Summit Case studies
From Six Silos to One Unified Leadership Team
How Frederiksberg Municipality brought HR, Legal, Citizen Services, Finance, Analysis & Data, and Digitalisation together as one cohesive leadership team.
A major reorganisation across the corporate staff functions created new roles, a new structure, and an urgent need for a shared leadership team. The Deputy Director now led six department heads who had historically delivered separate services to the organisation. The ambition was to shift from a functionally segmented set-up to a unified staff function able to act in a coordinated way, both internally and towards the wider organisation.
The challenge
The starting point was a function-based staff with six units. Practices, standards, and interfaces varied widely, collaboration often relied on ad-hoc fixes, and valuable learning was lost between units. The Deputy Director saw a clear opportunity: provide the organisation with more consistent, coordinated support so leaders and employees meet the same approach, clear processes, and shared priorities. Competence wasn’t the issue; a shared direction and common language for the work were missing – the glue that would bind six specialist functions into one staff.
Left unchecked, the consequences would be felt quickly. Internal customers in the core departments were already voicing frustration about unclear handovers and boundaries. The risk was real that they would start building parallel processes, undermining quality and value for money. More seriously, citizens could experience poorer service as cross-cutting initiatives stalled in grey areas between staff functions. The need was both organisational and citizen-facing – and it made it urgent to help the leadership group operate as one team.
The leadership development journey
Summit designed a dual-track development programme combining collective and individual growth. One track established a shared platform that provided the leadership team with a clear compass and a collaborative approach to working together, enabling them to solve challenges collectively and set a unified direction. The other track focused on individual development, reflecting behavioural patterns and turning new self-insight into tangible contributions to the team’s collective agenda.
The impact
- Decisions are now made jointly, including those that were previously stuck.
- Departments back each other and shift resources to where the organisational need is greatest.
- The leaders see themselves as one leadership team, not six separate experts.
The programme became a live laboratory for change leadership, where the Deputy Director tested new approaches and gained a clear mirror on her own leadership. She highlights these four questions as pivotal for staying on course in turbulent periods: Who we are, why we’re here, what we will do, and how we will do it.
Considering a similar journey?
When silos slow progress, the first step is to align the leadership group around a shared purpose and clear ways of working. Summit’s combination of team and individual development creates lasting traction: leaders translate personal insight into common practice, accelerating the unification of the whole staff function.
Book a conversation with a Summit consultant to explore how we can help you unify your leadership team into a cohesive unit.
A 7-minute video captures the full journey in Line Skytte Hejbøl’s own words.
