How systems thinking can break down decision-making silos

In a recent blog, we explored how leading through complexity requires more than just process expertise or domain knowledge. It demands the ability to navigate polarities. In other words, managing the interdependent tensions that all leaders need to balance (for example, risk and security, or saving and spending).

Last week, we looked at how, if leaders want to make meaningful progress in complexity, they need tools that help them see the bigger picture. One of the most powerful is systems mapping. In this blog, we turn our attention to how systems mapping can break down decision-making silos, and why cross-functional learning is essential for progress in complexity.

The dangers of siloed decision-making in a complex world

In large, highly regulated, and cross-functional organisations, complexity is a constant. Markets and regulatory environments can shift, and myriad internal priorities can compete for attention. In this dynamic environment, leaders can often encounter a stubborn barrier to progress: decision-making silos.

These silos aren’t always the result of poor communication or political turf wars (though they can be). More often, they’re a byproduct of people tackling complex challenges as if they were simply complicated. The difference matters.

As we discussed in our earlier blog, complicated problems have clear solutions. Think of fixing a car engine: it’s hard, but repeatable. If you follow the steps, you’ll likely get the same outcome. Complex problems, by contrast, are unpredictable. The same action taken twice may yield entirely different results. In complex systems what worked yesterday might backfire today (particularly if they involve people).

When teams treat complex situations as merely complicated, they tend to isolate their piece of the puzzle. Each function optimises its own processes, makes its own decisions, and assumes others will do the same. At best, the result is peaceful coexistence, but at worst it can cause conflict. Either way, cross-functional alignment suffers and progress stalls.

How systems thinking can break down silos

Systems thinking gives leaders and teams a way to step out of their silos and see the organisation as an interconnected whole. Instead of asking, “What’s the right solution for our function?”, it shifts the question to, “What’s really going on in the system?”

At the heart of this approach is collaboratively and visually mapping the system to try and uncover the hidden dynamics driving results. It can reveal a number of important things:

1. Diverse perspectives: When teams map the same system from their own vantage points, they often produce very different pictures. Sharing these maps uncovers blind spots, assumptions, and competing mental models. This can ultimately drive shared understanding.
2. Hidden patterns: Mapping systems can reveal recurring behaviours and feedback loops. It can also shine a light on any narratives that keep problems stuck. It distinguishes between facts and stories (like “that team never listens to us”), allowing space to challenge outdated or unhelpful assumptions.
3. Leverage points: Seeing the full system makes it easier to spot where change could make the biggest impact.

Just as importantly, mapping helps clarify relationships. Silos aren’t just structural, they're often relational. Through mapping, leaders can start to assess the quality of collaboration across the system: Is it adversarial? Detached? Or genuinely supportive?

Building active mutual support

Breaking down silos isn’t about telling teams to “collaborate more.” It’s about deliberately cultivating mutual support and relationships grounded in shared commitment, trust, and follow-through.

This requires a shift in how leaders engage. In our ‘Leading in Complexity’ programme, we begin with a bold declaration. This isn’t just a vision statement. It sets boundaries for exploration and anchors teams in a common purpose. Without it, systems mapping risks becoming just another brainstorming session.

Next, we map systems as a team. By collaborating like this, people can start to see how their actions affect others (and vice versa). It builds empathy and accountability in ways that slides and reports can’t.

Leaders then learn how to turn concerns into actionable requests, reducing unproductive venting and increasing clarity. This is especially important across functions, where misaligned expectations can easily snowball.

Then, by using techniques like “standing in the result,” teams align not just around problems, but around possibilities. So what they want to create, and how to get there together.

A new leadership capability

In complex environments, clarity rarely comes from top-down decisions or perfect information. Instead it comes from seeing more of the system. Systems thinking enables leaders to do just that. It provides a structured way to move beyond reactive firefighting and into strategic, cross-functional action. When we realise that complexity is an enduring tension rather than something to solve, we can work on finding ways to navigate between the polarities that exist in the system, taking action that sees the benefits of both poles over time.

Want to explore how systems thinking can help your teams move from coexistence to collaboration? Get in touch.