From Silos to Symbiosis: How to Get Your Team Working More Effectively Today

Increase efficiency and creativity with a multi-disciplinary team.

July 15, 2022 | By Kalev Peekna and Ryan Schulz

Solving modern marketing and business challenges requires diverse perspectives, multiple skillsets, smart strategy and fast, flawless execution. The best way to achieve all of that, and more, is to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach. This ensures the right people are collaborating, in the most ideal way, to generate the best ideas and solutions.

Traditional Way of Working

More Efficient Way of Working

Combining stellar T-shaped talent can tackle any user goal or challenge.

T-shaped talent graphic

Instead of handoffs, it’s all hands on deck.

Cuts the time: No more wasting weeks getting other teams up to speed on the project.
More effective: When everyone has visibility and can contribute from start to finish, hurdles can be addressed proactively, miscommunications decrease and fresh ideas surface.
More innovation: When we’re all in a room together, we can use our combined expertise to come up with the best solution.

Silo Breakdown Checklist

Structure. Be honest. Does your balance sheet pit different sub-organizations against each other? Multi-disciplinary work doesn’t thrive in this sort of environment. Individuals won’t work well together if their accountabilities lie entirely within their “home” teams. Work on shifting culture from rewarding each team’s outcomes to making the reward based on a successful end-product.

Leadership. Multi-discipline doesn’t mean we lose leaders. Team leaders in the new paradigm should have a good understanding of all disciplines involved in a project. Spoiler alert: Sometimes this won’t be the highest paid or most senior person in the room.

Perseverance. Are you truly ready to take on being a multi-disciplinary team? The shift requires some intentionality and hard work. While it will 100% be worth it in the end, make sure you’re in a place to persevere through the challenges that come with shifting to a new way of working.

Talent Development. A multi-disciplinary approach requires T-shaped talent – individuals who hold both depth and breadth of expertise across several disciplines. Hiring this kind of talent and creating space for your current talent to grow in multiple areas requires intentionality and purposeful investment, but the payoff of having a team that understands the ins and outs of the full process is invaluable. In this approach, misunderstandings and unmet expectations happen much less frequently.

The Takeaway: Multi-disciplinary teams work. If you’re partnering with external agencies or firms, look for ones that prioritize a multi-disciplinary approach.

About the Authors

Kalev Peekna Managing Director, Digital Chief Strategist at One North, a TEKsystems Company

Kalev brings a cross-platform, user-focused approach to innovations in brand development, design, data analysis and technology, and helps clients apply those innovations to their strategic aims.

Ryan Schulz Managing Director, Agency Development at One North, a TEKsystems Company

Ryan is responsible for helping to shape and grow design solutions for clients. He works across practices to develop programs and capabilities that help clients fall in love with the future.

A team with a lot of disciplines is not the same thing as a multi-disciplinary team.

Kalev Peekna Managing Director, Chief Strategist, One North

two collegaues using sticky notes to strategize and brainstorm together

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