- September 7, 2021
- Posted by: Joanne Casey
- Category: Education
Silos are not new to education. In fact, educational institutions may have invented them! Go into any school and you will see evidence of them – in Junior, Middle and or Senior Schools; in Mathematics Faculties or Humanities Departments – the evidence is there. Do any of these sound familiar…a P-12 school in name only, a tug of war over distribution of finances, decisions being made for you, rather than with you, senior schooling defining the structures, curriculum or staffing for the remainder of the school, staff rooms designed for specific faculties or teams, or no staff room to speak of, a sense of collective confusion, frustration and annoyance at the mixed messages being received, or the myriad of agendas that seem to be implemented at any one time, a sense of ADD (yes tongue in cheek – a play on acronym intended) when implementing agendas or a lack of cohesion with strategies?
Silos are a cultural phenomenon, which arise out of our human need to classify and organise our mental and social models (Tett, 2015). They provide us with the structure to cope with the chaos! Educational institutions have become experts in creating systems to organise and classify day to day operations. One could say it is in our DNA.
So, if Silo thinking, structures and mindsets are entrenched in our educational systems, how do they impact on school improvement agendas? Collaboration is a key driver for cultural and structural change to improve learning for students and teachers. With the current focus on collaborative practices, silos can be seen as an obstacle to be overcome. Let’s be honest, achieving transformative collaboration is a challenging prospect that some may not see as worth the time, money, and effort when silos are part of the natural order of schools.
School leaders don’t set out to promote fragmented practices within their school, but the very nature of traditional schooling can promote silo practices and thinking which can emerge due to such factors as; the size of the school, competing agendas, school culture and leadership values and beliefs. More importantly, sometimes we don’t acknowledge or sometimes even recognise that we have silos within our own context. The way we have structured the organisation and the social aspects of work have been in place for so long, we see them as the norm and tunnel vision blinds us to the tribalism within.
Yet, the research is clear that collaborative practices and processes implemented authentically and with fidelity, transforms schools in positive ways for teachers and students. It is therefore in our collective interests to look at ways to remove the barriers for implementing and sustaining collaborative practices.
Consequently, we need to stop and look at the classification systems we use in our school systems and local contexts and acknowledge that we have silos there. Even if we can’t see them! If you suspect that this might be true in your school context then consider engaging an “insider-outsider” to help you see more clearly. Gillian Tett in her book “The Silo Effect” (2015) suggests that this is someone in the unique position of knowing the world (of schools) very well but is “new” to this unique context. In other words, someone who can see what others may not be seeing. Many school systems have introduced the concept of an “audit” or “review” to evaluate the continuous cycle of improvement. This is not what I am referring to. The purpose of these reviews and audits are about alignment and line of sight to monitor school performance. However, in this case I am suggesting that the “insider-outsider” looks for systems and practices that promote silo thinking, behaviours, attitudes, and actions.
Yet another consideration is to reflect on our own attitudes and understandings. Do we see silos and collaboration as competing entities? What if we thought differently? What if it wasn’t either/ or? What if we looked at leveraging the very best of silo practices AND collaborative practices?
Jane Kise talks about this type of polarity thinking in her book “Unleashing the Positive Power of Differences” (2014). Rather than seeing silos and collaboration as an either/or proposition, map the positive and negative aspects of each and leverage the differences to support the change process. In other words, maximise the advantages and minimise the disadvantages. However, this does not account for social complexity associated with the type of collaborative interactions that occur in schools. We need to consider how social brain theory (Dunbar, 1998, 2011) can provide additional contributions to our understandings of silo mentality as a protection mechanism. More specifically, how the number and types of interactions influences the distribution of an individual’s energy and effort to those relationships.
Identifying the issues, fears or problems of silos and collaboration within your context, enables more informed decisions about action steps to reach a common goal.
To begin the process;
- Recognise that this polarity exists and the effects that it has in your context.
- Identify the value and purpose of having the best of both (silos practices and collaborative practices) within your context – create a goal statement that reflects this.
- Map the polarity by examining the advantages and disadvantages of both (Look at an example below)
Improved Student Outcomes through improved Teacher Practices
| Silo Practices | Collaborative Practices |
| Positive | Positive |
| Specialist knowledge Contextualised and localised decision making Efficiency Competitiveness between departments Initiatives, resourcing and practices contextualised Operations specialised Individual expertise promoted | Shifting from me to we Contributing to a common goal Inquiry and collective problem-solving approach Sharing practice, knowledge and problems Innovation as part of learning Efficient Rich dialogue Common language Valuing difference Promoting high levels of trust |
| Negative | Negative |
| Us and them thinking Fragmentation Duplication of processes and resources Inefficient practices Expert blindness/tunnel vision Tribalism/Turf Wars Communication gaps/lags Innovation and creativity stifled Mistrust | Inefficient practices due to lack of skill or processes Takes too much time Messy Danger of group think Wastes time Mistrust Feeling evaluated Not really collaboration Power/authority by few (Louder overpowers) Confusion Decisions not made/inaction |
This is not a definitive list, you could add more!
Next Step:
Identify some ideas to leverage this polarity through action steps that allows us to monitor and self-correct as we go. Use the actions steps to keep on course and use the early warnings to adjust course as needed.
| Silo Practices | Collaborative Practices | |||
| Action Steps | Positive | Positive | Action Steps | |
| Create a unified vision Communicate and make links to the Big Picture and how this team contributes to this Articulate and communicate common goals that aligns with whole school goals. Make connections and links between specialist areas. Create physical spaces for specialists to come together to share practices Teach and use conflict resolution skills Mistakes are embraced for individual learning Actively seek ideas that motivate individuals and specialist teams Actively seek, reflect and act on feedback | Specialist knowledge Contextualised and localised decision making Efficiency Competitiveness between departments Initiatives, resourcing and practices contextualised Operations specialised Individual expertise promoted | Shift from me to we Contributing to a common goal Inquiry and collective problem-solving approach Sharing practice, knowledge and problems Innovation as part of learning Efficient Rich dialogue Common language Value difference Promoting high levels of trust | Create a unified vision for this polarity Distribute leadership Communicate and make links to the Big Picture Articulate and communicate common goal for whole school. Explicitly teach collaborative skills and processes Teach and use conflict resolution skills Utilise specialist thinking to provide alternative ideas/solutions Share practices across specialist areas. Create physical spaces for collaboration to take place Mistakes are embraced for collective learning Collective problem solving Strong whole school team culture Actively seek ideas that motivate and rewards teams when working collaboratively | |
| Early Warnings | Negative | Negative | Early Warnings | |
| Fragmented ideas about vision and goals Gate keeper mentality Rivalry between departments Practices outdated/Failing to innovate Time poor Look to one person for “answers” Practices and resources are not shared but protected Diversity is not valued but criticised. People who are not willing to take risks Resources are duplicated Communication is funnelled Tunnel vision Consistency viewed as one size fits all Feedback is not sought or acted upon | Us and them thinking Duplication of processes and resources Inefficient practices Expert blindness/tunnel vision Tribalism/Turf Wars Communication gaps Fragmentation Innovation and creativity stifled Mistrust | Inefficient practices due to lack of skill or processes Takes too much time Messy Danger of group think Wastes time Mistrust Feeling evaluated Not really collaboration Power/authority by few (Louder overpowers) Confusion Decisions not made/inaction | Leadership not clear/mixed messages Fragmented ideas about vision and goals Time poor One voice rather than many/Too many voices Diversity is not valued but criticised. Processes are not efficient or in place Absence of skills for collaborative practices Mistakes are viewed as individuals or teams as being less capable Risk taking is avoided for fear of criticism. Team culture resists change Consistency does not allow for professional individualism Feedback is not sought or acted upon |
Finally…
Monitor, monitor, monitor!
A school’s culture reflects those who are leading – What values and beliefs are your actions demonstrating and how do you know?
- Speak to the people at the “coal face”
- Listen, listen, listen
- Be open to criticism – there are often some gems if we recognise them.
- Some people will act as your barometer, they will provide you with perceptions of what is working well and not so well. Embrace this as feedback and early warning signs.
- Continually reflect on the messages we send to those we work with through our language and interactions. We can’t escape that our actions and inaction communicate our intentions to others. We need to continually check and clarify our intent with the messages that are being received.
One last consideration… invite an “insider-outsider” to observe and provide feedback. A pair of neutral eyes may see what we are blind to!
References:
Dunbar, R. (1998). The social brain hypothesis. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 6(5), 178-190. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1520-6505(1998)6:5<178::AID-EVAN5>3.0.CO 2-8
Dunbar, R. (2011). Constraints on the evolution of social institutions and their implications for information flow. Journal of Institutional Economics, 7(3), 345-371. doi:10.1017/S1744137410000366
Flanagan,T., Grift, G., Lipscombe, K., Wills, J. and Sloper, C. (2016). Transformative Collaboration. Hawker Brownlow Education.
Kise, J. (2014). Unleashing the Positive Power of Differences. Polarity Thinking in our Schools. Hawker Brownlow Education.
Tett, G. (2015). The silo Effect. London: Little, Brown.