How do you get different teams to work together in business strategy?

1 Understand the big picture

Before you start working on your business strategy, you need to have a clear understanding of the vision, mission, values, and objectives of your organization. These elements provide the direction, purpose, and motivation for your teams to work together towards a common goal. You also need to identify the external and internal factors that affect your business environment, such as competitors, customers, trends, resources, and capabilities. This will help you assess your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) and define your strategic position and competitive advantage.

2 Define roles and responsibilities

One of the main challenges of working with different teams in business strategy is to avoid confusion, duplication, or conflict of tasks and expectations. To prevent this, you need to define the roles and responsibilities of each team and individual involved in the strategy formulation process. You can use tools such as RACI (responsible, accountable, consulted, informed) matrix or SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goals to clarify who does what, when, how, and why. You also need to establish clear communication channels and feedback mechanisms to ensure everyone is on the same page and can share information and ideas effectively.

3 Encourage participation and diversity

Another key aspect of working with different teams in business strategy is to encourage participation and diversity of perspectives and opinions. This will help you generate more creative and innovative solutions and avoid groupthink or bias. You can use techniques such as brainstorming, mind mapping, or scenario planning to facilitate ideation and problem-solving among your teams. You can also use surveys, interviews, or focus groups to gather input and feedback from your customers, suppliers, partners, or other stakeholders. You should also respect and value the different skills, experiences, and backgrounds of your team members and leverage their strengths and contributions.

4 Align and prioritize initiatives

Once you have generated and evaluated various strategic options and alternatives, you need to align and prioritize them according to your organizational goals and resources. You need to ensure that your teams agree on the vision, mission, values, and objectives of your business strategy and understand how their initiatives support them. You also need to prioritize your initiatives based on their feasibility, impact, urgency, and cost-benefit analysis. You can use tools such as the balanced scorecard, the strategy map, or the OKR (objectives and key results) framework to align and measure your strategic performance and outcomes.

5 Monitor and adapt

The final step of working with different teams in business strategy is to monitor and adapt your strategy according to the changing market conditions and customer needs. You need to track and evaluate your progress and results regularly and communicate them to your teams and stakeholders. You also need to identify any gaps, risks, or challenges that may arise and address them promptly and effectively. You should also be open and flexible to make adjustments or changes to your strategy if needed and learn from your successes and failures.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?