How can you benefit from leading cross-functional teams?

While at GE I enjoyed how to mobilize and build several successful cross - functional teams using the "Golden Rule" leadership principle (treat others as you want to be treated with respect, empathy, professionalism) coupled with walking the walk of doing the exact work your asking the team to tackle. This fostered strong street credibility with my colleagues and created a great team culture and I was honored to work with amazing colleagues who taught me many powerful leadership lessons that I still apply.

It's not uncommon for teams to be siloed. Cross-functional teams allow for synergistic movement on a topic. Small wins such as speaking the same vocabulary or getting a better understanding of what happens up and downstream from a department are huge culture wins on the way to presenting the defined deliverable. These teams often have longer-term wins of curiosity and idea generation for improvement from the team whole organization. Leading a cross-functional team affords the leader to see the greater unit from a new perspective. There's also an opportunity to learn to prioritize tasks with competing objectives and resources, build new bond's and relationships, impact the culture, and stretch yourself.

Leading cross-functional teams also exposes you to diverse thoughts, diverse inputs, and can mitigate potential blind spots. And, as you adapt to the different needs and concerns of your team, you will find you become more 'T-shaped' which helps you see new solutions in unexpected places.

Taking the helm of cross-functional teams is a treasure trove for personal growth! Picture leaving the snug harbor of your usual crew – it’s a thrilling, yet challenging voyage. You’ll cross paths with a diverse set of people. Sure, there might be some jitters, but they're a small price for the bonds you’ll forge. Plus, you’ll get to chart courses for change across the whole ship, and shine as the kind of captain others admire. Embarking on this journey is an opportunity not to be missed!

Making sure everyone is in the right mindset is so valuable. Events can happen within a team that can derail one team member which puts the project at risk. Team coaching needs to cover an array of aspects.

Different functions can require different approaches - it takes empathy, humility, and an openness to understanding the needs of each part of the team. Some leaders will fall into the trap of thinking that they have to become an expert in each function, in order to be effective. Resist that siren's song. You don't need to become a polymath, you just need to listen well and ask good questions.

In leading cross-functional teams, communication is often the trickiest part. Throw different locations and time zones into the mix, and it's like juggling while riding a unicycle. And, oh, misaligned expectations? They can sneak up on you like ninjas. As leaders, we need to crank up the communication dial, making sure everyone's singing from the same song sheet. It's a bit like being a maestro in an orchestra!

Master relationship building - if you build a strong relationship with your cross-functional peers it makes the work itself much easier. Genuine relationships go a long way - know where they came from, what hobbies they enjoy, ask questions about their interests, etc.

We all crave a pat on the back for the work we put in, right? And guess what? A little genuine interest in folks’ lives works like magic. It’s like sprinkling fairy dust that makes them feel all kinds of special. Sharpen those communication skills – listen keenly and share thoughtfully. Be the glue that holds everyone together. Build trust and make collaboration your squad’s superpower.

In my view, as the team leader you need to be open minded and ask a lot of questions. Try not to impede the information flow by outright dismissing ideas. Be collaborative and supportive of the groups ideation. After all, we want all the ideas the group can muster. We can then delineate these ideas into action like building a model of it or going to the lab and checking the outcomes on a small scale before ramping the idea into reality.

The importance of understanding each of the functional groups cannot be understated, and that starts with listening to understand. Without understanding the members of the team, it’ll be very difficult, if not impossible, to be the facilitator in bridging gaps between the functional groups in order to achieve results.

In one of my prior roles, I noticed that there were a lot of silos in a project I was working on. So I started my own cross-functional team with one person from each solo. I simply scheduled a meeting to ensure we all were on the same page. Our “squad” ended up meeting weekly for months while the project was ongoing - and it all started with scheduling one meeting.

Finding success that can be shared across multiple members of the team is important to build project momentum and credibility. Projects are always vying for prioritization, but it seems like everyone likes to part of winning and making progress. It takes experience, skill, and a mix of confidence/competence to identify key shared milestones. I might be a dinosaur, but my experience with simply encouraging people to speak up for opinion, ideas, and feedback is not effective or efficient. When a project hits a roadblock, then brainstorming can be a tool out of the toolbox to use, but I do not recommend it to effectively build a team.

First, understand your team member’s strengths and goals. Communication is key - ensure clarity and listen actively. Build trust and align everyone with shared objectives. Flexibility is crucial; be prepared to adapt. Don’t forget to celebrate your achievements together. Continuously learn, and be open to feedback for course correction. Enhance your leadership skills, and steer your team toward success.

In my experience, as a consultant for F500 companies, the one main thing is to listen to the team, Let them chose members, encourage them to be the representatives and change leases in their smaller teams. Team will tell you, you just need to listen!

The overall theme and goal of the cross functional team to make sure the team members become friends. Work friendship are hard to cumulative especially across the globe, but you, as a PM for the global team must find ways to ensure that whatever the results of the project you lead- team members develop special connections that will bring gains to the organization we’ll pass the duration of the project!