INsight/ Decide or Collaborate

Photo by Getty Images on Unsplash.

Manila, 15 February 2026 — Are you leading decisively or just deciding alone?

Story

In a cross-functional leadership meeting, tension arose between the engineering and procurement teams. Each team had valid priorities, yet each believed the other didn’t fully understand the challenge. Silo thinking was palpable — positions were defended in isolation rather than in the context of the business. The pressure to take a decision could be felt in the room.

Most leaders are rewarded for fast, clear decisions. Few are trained to collaborate across boundaries — yet collaboration doesn’t replace decision-making. It makes decisions stronger, more aligned, and better owned.

Instead of forcing a solution, the leaders paused. They surfaced assumptions, clarified shared goals, and explored the problem together. The conversation shifted from defending positions to addressing the boundary challenge as a team, breaking down silos that threatened alignment and performance.

Challenge

Cross-boundary leadership is rarely a clarity problem. It is an ownership challenge.

Collaboration is not consensus. It is the disciplined creation of shared Direction, Alignment, and Commitment.

The Center for Creative Leadership frames leadership as producing these outcomes. Without collaboration, silo thinking fragments direction, stalls alignment, and erodes commitment — directly affecting business results.

Question

Where are silos in your organization generating friction instead of insight?

Where are you tempted to resolve tension quickly rather than letting leaders work through it together?

What becomes possible when cross-boundary collaboration is treated not as a soft skill, but as the core discipline of leadership — as we believe it to be at TransformationFirst.Asia?