We have a silo problem. No, not the kind with grain and such. The kind where I do MY job in MY department with no thought to how it impacts other departments. The kind where we reinvent the wheel, but all the wheels are different sizes, so our wagon just gets all mangled and stuck in the mud.
All the new material on organizational structure and the like emphasizes the need for interdepartmental roles: people who can move fluidly between functional areas and not DO all the jobs (that's just simple cross-training), but rather coordinate mutually beneficial initiatives. In other words, organizations need people who can solve the silo problem.
I'm seriously trying to knock holes in the silos around here. It makes people uncomfortable. It forces people to relinquish control. It's VERY stressful at times, trying to advocate for one department in another, and trying to get everyone to see the big picture rather than focusing on what this means for their own personal turf. But it's necessary and it's getting results.
My newest silo-destruction project started today, when my department decided to take an open full-time position and create a social media coordinator role. Without getting into a lecture on social media strategies, let's just say that our target market seeks information in a bunch of crazy ways, and responds well to information delivered in a bunch of equally crazy ways. To a certain extent, social media is organic marketing; but there are ways an institution can give the social media garden a little natural fertilizer and clear more space in which it can grow. There might even be the need for a little selective weeding now and then, too. But I'm getting dangerously close to a lecture, which I promised not to deliver.
Anyway, this is CLEARLY a marketing thing. But that department has been talking and talking and talking social media to DEATH. In fact, I might even smell some decay from here. Could be the cows. Eh. Digression, sorry. Simply put, they do not have the human resources to implement a consistent, comprehensive social media strategy at this time. Ideas and intentions are plentiful, but time is not. We, on the other hand, have access to a resource that could implement a consistent social media strategy with a primary focus on student recruitment. Sure, it's not perfect: ideally, we'd have a whole team of folks who could manage initiatives across the entire organization. BUT this could open doors: if - no, when - we're successful, the marketing folks could have some leverage and say, "LOOK! This WORKS! Let's EXPAND! Give me more BODIES!"
So, since this position will be a silo-demolishing role, I took these thoughts to the marketing office and braced myself for the gut-level "get-off-my-turf" reaction. Even with all the collaboration in which I personally engage with that department, I knew it would happen. I'd likely respond the same way. But I refused to play office games. I will not participate in politics. In all my interactions, I will wholeheartedly affirm and recognize the value of every individual's contributions. But I will not back down from a challenging situation because I know, at the end of the day, we'll only advance our mission and do right by our students when we open up and stop trying to control every corner of our respective real estate.
And it was good. Or it will be good. We'll have a couple more challenging moments, but this is the first chance I've had to pave the way for another highly interdepartmental role. And I'd like some more company out here.
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