The Intersection – Episode 9: You Can’t Fix Silos With an Org Chart

Chief People Officer Debbie LaPinska joins The Intersection to explain why organizational silos cannot be solved by changing an org chart alone. Drawing on more than 30 years across customer service, sales, marketing, HR and leadership, she shares how trust, cross-functional understanding, honest conversations and employee connection create stronger collaboration and better business outcomes.

Key Insights

• Silos often start at the leadership level. When leaders focus only on their own goals, fear missing their numbers, or protect their functions, collaboration breaks down and downstream impacts get overlooked.

• Cross-functional experience creates better decision-making. Debbie's career across customer service, sales, marketing, operations-facing roles and HR taught her to consider how one function's choices affect the rest of the business.

• Trust is earned through truthfulness and follow-through. Debbie describes becoming a trusted advisor by keeping commitments, admitting when she could not deliver, and being willing to challenge leadership when necessary.

• Healthy conflict can strengthen an organization. Avoiding difficult conversations can reinforce silos, while direct, caring feedback can expose the real issues limiting performance and growth.

• Employee experience and customer experience are connected. Listening to employees, understanding their needs and helping them see how their work contributes to the strategy can improve both culture and execution.

• Leaders need psychological safety and accountability at the same time. Teams should be able to admit when something is not working without fear, while still being clear about expectations, metrics and performance.

Practical Takeaways for Manufacturers

• Spend time inside other functions. Learn the 'day in the life' of sales, customer service, operations, HR and other teams so decisions are made with a clearer understanding of their downstream impact.

• Use cross-functional conversations to uncover friction. Debbie recommends a 'Meet to Learn' approach: ask another leader how your role can best support them and what challenges your team may unknowingly be creating.

• Do not let customer-facing teams overpromise without operational alignment. Commitments outside the norm should be checked with the people responsible for scheduling, production or delivery before they reach the customer.

• Listen to frontline employees instead of dismissing recurring complaints. Debbie's experience with truck drivers showed that repeated frustrations can reveal legitimate operational problems that leadership has overlooked.

• Pair people-first leadership with measurable accountability. Use metrics to understand whether plans are working, then investigate the people, process or expectation issues underneath missed targets instead of defaulting immediately to blame.

About the Guest

Debbie LaPinska is Chief People Officer at CabinetWorks Group and a building products leader with more than 30 years of experience across customer service, sales, marketing, human resources and organizational leadership. Before joining Cabinet Works, she spent nearly 32 years at PGT Innovations, rising from customer service to senior leadership and ultimately serving as Chief Customer Officer. Her broad functional experience has shaped a leadership approach centered on listening, trust, culture, customer experience and connecting people to business strategy.

Quotable Moments

• “You don’t have to be the expert in every function. You just need to know enough to challenge and guide.”

• “You owe it to them to be truthful about what’s going on, and they own their response.”

• “A strategic plan doesn’t exist if people don’t execute it.”

Next Steps for Manufacturers

For building product manufacturers, breaking down silos starts by looking beyond reporting structures and examining how people actually work together. Create regular opportunities for leaders and frontline teams to understand one another’s objectives, surface problems early and align customer promises with operational realities. Pair that openness with clear metrics and accountability so collaboration becomes part of how the business executes, not just how the org chart is designed.

About the Hosts

Megan Kacvinsky — CEO | Point To Point

Megan Kacvinsky helps Building Product Manufacturers drive specification through targeted AEC marketing. As a partner at Point To Point, she specializes in demand generation, customer engagement, and strategic content marketing that fuels sales success.

With 15+ years of experience, Megan combines digital marketing expertise with sharp business acumen to bridge the gap between marketing strategy and real-world impact. She has transformed marketing programs for Fortune 500 companies, mid-market firms, and startups—adapting strategies to fit each organization's unique needs. Known for her tailored, results-driven approach, Megan crafts high-impact solutions that help brands thrive in the competitive building and manufacturing industries.

Denine Harper — Founder | DHx Consulting

Denine Harper is the founder of DHx Consulting and a Fractional CMO who helps building materials manufacturers turn strategy into measurable growth. She works at the intersection of brand, demand generation, and go-to-market execution—aligning sales, marketing, and operations to drive revenue without friction.

With experience leading large-scale brand and performance initiatives, Denine brings a practical, operator’s perspective to growth. She is known for building systems that improve visibility, strengthen positioning, and help companies scale with confidence.