These days, it’s pretty rare for a real business challenge to belong to a single team. A decision in Product Development affects Marketing. A policy change in HR influences company-wide productivity. A technology investment could reshape how everyone works!
Yet, many leaders are still taught to solve problems within the boundaries of their own department. When they do that, organizations can lose between 20% and 30% of their annual revenue to inefficiencies created by siloed information [1]. Developing systems thinking [2] helps leaders recognize the broader impact of their decisions and create solutions that benefit the company as a whole.
In a time when our work is more interconnected than ever before, an insular mindset is becoming increasingly costly, impacting both financial performance and productivity. It’s even estimated that 25 billion work hours are lost each year within the Fortune 500 due to ineffective collaboration. [3]
What is systems thinking?
While you probably know what systems thinking means, here’s how we’re defining it at Emergenetics International:
Systems Thinking: The ability to engage in holistic problem-solving that analyzes how different parts of a system interact, behave over time and connect within the context of a larger whole.
The difference between individuals who are systems thinkers and those who operate in silos can be seen through the questions they ask. Instead of, “Will this action solve our problem?” Systems thinkers ask:
- Who else will this affect?
- What happens three months from now?
- What unintended consequences could emerge?
- Where are processes and procedures affected?
- Will this choice deliver more holistic value than our current state?
- These reflections help leaders avoid solving one problem while creating three new ones.
The systems thinker checklist
In addition to the questions above, systems thinkers approach decisions with a broader perspective and regularly:
- Look for patterns and misalignment across teams, functions and timelines
- Consider second- and third-order effects before acting
- Map stakeholder and process dependencies proactively
- Challenge simple solutions to complex problems
- Invite diverse perspectives before major decisions are finalized
A common misconception is that taking this approach slows decision-making to an unproductive degree. In reality, sometimes you have to go slow to go fast. By considering downstream impacts upfront, leaders spend less time resolving unintended consequences later.
How to stop working in silos
One way to advance systems thinking is through an activity called The Ripple Map.
Before finalizing an important decision, encourage leaders to take time to visualize how that choice affects people beyond their immediate team.
L&D teams: consider how you can weave this into your leadership development trainings!
Here’s how it works.
Step 1: Identify the decision
Choose a decision your team is making or recently made.
Write it in the center of a page and draw a circle around it.
Step 2: Map the first ripple
Ask: How will this directly affect our team?
Draw an outward ring and document the immediate impacts such as workload, priorities, timelines or resources.
Step 3: Expand the circle
Now think beyond your department: Which adjacent teams, processes or functions will experience downstream effects?
Draw another outward circle to showcase the ripple effects to other departments or current business practices.
Step 4: Think even bigger
Finally, look outside the organization itself: How could this decision affect customers, partners, vendors or the broader business?
Will it improve the customer experience? Create new bottlenecks? Increase costs elsewhere? Delay another strategic initiative? Draw a final circle and take note of these wider impacts.
Step 5: Reflect
Ask one final question:
What would we have done differently if we had (or had not) seen this map before making the decision?
That prompt is often where the greatest learning occurs.
Leaders frequently discover dependencies they hadn’t considered, assumptions they wouldn’t have questioned or stakeholders who should have been included much earlier.
Incorporating systems thinking in leadership development
Like emotional regulation [4], systems thinking isn’t developed through a single workshop.
It becomes a leadership strength through repeated practice.
One way you can start is to make The Ripple Map a standing agenda item before significant projects begin or strategic decisions are made. Invite executives and managers to spend ten to fifteen minutes mapping potential downstream effects before committing to a course of action.
You can also empower leaders to start thinking beyond their usual patterns using tools like Emergenetics [5]. By helping individuals understand their innate tendencies and consider their blind spots [6], they can begin to think more holistically about the obstacles and opportunities they face.
Over time, they will naturally begin asking broader questions, teams will become more proactive about involving cross-functional partners and conversations will shift from solving today’s problem to building sustainable solutions that work across the organization.
Those habits all compound to create an ecosystem of systems thinkers.
What other skills do your leaders need to thrive? Download our free guide [7], Leading Forward, to find out!
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FAQs
Q: How do I prevent silos in the workplace?
A: Preventing silos starts with helping leaders think beyond their own teams. Encourage cross-functional collaboration, involve diverse stakeholders early in decision-making and create regular opportunities for departments to share information and align priorities. Tools like The Ripple Map can also help leaders identify downstream impacts before decisions are made, reducing unintended consequences across the organization.
Q: Why is systems thinking important in leadership?
A: Systems thinking enables leaders to understand how people, processes and departments interact within the larger organization. Instead of solving problems in isolation, systems thinkers consider second- and third-order effects, anticipate risks and make decisions that strengthen the entire business. This capability is essential for improving collaboration, innovation and long-term performance.
Q: What is the cost of silos in the workplace?
A: Workplace silos can lead to duplicate work, slower decision-making, poor communication and misaligned priorities across teams. According to IDC, inefficiencies caused by siloed information can cost organizations between 20% and 30% of their annual revenue. [1] On a broader scale, you can also calculate the cost of miscommunication or productivity gaps in your organization using our free business impact calculators. [8] Developing leaders who practice systems thinking helps reduce these inefficiencies by improving cross-departmental alignment and decision quality.