--- title: "How Leaders Can Break Down Silos" id: "56442" type: "post" slug: "how-leaders-can-break-down-silos" published_at: "2025-05-02T14:25:45+00:00" modified_at: "2025-05-02T14:25:45+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2025/05/02/how-leaders-can-break-down-silos/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2025/05/02/how-leaders-can-break-down-silos.md" excerpt: "Misaligned departments create conflict and stifle innovation. The CEO plays a unique role in getting teams back into alignment." taxonomy_category: - "Executive Leadership" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Business Development" - "C-suite" - "Data Culture" - "Leadership" - "organizational change" - "Workplace" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Executive Leadership" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » How Leaders Can Break Down Silos As I write this, I’m working on a research project with an association that’s reached an inflection point. New technologies have presented the association with an opportunity for it to expand its reach—but only with some substantive changes in how it envisions itself and dedicates its resources. Doing nothing isn’t an option: The new technologies are touching on other associations’ work, and those groups will gladly step in if they see an opportunity, sapping momentum and falling short on serving members. Time for retooling, rethinking, and realignment. Alignment, particularly at the top of organizations, is a challenge, because over time different departments can establish different focuses, different cultures, and different ideas about success. But that means that the organization as a whole can drift. Writing in *Fast Company*, a trio of executive coaches describe this misalignment as “[the hidden crisis in leadership teams (opens in a new tab)](https://www.fastcompany.com/91316866/this-is-the-hidden-crisis-in-leadership-teams) .” They note that very few organizations say their teams demonstrate the kind of behaviors that define alignment, including “communication, integrity, accountability, and follow-through.” > If alignment isn’t discussed, it won’t be appreciated as an organizational value. The problem with these alignment behaviors—which you might also call culture—is that practically by definition, nobody speaks about them when they’re not working. It’s hard to communicate about lack of communication, and hard to talk about accountability when you’re looking after yourself. But even if those problems are hard to discuss, they’re easy to see. The *Fast Company*authors point to a number of behaviors that reveal misalignment, including conflict avoidance, transactional meetings, and more. One of the most important signals comes down to how the CEO is perceived—if the CEO is constantly looked to for top-down directives, that’s a sign of misalignment. And since the solution to misalignment begins with trust, according to the authors, it’s largely up to the CEO to create an environment where everybody feels trusted. Trusted to take ownership of their responsibilities, trusted that criticism will be accepted and used proactively, trusted that leadership is invested in their personal success and the success of their departments. The *Fast Company*authors recommend that CEOs conduct a kind of pulse survey with their teams to determine how they’re doing around these cultural behaviors. “Great leaders don’t assume alignment, they test it,” they write. “If you want to know whether your team is truly aligned, ask your executives—privately and anonymously—to rate your team’s trust, collaboration, engagement, and alignment on a scale from 1 to 10.” But leaders may not need such a formal, quantitative process. It can start with making those conversations around collaboration, engagement, and alignment a regular part of their work. If alignment isn’t discussed, it won’t be appreciated as an organizational value. I’m not sure what the association I’m working with will ultimately decide to do in response to the industry challenges it’s facing. But a positive solution will inevitably come from candid conversations across its organization about where it currently is, where it needs to go, and what’s necessary to fill in the gaps. That’s the stuff of big strategy retreats. But it can also be an everyday practice. [Mark Athitakis](https://associationsnow.com/author/mark-athitakis/) Mark Athitakis, a contributing editor for Associations Now, has written on nonprofits, the arts, and leadership for a variety of publications. He is a coauthor of The Dumbest Moments in Business History and hopes you never qualify for the sequel. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/mark-athitakis/) Tags: [#Business Development](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business-development/) [#C-suite](https://associationsnow.com/tag/c-suite/) [#Data Culture](https://associationsnow.com/tag/data-culture/) [#Leadership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/leadership/) [#organizational change](https://associationsnow.com/tag/organizational-change/) [#Workplace](https://associationsnow.com/tag/workplace/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoThe Adaptive Leader: Integrating Values and Strategy to Thrive Under New LeadershipDecember 15, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/12/15/the-adaptive-leader-integrating-values-and-strategy-to-thrive-under-new-leadership/) - [VideoWhy Neuroinclusion Matters: Raising Awareness Across the Association CommunityDecember 15, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/12/15/why-neuroinclusion-matters-raising-awareness-across-the-association-community/) - [ArticleHow Leaders Can Encourage Real DebateMarch 27, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/03/27/how-leaders-can-encourage-real-debate/) - [ArticleHow Much Foresight Should a Board Do?October 23, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/23/how-much-foresight-should-a-board-do/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2025%2F05%2F02%2Fhow-leaders-can-break-down-silos%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !