How can you work better with cross-functional teams to launch new products?

It's critical to work backward from success. Getting alignment early on what "good" will look like with stakeholders is critical. Thinking through how you will measure the success of your launch is also an important activity to lead with.

Defining vision and goals is a good first step in any collective effort - even team sports. However, going beyond this framework can make the difference in merely sharing information versus motivating teams with varied skills. Motivating people requires them to understand "their why?" What are the driving forces being the effort, why is a new project on the table, and what is in it for each team member? A leader or sponsor must be able to motivate cross functional teams versus inform to deliver success.

Some real-life examples that showcase the power of cross-functional teamwork, driving innovation and successful product launches are: 1. **Apple's iPhone Launch**: Apple's cross-functional teams blend design, engineering, and marketing for iconic product launches. 2. **Tesla's Electric Vehicles**: Tesla's innovation merges technology, design, and sustainability, creating high-performance electric cars. 3. **SpaceX's Rockets**: SpaceX's engineers, scientists, and logistics experts achieve remarkable rocket launches through teamwork. 4. **Amazon's Echo**: Hardware, software, and AI experts unite at Amazon, delivering groundbreaking smart speakers for the home.

Defining a product vision that yields innovation vs. more features/functions requires three key precursors: 1) Collaborating with diverse experts to establish a shared understanding of state-of-the-art in the target focus area; 2) Having broad and deep conversations with potential users, decision-makers, and influencers about friction in their work or lives that solutions could solve 3) Creating a "north star" vision of the solution along with a phased "crawl," "walk," "run" approach to achieve that vision. Going for "perfect" at once often results in unsupported moonshots that enterprises and their customers cannot afford and can negate first-mover advantage for both seller and buyer.

Coming from a Sales Background and later product development, it's crucial to first understand why you need others to be able to deliver your product vision. It's not a requirement, it's a necessity. Collaboration makes it successful. Let them see that they are crucial to the overall success you achieve. In sales you need everyone to succeed. Product needs to be solving an actual problem, technical teams need to be supportive, pricing has to be right and you must have the right tools to be able to convert one customer. Did you know that your internal stakeholders who are supportive and aligned can become an advantage over the competition in the market? This is how A telco in Nigeria dominated the market for over a decade.

Establishing distinct rolеs and rеsponsibilitiеs within a cross-functional tеam is comparablе to orchеstrating a finеly tunеd pеrformancе, еnsuring еach mеmbеr contributеs harmoniously to thе succеssful launch of a nеw product. It sеrvеs as a dеtailеd plan that mitigatеs confusion and prеvеnts rеdundant еfforts. Envision a divеrsе tеam whеrе еvеry individual comprеhеnds thеir rolе-dеvеlopеrs coding, dеsignеrs shaping thе usеr intеrfacе, and markеtеrs dеvising outrеach stratеgiеs. This transparеncy еnhancеs collaboration, cultivating a sharеd sеnsе of rеsponsibility. Whеn tеam mеmbеr rеcognizеs thеir uniquе contribution to thе collеctivе objеctivе, thе rеsulting synеrgy transforms potеntial disordеr into a masterpiece of innovation.

As innovation facilitator of 100+ teams I like to share with you: HOW TO START BUILDING TRUST AT THE START Trust is of utmost importance in creative teams as we need to feel safe to go beyond our own limits and be tolerant to others doing so. There’s only one moment to start creating psychological safety in a new creative group in-person or online: at the start. In my work as innovation facilitator we create trust at the pre-kickoff by asking everyone to do storytelling on their best team experience ever. And afterwards ask every participant to state one team value that is crucial for them the coming innovation journey. So we end the session with a list of 10+ team values everyone commits to ?????.

The cross functional team is much like an orchestra. Each stakeholder can be an individual instrument in the orchestra. As long as everyone knows what part of the score they are responsible for playing the result is music. If each role is not clearly understood, then there is discord and noise.

The cross functional team in my vision is composed of different stakeholders, it requires very clear roles and responsibilities but also a good cooperation and a great communication in order, for every stakeholder, to work at their best. In addition, we should look at it as a team, where everyone cooperates and facilitate each other as long as it is possible.

As Gijs is rightly pointing out, trust is an important ingredient to a good collaboration. A key aspect of building trust and strong co-creation, is vulnerability. I see this a lot, when some of us are trying to maintain face - driven by our ego - to simply say 'I don't know how to solve this'. When we let our guard down, we give space to other team members' expertise, which with trust build strong project teams.

Cross team collaboration starts with communicating the “Why” across all teams from the top to the bottom. In my experience, success of the product depends on the clarity that each team member has on their role in building the product. And it starts with everyone aligning to the same big picture. I have always spent time in ensuring this vision and the why behind it is clearly communicated and from there on its about creating the right framework for communicating the details across teams.

Something I learned early in my career is when building a cross-functional team, be sure to include colleagues who may not 100% support your idea or project. These are the people who will keep you honest and help highlight areas you may not have thought out well enough. Also, once you have their buy-in, they may turn out to be your best advocates. It's easy to work with colleagues who support you, but you grow more professionally and personally when you diversify your teams.

I agree and to add from my experience a lot depends on how a project leader leads the cross functional teams. Some key traits are listening, respect for the views from the CFT members and taking decisions. Usually there is no best solution or best path towards the goal. The effectiveness of the CFT comes from looking at the same topic/ issue from different angles and in the end a best compromise should be decided to move forward.

Brеak down silos by cultivating an еnvironmеnt whеrе divеrsе pеrspеctivеs convеrgе. Establish clеar channеls for dialoguе, еnsuring еvеry tеam mеmbеr fееls hеard. Embracе transparеncy to align goals and create a sharеd vision. Rеgular chеck-ins and collaborativе tools cultivatе a culturе of mutual support, which еach function contributes uniquеly. This synеrgy not only еnhancеs productivity but fuеls innovation, as idеas from variеd disciplinеs blеnd sеamlеssly, paving thе way for groundbrеaking products that rеflеct thе collеctivе intеlligеncе of thе tеam.

Often Agile processes are misunderstood and can drag teams in unnecessary activities. To avoid becoming overly engrossed in processes at the expense of your goals, maintain clarity in goal definition, prioritize tasks that directly contribute to the objective, and emphasize outcomes over rigid procedures. Flexibility, open communication, and regular reviews are crucial. Delegate decision-making and streamline processes when needed. Remember, processes should serve the goal, not dominate it.

In order for an agile environment to work, communication and collaboration is key. The third step makes the fourth step work. Akin to this is to have a written Agile process. Everyone will know what needs to be done, who is tasked to do it and when it will happen. Without a written methodology, projects cannot move forward smoothly.

When sharing user insights, be sure to include raw videos, recordings, and comments (as appropriate based on privacy and confidentiality agreements) with the cross-functional team in addition to the summary of findings. I often have innovation lunches with the team and watch 15 - 30 minutes of user videos that I've curated and then spend the remaining time talking about it. These often spiral into great ideas that I would have never come up with on my own. Also, hearing an idea or a point of contention directly from a user in their own words is often more impactful than conveying those results indirectly through you.

Host a "Product Launch Storytelling Dinner." Gather your team and stakeholders around a nice restaurant or coffee shop. Each person takes turns sharing a short, creative story related to the product launch journey. These stories can highlight achievements, challenges, and valuable lessons learned in a narrative format.

Celebrating milestones in product development is a crucial step for team motivation, cohesion, and learning. It boosts team morale, recognizes individual contributions, and sets a positive tone for success. Celebrations also engage stakeholders and reinforce positive behaviors, ultimately contributing to a more successful product launch.

Empowered Teams: Trust your team members to make decisions within their areas of expertise. Empower them to take ownership of their tasks and provide support when needed.