful for describing organizations where communication between teams is less than optimal.

"Silo" in this sense has become cliche; I must come across the word at least twice a week in my coaching and consulting work.

When I met a colleage the other day, he jokingly referred to silos as "cylinders of excellence" which caused me to have a huge belly laugh.

After we shared our laugh, I cast aside the thought. Later, when I thought about it again, I realized that a "cylinders of excellence" perspective brings a positive weight to the issue.

It is easy to forget about the depth of talent that resides in teams. Sure, communicating with other departments is difficult. But the same communication skills that make the team strong can be applied to make the organization strong. It's not really a big leap from strong teams to strong organizations. It's a matter of choosing to make the effort.

When I was a child, I had a toy that was wooden sticks and cylinders. I remember making network structures of cylinders connected by sticks. Each cylinder was connected to many other cylinders. Back then, I was just playing. Today, I can see that that image may be a helpful one for leaders and teams grappling with the challenge of organizational alignment and unity.