SMART PerspectivesA collaboration of SimosConsulting & SMART Conversations® January 2011

Are you “Leading” or Breeding Silos?Silos probably got their name from the farmmetaphor. Whether the word refers to differ-ent departments or businesses within an or-ganization, silos typically lack cooperation,communication and cross pollinationof ideas, As a result, information doesnot make it across the organizationand, like a grain silo, everything flowsin one direction: downward.

Fear, lack of trust and respect, and ahigh need for control, feed the silomentality. It is far easier for a groupor department to act independentlyand withhold information or coopera-tion rather than open the doors totransparency and authentic communi-cation. When a clear and commonunderstanding of the big picture hasnot been communicated organization-wide, breakdowns occur and thingssimply don’t get done.

To create a SMART Culture™, lead-ers need to ensure that everyone—from topto bottom and side to side— has a sharedunderstanding of the organization’s mission,vision and values and the organizationalstrategy and goals, and individual goals.

When people understand the value of creatinga high-performance culture that works to-gether, only then can synergy happen.

But how do you get silos to collaborate?

Set expectations. It is up to the leadershipteam to promote, model and communicatecultural norms by encouraging managersto find ways to connect different parts of the

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Upcoming Events

Feb. 8—Workshop: SMARTConversations® | The 4Ds,Jacksonville, FL

Feb. 9-10—SMART Conversa-tions® Instructor Certification,Jacksonville, FL

Past Events

Nov. 16 —”Essential Skills forProject Management Delivery& Team Development” pre-sented to ACEC MA by PaulWeisman.

Nov. 19 —”A Taste of Dia-logue” presented by BobZinsser, Certified SMARTConversations® facilitator.

Jan. 8—”A Taste of Dialogue”seminar presented to the Flor-ida Engineering LeadershipInstitute, (FELI), Orlando, FL.Presenters: Paul Weisman andMichele Simos.

Introducing SMART Conversations® Café.In this section and at our new blog, we willhighlight a news event that directly connectsthe dots between action-driven dialogue andan issue important to our state, country and/or our global community

We will pose a question and invite you toadd your voice to the conversation. Our firstdialogue question relates to the recent trag-edy in Tucson.

Are politicians, the media and Americansholding SMART Conversations®?

After the recent Arizona shooting, which leftsix dead and gravely injured Rep. GabrielleGiffords, the airwaves and cyberspace havebeen flooded with conversation.

We’re wondering what you think: Are we hold-ing the right conversations? Are we learningfrom this event or merely re-stating positions?Can we talk together and open our minds tobeing changed or are we stuck in our positions?

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SMART Conversations®Café: Open for Business

Page 2SMART Perspectives

organization and by rewarding behaviorthat supports this effort.Develop open communications. Open-door policies work only when trust is pre-sent. And, trust building takes place overtime and is demonstrated through actionand words. When people feel in the darkor at risk, they will be unwilling to sharetheir thoughts and feelings openly. As aleader, you can set the stage for opennessand transparency by role modeling honestcommunication.Speak the truth and hold the expecta-tion that others will follow your example..Telling your employees that the companyis not for sale when an actual transactionis imminent erodes trust. Once distrusttakes hold in the workplace, few actionsor words can erase the harm it causes. Asa result, gossip and other negative, unpro-

ductive behaviors begin to breed.

Reward and acknowledge cooperation. Showappreciation to all of the people who contributetheir time and effort to a given project. Let themknow, publicly if possible, that their results dem-onstrate the principles of a new cultural norm.Acknowledgement builds trust and respect. And,many times, a simple thank you can make anenormous impact.

Value each department’s contribution. It’seasy to play favorites with the sales/marketingdepartment since their work directly affects thebottomline. However, success requires the syn-ergy created by the whole organization. If R & Dand the Accounting department, for example,didn't contribute, new product developmentwould not exist and bills would not be paid. It isimportant to treat everyone in an organizationfairly and to regard them as equal players.

Are you “Leading” or Breeding Silos? Cont’d.

Please email your commentsand suggestions to:msimos@simosconsulting.us.We welcome all feedback.

Talent Intelligence:Driving Performanceto New LevelsSMART Conversations®

recently partnered with TalentAnalytics (TA), a Cambridgebusiness strategy company thatgives business leaders the tools tocreate intelligent teams.

This powerful proprietary soft-ware provides reports and visualsthat anticipate how people willwork together.

Using sophisticated algorithmsand analytics, the software identi-fies individual and team charac-teristics using an advanced ver-sion of the DISC model, featuringmotivators or ambitions. The re-sult? Companies see a full pictureof a whole person and the rela-tionship of each individual to theirteam and the organization.

In essence, TA gives leaders thetools they need to map individualcore competencies to the needs ofthe team. In addition to a report,organizations may request acoaching session for a deeper in-terpretation of the findings.

To schedule a complimentaryassessment, please contact Paul at

(SMART Conversations Café—continued from page 1)

Your Thoughts?Do TV news interviews andonline blogs encourage opendialogue and two-way conver-sation? What happens whenonly people who think alikeengage in a conversation? Whatdo they learn?

Connecting the Dots...How does this article relate toyour organization? What are thebenefits to you or your organi-zation of listening to otherpoints of view? What do yourisk by not listening? How candiverse ideas and opinions helpyou succeed?

We invite your perspective at:smartconversations.wordpress.com.

Respect—Does each siderespect the other’s opinion?Are they listening to eachother’s points and looking forcommon ground (i.e., we allagree legislators need to feelsafe in public) or are theytaking positions?

Trust—Are they expressingtrust or distrust? Are theychecking out their assump-tions and conclusions by ask-ing questions or simply refut-ing what the other has tosay? Are they open to havingtheir minds changed?

For dialogue and learning tooccur, we contend that allfour core conditions of dia-logue must be present. Like aballoon that leaks air, a con-versation that lacks even onecondition collapses. At thatpoint, the speakers are engag-ing in a dispute, a debate ora discussion.

If you think about the fourcore conditions of SMARTConversations®, which doyou think are present or miss-ing? Are people engaged in adialogue or some other typeof conversation?

To explore these concepts,questions, we invite you toreflect on the following:

Shared Meaning—Do thepeople in the conversationeach have the same under-standing of what the conver-sation is about? Are they lis-tening to each other to under-stand why it is important tothe person who is speaking?

Authenticity—Is each of thespeakers being authentic? Arethey being honest with them-selves and with others in theconversation? Or, are theyintentionally holding back todefend their position?