On organizational interfaces turning into firewalls

THROUGHOUT our series of articles on organizational interfaces, we have focused so far on how to improve and foster relationships within a company and also with the outside world, i.e., customers and suppliers. Although this task is already difficult enough and sometimes even close to impossible to resolve, there are cases where all good will and your extended hand is not enough to enable a reasonable working relationship with partnering teams, organizational units and external entities. This is the point when organizational interfaces may turn into firewalls or impenetrable fortifications. In this brief article, we will focus on the "why" and "how" such interfaces turn into a deep-freeze state, which almost entirely disables collaboration and interaction. Furthermore, we will try providing also some hints on de-icing measures that may lead back to working relationships.