Are Organisational Silos Costing You Gold? Why Your Teams Need an Alignment Overhaul

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In the race for competitive advantage, many organisations focus on recruiting top individual talent. But what if the secret to success isn't just about having the fastest runners, but about how effectively they pass the baton?

The story of the U.S.A. men’s Olympic 4x100 metre relay team offers a compelling, real-world example. Despite the U.S. consistently producing world-class sprinters (earning six medals in the 100m event in the last five Olympics) they have failed to win a single medal in the 4x100m relay during that same period.

The crucial difference? While many nations practice as a solidified team for months, the U.S. often selects its runners closer to the event, prioritising individual form over precious time needed to build team chemistry.

If this lack of coordination can be the difference between winning gold or no medals in a task as simple as passing a baton, imagine the cost in a complex business environment where objectives are multifaceted and interdependent.

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A Critical Decline in Team Sentiment

Despite these powerful benefits, our State of Engagement 2026 report data indicates a worrying trend: employee sentiment regarding team relationships is declining, with the 'My Team' factor seeing one of the largest falls across all 8-Factors over the past year.

The most critical issues are not within individual teams, but between them:

• The Silo Barrier: A critical statement, "Some departments/teams in this organisation don’t work well with each other", was one of the lowest scoring statements overall. This signals a deep, costly breakdown in cross-functional communication and alignment.
• The Psychological Risk: Another low score was recorded for, "People are afraid to express their true feelings in team meetings", pointing to a worrying lack of Psychological Safety. Without this safety, honest feedback is stifled, decision-making slows, and hidden inefficiencies thrive.

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What’s the Next Step?

Organisations must urgently shift their focus from simply building great individual teams to actively creating a unified, collaborative and psychologically safe environment across all departments.

This requires a focused strategy to:

• Break Down Silos: Resolve the friction that emerges when departments have competing or misaligned targets.
• Empower Psychological Safety: Equip People Leaders to foster a culture where honest debate is encouraged and conflicting priorities can be discussed productively.

Is your organisation sacrificing cohesion for individual performance? Are internal silos costing you your competitive edge?

These are just a few of the critical insights revealed in our full State of Engagement 2026 report. Download the complete analysis today to understand the negative team trend in detail, see the full impact of declining inter-departmental collaboration and discover the strategic steps required to reverse this trajectory and build a truly cohesive, high-performing workforce.

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