What is Silo Mentality?
A silo mentality is the unwillingness to share information with coworkers of different divisions in the same company. 
The restriction reduces an organization’s efficiency, and in an extreme case, damages the corporate culture of the organization.
Unerstanding Silo Mentality?
Silo is a word that originated to refer to storage containers for missiles or grains. Still, it is now used to describe departments that store information and successfully seal it in. In an organization, silos are business departments that function separately and avoid sharing information or data. It also refers to organizations with departments in silo system applications where information cannot be distributed due to limitations in systems.
The silo mindset is usually a top-down matter resulting from competition between senior managers, as financial incentives are tied to their performance. Such a defensive attitude passes on to individual employees, who store information for the benefit of their manager. In practice, it is usually found between employees in competing departments, such as sales and marketing, as the two departments depend on each other.
A silo mentality does not occur due to opposing mindsets. It is due to a narrow mindset adopted by employees and managers of the department. It is because the employees and managers are laser-focused on their daily tasks.
Hence, they fail to see the bigger picture or see themselves helping play a critical role in contributing to the organization as a whole. They may also be unaware of the value of information that they are storing. In the end, a silo mentality is present due to a herd mentality adopted by the employees and managers of a department.
Advantages of a Silo Mentality
- It establishes a support network, as individuals in a silo think alike and usually adopt a similar outlook on organizational functions.
- It develops effective communication within a department, as members of a silo know exactly what work you are undertaking and the resources you will need.
- It fosters a community of individuals that will look out for each other, as the end goal is to improve the department as a whole.
Disadvantages of a Silo Mentality
- It creates a self-fulfilling prophecy adopted by departments, as each department cares only about their success and not the organization’s success as a whole. It will lead to inefficiency at the organizational level and may reduce the organization’s potential to achieve their goals.
- Individuals within an organization get blindsided to risk due to the herd mindset.
- Goal setting will become a problem because the department’s goals might not align with the organization’s goals.
Is AustralianSuper Pty LTD, and The Link Group Silo Organisations?
A Big Fat Yes.
It is effecting the way it deals with members.