Boundary Spanning
The overlooked skill that drives impact in government work.
In public service, no meaningful problem lives in a vacuum. The most urgent challenges—housing, health equity, climate resilience, digital access—cut across departments, disciplines, and jurisdictions. That’s why some of the most effective public servants today aren’t just subject matter experts. They’re boundary spanners.
What Is Boundary Spanning?
Boundary spanning is the practice of working across formal and informal divides to build understanding, alignment, and momentum. You might hear these folks called bridge-builders, connectors, translators, or integrators—people who bring cohesion to systems that don’t always speak the same language.
The term comes from organizational theory, where it described roles that link organizations to external environments.
However, in public service we see boundary spanning when people connect:
Internal teams to community partners
Policy to on-the-ground implementation
Data insights to lived experience
Government silos to one another
Boundary spanning happens at the intersection of people and relationships, ideas and information, and systems and structures.
Boundary spanners often the ones who ask better questions, uncover shared goals, and spot tensions early enough to address them. Their impact may be behind the scenes—but it’s critical.
You Might Be One Already
You don’t need a special title to be a boundary spanner. Ask yourself:
Do I help others understand each other—across roles, teams, or backgrounds?
Do I regularly make connections others might miss?
Do I help translate technical or bureaucratic language for more inclusive understanding?
Do I see collaboration and relationship-building as part of the work—not extra to it?
If so, you’re already contributing to this work—even if no one’s named it yet.
Why It Matters in Public Service
Our work is inherently complex. We serve diverse communities, often under tight constraints, legacy systems, and political pressure. In this context, boundary spanning isn’t a bonus—it’s a necessity.
It makes:
Innovation possible, by surfacing ideas from unexpected places
Collaboration effective, by translating between cultures and functions
Services stronger, by aligning them more closely to real-world conditions
And perhaps most importantly, it builds resilience across the systems we’re trying to change.
But It’s Not Always Visible or Valued
Boundary spanning often goes unrecognized, as it’s:
Invisible, because it happens behind the scenes
Messy, because is navigates tension and ambiguity
Misunderstood, because it doesn’t fit neatly into org charts or job specs
Yet it’s often the glue holding our coalitions together—and the reason many initiatives succeed.
How To Grow Your Boundary-Spanning Practice
If you want to deepen this skill, try asking yourself:
Where are the disconnects in my work, and who could help bridge them?
Am I only speaking the language of my domain—or translating across roles?
Does my team make space for learning across boundaries—or just staying in our lane?
And try this:
Map your internal and external collaborators—who’s missing?
Make time for intentional relationship-building
Name and celebrate this kind of work when you see it
More Than a Role, It’s a Mindset
Boundary spanning isn’t just a function. It’s a way of working—rooted in humility, curiosity, and a commitment to collective progress.
If you’re doing this work, know that it matters. And if you’re just beginning, know that we need more people who see themselves as bridge-builders. Public service can’t move forward without us.