How to Break Down Silos

How Alyza Breaks Down Silos

Step 1: Start with a shared why (at whatever scope you’ve got)

Most cross-functional work gets easier when people are clear on what they’re meeting to solve. When that clarity is missing, the default answer becomes “let’s do fewer meetings” — when the actual move is meetings with a clear why.

At PlayStation, Alyza and her VP of Sales built a three-year strategy to reshape how merchandising, supply chain, legal, customer service, and content worked together. They didn’t start with a slide deck. They started with conversations.

“We met with every cross-functional team individually. We gave them the opportunity to tell us what they thought would be needed in their area in order to achieve the three-year vision.”

Then they brought it all back — first to individuals, then cross-functionally, then to executives. The three-year strategy came with three-year OKRs. That meant customer service knew: if we’re going to 50 countries, I need to start thinking about call centers, time zones, language. Supply chain knew what was coming so they could tell customer service. Everyone had purpose and direction because their own goals trickled up into the shared ones.

“It made everybody feel really heard and part of the process. In the corporate sector, that level of collaboration isn’t always valued — it might take a little longer AND you’re building trust that actually holds when things get hard.”

This is what a shared “why” does. It gives everyone something to come back to as a north star when things get hard.

AND you don’t need a three-year strategy for this to work. A team goal can be the why. A project objective can be the why. A campaign target can be the why. In my early days at Rev Foods, we had no formal strategy. What we had was this: we wanted to sell more healthy food to more schools. That was enough of a shared why for departments to figure out how to work together. 

If the why doesn’t exist yet — or if leadership hasn’t named one — your job is to name one. Even if it’s provisional. Even if it’s just for your team. Even if it’s only “we’re trying to get X out by end of quarter without anyone burning out.” Give people something to orient around.

When motivations collide (and they will!) — data helps. “Use data to ground folks and get everyone on the same page. You might think X needs to happen, but the data shows Y. Either help us understand how your information relates to this, or — if we’re being driven by data — we have to go in this direction.” Alyza occasionally uses frameworks like RICE (Reach × Impact × Confidence ÷ Effort) to prioritize across teams — not because the framework is magic, but because it shifts the discussion away from whose opinion matters most toward what does the math say?

Try this week: For one cross-team project, ask: What’s our shared why? If you can name it in one sentence that everyone would agree with, you’re ahead of most orgs. If you can’t — start there. Write it down. Test it with one or two people. Refine until it lands.

→ If you’re stuck because the why in your org isn’t landing, or because leadership above you hasn’t named one, book 30 minutes with Helia and we’ll help you figure out how to work with what you’ve got.

Step 2: Understand motivations, not titles

Once there’s a shared why, the next move is understanding the humans who have to work toward it. And that’s more than an org chart exercise.

“One of the first things I do when I come into a new job or a new project is I really understand who all the players are. I create a Stakeholder Map”

Alyza isn’t asking who reports to whom. She’s asking, in this specific work:

• Who’s actually a decision-maker? 
• Who’s an influencer? 
• Who needs to be consulted? 
• Who needs to be informed?

“Titles don’t do the work you think they do. Every department is different. A VP in one is very different from a VP elsewhere. Rather than breaking down by titles, break down by decision-makers, influencers, the ones who need to be influenced, the consultants.”

A VP might not be the decision-maker in their org; the senior director might be. Don’t get stuck on titles.

Then, for each person, figure out what they are actually trying to accomplish. “Marketing folks have different motivations than someone in legal. Everyone has things they need to meet and report on — supply chain is focused on different things than customer service.” Their yearly goals. Their department’s priorities. Knowing what motivates each person will help you understand why they might be pushing for or against a decision, and knowing THAT can help you move the conversation back toward the shared goal.

While you’re at it — map what really matters, too. Ask:

• What’s actually at stake in this work? 
• What downstream implications might affect the people you’re talking to?
• What are the small things that you can compromise on in service of the shared why?

Alyza dedicates time and effort to creating a Stakeholder Map because she understands how titles can change the dynamics of a room, no matter how progressive the folks at the table are.

She goes back to that grocery store metaphor: “When I’m in a grocery store and I can’t reach the sugar on the top shelf, you’re not a VP, you’re not a director. You’re a human being that I just asked for help. If someone would help a stranger in a grocery store, they can and should help others in achieving the shared goal, no matter their title. That’s not to say that a VP should help by doing data-entry, but they should clear road blocks so that the folks who are supposed to be doing the data entry have time to do the data entry.

A title indicates function. It doesn’t mean someone is untouchable, or that their work is more important than yours.

Try this week: For one cross-functional project, sketch a quick map. For each key person: are they a decision-maker, influencer, consultant, or informed? What are they trying to accomplish? What’s their current relationship to this work?

Step 3: Be the connector — and model connection so it spreads

This might be the move that quietly does the most work. 

Alyza doesn’t just show up to her own meetings. She notices which teams should be talking and aren’t, and she does the small work of bridging that gap. 

Sometimes it’s as simple as “you two should talk,” and other times she makes sure the meeting happens:“I heard your team talking about this. This team was talking about it too. Are you guys talking to each other? No? Okay — well, let’s use the time we already have scheduled to bring those conversations together.”

This isn’t about being the hero in the middle. It’s being honest that silos exist and connection doesn’t happen by accident.

Being a connector also means circling back on what you’ve heard — in a way that isn’t transactional. “I know you mentioned this last time. Here’s what I’ve learned about it so far. Have you learned more? Okay, now what do we do with this information?” If you don’t have a good memory, take notes and circle back. People remember who actually listened to what they said last time.

And a version of this that’s easy to miss: ask other teams how they see YOUR team. Alyza would ask her cross-functional partners — “How do you think things are going with product, program, and engineering right now? Is there something we could have done better on this project?” It shifts the room from “here’s what we need from you” to “here’s what we’re building together, and how are we doing at it?” This is especially important when your own function can be cliquey.

If you’re a leader, here’s the part that makes cross-functional work stick beyond you: it spreads when leaders do it visibly. Alyza didn’t just practice this herself — she modeled it so her team picked it up as a discipline. Her whole team used the stakeholder map. They took relationship management seriously because she did. They identified their own core partners because they understood why those relationships mattered. The foundation had to be there before the tool worked for anyone.

If you’re waiting for a culture of cross-collaboration to show up before you change how you work, you’ll be waiting a long time. The faster path is to do it yourself, out loud, so your team sees it — and then make it a team practice: 

• Name the shared “why” with your team. 
• Talk about who you’re meeting with and why. 
• Ask them to do the same.

Try this week: Notice one place where two teams should be talking and aren’t. Use a meeting you already have with one of them to tee up the connection — or send a three-line email introducing them around the shared thing. If you lead a team, name out loud why you’re doing it.

→ If you’re a leader trying to shift how your whole team shows up cross-functionally, that’s often where someone who’s done it before makes the biggest difference. Email Alyza at [email protected]with subject line “Helia Help.”

Alyza doesn’t just show up to her own meetings. She notices which teams should be talking and aren’t, and she does the small work of bridging that gap. 

Step 4: Build the structure that keeps it running without burnout.

For all the human-first stuff, Alyza is deeply organized about how she does this. She builds a stakeholder map. She sets cadences. She categorizes who she needs to meet with, how often, and why.

Here’s the part most people miss: not every stakeholder gets the same cadence. Some are daily. Some are weekly. Some are monthly. Some are quarterly. Some are twice a year. Some just need you to reach out when specific questions come up. Figure out the right cadence for each relationship — based on what this work actually needs, not what feels fair.

And then — hold the cadences. “Try your best to not reschedule those meetings and really keep them. And come to the meeting every time with some type of ask, some important information, or a circle back. Every meeting should have a purpose — an update, an ask, or a reflection worth sharing.” If there isn’t one, Alyza cancels and sends the email. “People love to complain about meetings — but if there’s no reason to meet, don’t. Send a clear email. You’re valuing their time AND the communication.”

And critically: structure isn’t static. When a weekly meeting is no longer warranted, switch to monthly. Then quarterly.“There might be a project where you need constant communication with someone, and then eventually that peters out. You want to honor what you had — so maybe you move from daily to monthly, but you don’t just drop it.”

This is what makes Alyza’s approach different from “just be nice to people.” The curiosity is the intention. The structure is what makes it sustainable. Without the map, you forget who you haven’t talked to in six weeks. Without the cadence, your 1:1s get rescheduled into oblivion. Without a reason for the meeting, your time with someone becomes another thing they resent.

The structure isn’t the opposite of warmth. It’s what lets the warmth develop organically instead of being performative. And this — finally — is what makes “meetings with a clear why” something you actually run, not just believe in. The answer was never fewer meetings. The answer is meetings held well.

Try this week: For one current project, sketch your own stakeholder map. For each key relationship: how often should we actually connect? What’s the purpose? What do they need from me? What do I need from them? Look at your calendar and ask: which recurring meetings could become an email? Which 1:1s have I been rescheduling, and why?