Five Threats of Silos for the University Executive Team

No matter a higher education institution’s objective, inevitably it’s silos that seem to get in the way of strategic thinking and planning. In the brief, you will find five silo threats outlined, as well as representative prompts and questions for executive team reflection and cabinet conversation.

Silos pose the greatest risk to university mission. No matter the institution’s strategic objective—whether it's to increase persistence, grow enrollment, expand one’s global footprint, or shape a more diverse class—inevitably it’s silos that seem to get in the way.

All signs point to the silo problem getting even more complex. We continue to live in a world of rapid change and uncertainty, and the future will require even more specialized skill sets and roles (i.e.., business intelligence), not fewer. Many of these skills are designed to bridge silos, but they also bear the risk of increasing matrixed complexity even further.

The aim of this brief from the Higher Education Strategy Forum is to create a shared vocabulary and spark honest dialogue among college and university cabinets about where their institutions’ aspirations are most likely to run into the problem of silos. In the brief, you will find five silo threats outlined, as well as representative prompts and questions for executive team reflection and conversation.

Download the brief or explore each silo threat below.

Silo Threat #1. Swim Lane Confusion

Unclear decision rights and responsibilities stall or halt cross-silo leadership decisions. Shared governance typically receives much of the blame for the slow pace of change at universities. But even in decisions…