The global pandemic that occurred in the last 3 years drives home how interconnected our global society truly is. We know this. And, yet sometimes, we behave as if we do not know this or do not understand this.
The topic of interconnectedness is a central theme in my life. It’s so important that I made it my company logo (interconnected ripples). It is a value I follow and align with whenever I can. As the world became more globalized, first with travel and then with communications that exponentially grew with the internet, interconnectedness became a critical factor in people’s lives.
If most of us know the world is connected closely, why do we, at times, act as if we live in silos? Some recent examples I have encountered include:
- A new director who does excellent work on her own time without considering other stakeholders who need to be involved in her deliverables
- A finance executive who kindly but persistently follows rules so closely to the book leaving little room for creativity and innovation for other team members
- A senior technical developer who is only focused on the demands made to his technical team but not on the demands made from the market to the product/business teams
The Cambridge Dictionary defines interconnectedness as “the state of having different parts or things connected or related to each other”.
The short answer to the question of “why we live in silos” could be that we are terribly busy. Most of us have so much on our plate that we don’t have the time to look around at other people’s struggles. To leave the silo we may consider the following:
- Being aware. Seeing the connection points.
- Employing empathy to help us navigate this highly integrated world.
- Becoming curious about what others are going through or feeling deepens our understanding of interconnectivity.
The advantage of seeing the bigger picture is that we may discover shortcuts that may benefit everyone. What interconnection points are close to your area of work or life?
Copyright © 2023 Devashri Gupta. All rights reserved.
