My Introduction to Silos in the Workplace

My first professional job was in 2018 at a large national tech company. It was a typical corporate setting — cubicles, computers, people on phones, the usual buzz. Over time, I encountered the familiar roadblocks that come with such environments. One issue, in particular, captured my attention and became a focus of my efforts to improve the workplace: organizational silos.

Organizational silos — named after the ubiquitous grain silos you drive past in the rural countryside — refer to the compartmentalization of departments, teams, or units within an organization. These silos limit communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. The result? Redundant work, inefficiency, inconsistent decisions, and added bureaucracy.

Silos Are Not Just a Corporate Problem

In preparing for my PhD comprehensive exams, I have been immersed in readings on urban resilience, adaptive governance, and climate change. And as a precursor to this, I led a systematic literature review on urban climate resilience in Ontario. To my surprise, the issue of siloed work surfaces again and again — this time, in the academic and policy worlds.

Consider a few examples:

• Researchers from Yale University and the Resilient Cities Network found that only 20% of cities rated internal coordination among departments like health, environment, transportation, and urban planning as strong. They noted that “city governance is often siloed,” with fragmented teams tackling physical health, mental health, infrastructure, and sustainability in isolation.
• In an analysis of municipal resilience plans from ten U.S. cities, researchers emphasized the value of resilience planning in bridging policy silos. The 100 Resilient Cities initiative, launched by The Rockefeller Foundation in 2013, explicitly aimed to break down these barriers and promote interdepartmental collaboration.
• A multinational research team examining urban resilience implementation highlighted policy and organizational silos as major obstacles. They called for a shift from rigid, technical, and short-term practices to more agile, diverse, and integrated systems, ultimately promoting better collaborative governance.

Urban Resilience Requires Integration

Climate change is an example of a wicked problem — deeply complex, interconnected, and resistant to simple solutions. Addressing it requires sustained investment, robust planning, and most critically, broad collaboration across all levels of society.

In the aftermath of climate-related disasters, we often witness extraordinary solidarity — neighbours helping neighbours, municipalities coordinating with provinces, and countries sending aid. These focusing events serve as catalysts for cooperation. But when it comes to preparing our communities in advance, our ability to work together falters. Why are we so effective in response, yet so challenged in prevention?

If we are to build resilient cities that can withstand climate impacts, we must move beyond reactive responses, and that means confronting the silos. Collaboration should not be a luxury reserved for crises. It must be the foundation of how we plan, govern, and adapt.