Picture this: Sales and operations are having a passive-aggressive standoff. Sales thinks operations are the fun police, blocking them from closing deals. Operations thinks sales is busy making promises even a genie couldn’t fulfill. Add in a couple of stubborn leaders, and you’ve got yourself an all-out turf war—complete with eye rolls and CCing everyone in emails. IT’s got its agenda, operations has its to-do list, and Accounts Payable is more interested in getting bills paid than making friends. The walls they put up between departments guarantee that you’ll be stuck in the land of mediocre results. But organizations that break down these barriers unlock their full potential by replacing turf wars with teamwork.

Ultimately silos destroy culture, ruin collaboration, and make everyone feel like they’re playing a never-ending game of "Survivor" in the office. Leaders must eliminate silos to build a healthy, thriving organization—or at least one where people actually talk to each ot...