Breaking Boundaries: Dismantling Silos and Bias Through Cross Mentoring

The streaks of grey in my unshaven face made me smile. A voice within bantered with me. It said, "Those whites are reminders of a lifetime you spent in the corporate world. Tell me what you have learned."

If there's one learning I am sure about, it's this — real progress begins with openness. Fresh ideas are born in unexpected places. Progress happens when we listen more, judge less. This mindset creates fairer systems, knowledge flow, and collective success.

In today's interconnected business landscape, two critical challenges continue to plague organisations: siloed thinking that stifles innovation and biased hiring practices that limit talent potential.

The Silo Trap: When Departments Stop Talking

Even enlightened companies must come out of their bubbles. Sales talks to sales, marketing talks to marketing - everyone stuck in their own comfortable corners. This siloed thinking can slow things down without anyone noticing.

Imagine a company where the marketing team is stuck. Their campaigns aren't hitting the mark, and nobody knows why. Then product development steps in and shares a feature that marketing hadn't been using in their pitches. A small conversation changes everything. Sales improve, customers are happier, and teams communicate more.

Harvard Business Review notes that the best leaders excel at removing barriers. They break down silos by accessing the minds of experts from different parts of businesses. They recognize that success comes from weaving together the knowledge and skills of many.

A gem of a sentence from a leader rings in my heart: "I bring red, you bring blue, and together we create something purple."

That's how fresh ideas emerge - by moving out of the cozy confines of one's team and approaching people in different functions.

The Hidden Bias in Our Hiring Decisions

There was a time when I assumed that merit was all that mattered in hiring. Over the years, I realised how bias creeps into selections, even unconsciously.

Phrases like "We're looking for a good culture fit" sound harmless but can sit awkwardly with interviewees. They wonder whether "fit" meant thinking the same, behaving the same, or sometimes even looking the same.

"Are you corporate enough?" is another dangerous phrase. Some may still be seen as 'not fitting the mould,' no matter how skilled they are.

Then there are the filters: age caps, marital status preferences, gender-coded language, employment gaps, and even perceptions around body type. All of it shapes decisions before a conversation begins.

A recent study claims that nearly one in three professionals in India has experienced age-related bias during hiring. What surprised me wasn't the number, but how we have normalized it.

Even a name can lead to assumptions about capability. Other times, it's believing someone is too experienced, over-qualified, or not sharp enough for fast-moving roles.

Fairness in hiring doesn't begin with policy. It starts with awareness - the kind that makes us search for potential and authenticity.

Cross Mentoring: The Antidote to Silos and Bias

This is where cross mentoring works as an antidote. When diverse colleagues mentor one another, unconscious biases get questioned naturally. We see the value in people we may otherwise overlook. Fairness becomes lived, not imposed.

Cross mentoring, where people across roles, levels, and functions learn from one another, directly addresses these workplace pitfalls. It challenges bias by exposing us to different perspectives and dismantles silos by creating natural bridges between departments.

When we create environments where marketing learns from finance, where senior leaders gain insights from junior employees, and where different backgrounds come together in meaningful exchange, we don't just solve immediate problems—we build the foundation for sustained organisational success.

Real progress begins when we break down artificial barriers and embrace the collective wisdom that emerges when boundaries dissolve.

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