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Iโve been having a lot of similar conversations recently, across different organisations and sectors. Despite the variety of contexts, they all land on the same frustration:
โEveryone here is brilliant at what they doโฆ but we donโt really use each other properly.โ
On the surface, this is often described as a collaboration problem. In reality, it rarely is. Most teams experiencing this are full of capable, committed people who care deeply about their work and want to do it well. The issue isnโt a lack of expertise โ itโs how that expertise gets shared, invited in, or quietly held back within the system.
People are typically hired to excel in a specific lane. Theyโre rewarded for delivery, reliability, and pace, and they donโt want to slow things down, overstep, or complicate decisions. Over time, staying in your lane becomes the safest option. Silos form not because people donโt care, but because they do.
Iโm seeing this especially in growing organisations across the UK, where pace is high and specialist teams are scaling quickly โ often without the shared rhythms that keep expertise flowing.
So whatโs actually going on?
What Iโm increasingly seeing is that this isnโt a skills issue. Itโs a permission and process issue. In many organisations, people arenโt clear when theyโre allowed to contribute beyond their role, how to challenge constructively, or where shared thinking genuinely fits into the flow of work.
When collaboration is optional rather than designed in, itโs usually the first thing to disappear under pressure. This is where the frustration starts to split. From leadership, it often feels like constant firefighting, with problems travelling upwards instead of being worked through across teams. A small number of people end up carrying most of the decision-making burden.
From elsewhere in the organisation, it can feel confusing or even frustrating. Work starts to feel like โextra stuffโ without a clear understanding of how it fits or why it matters. Neither side is wrong โ both are responding logically to the conditions theyโre working within.
When teams donโt have space to think together, they default to what feels safest. Managers step in, teams push back, and everyone stays busy โ but work becomes more draining than it needs to be. One small shift that consistently makes a difference isnโt another meeting or tool, but creating deliberate moments where the job is to think together.
These moments arenโt about reporting or justifying decisions. Theyโre about slowing down just enough to hear each other properly. This is where creativity often plays a role โ not as something playful or โnice to haveโ, but as a way of changing pace, softening hierarchy, and making it safer for people to contribute beyond their job title.
When the conditions change, behaviour follows. Shared ownership increases, and the expertise that already exists within the organisation starts to flow more freely.
This is a pattern I see regularly through my work with leadership teams and people leaders.ย At this point, many teams donโt need more frameworks or tools โ they need space. This is where our Creative Team Workshops and consultancy support come in. By creating intentional pauses through hands-on, facilitated sessions, we help teams slow down, reconnect expertise, and rebuild how they think and work together. Sometimes thatโs through a focused workshop. Sometimes itโs longer-term consultancy. The common thread is creating the conditions for people to think together again.
Most organisations donโt need more talent. They need better conditions for the talent they already have. Noticing where silos are forming โ and gently redesigning how people come together โ is often the first step towards teams that feel lighter, more connected, and more effective.
Creating Space for Teams to Think Together
If this article resonates, youโre not alone.
This is a pattern I see regularly in growing organisations, particularly where pace is high and teams are full of capable specialists.
Through our Creative Team Workshops and consultancy support, we help leadership teams and people leaders create intentional pauses in the working week. Space to slow down, reconnect expertise, and redesign how teams think and work together.
Sometimes that happens through a focused, hands-on workshop.
Sometimes itโs through longer-term consultancy support.
What matters most is creating the right conditions for shared thinking to happen again.
If youโd like to explore this further, you can:
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