3 Secrets to Successful Cross-Functional Team Collaboration

In my different roles from public relations to marketing, a large part of my role has been to collaborate across departmental teams. At times those interactions have been - frankly - difficult, stressful and tense, while other times they've been extremely successful and pleasant.

In thinking back on these interactions, I believe there are three factors to successful collaboration.

Understand everyone's working style in the room

A leadership workshop I took a few years ago used the Insights methodology, which categorizes personality types and working styles into four key colors. Generally speaking:  

• Blue:  prefer written communications in order to have precise, clear understanding of the situation. These individuals may be seen as overly cautious, or even procrastinators as they are seeking to understand every angle before proceeding. 
• Red: unlike "blue", these individuals typically are authoritative, direct and make decisions based on understanding the key points of a situation. These individuals may be perceived as inflexible as they prefer to be in "control" of a situation. 
• Yellow: maybe the most optimistic and social of all the personality types. Tend to be outgoing, interested in how others are doing and may be very creative. While blues prefer written communications, these individuals may prefer to talk through things first. 
• Green: like "yellow", these individuals are also very personable with a caring demeanor seeking others to rely on them. 

The insights methodology can help bridge communications and enhance collaboration. Personally, I sit between blue and red, and working with creative types (yellow) can be challenging. With this knowledge, I am more patient in situations in these interactions. 

Clearly communicate roles and expectations

How many times have you attended a brainstorm and not understood why? It's important to set ground rules to avoid miscommunication and maximize everyone's time. Clearly outline the goals, objectives and expectations for every person in the meeting. It can be as simple as:

• Moderator - responsible to guide the conversation. Probe participants to further expand on responses or bring the discussion back to the objectives and goals of the meeting.
• Participants - each person in the room should have a purpose and provide ideas based on their role. Email discusses email while digital focused on online presence. They're invited as experts in their space - not for opinions about other disciplines.
• Scribe - while these may seem like a minor role in fact I've found this to be one of the most critical and typically missing in collaborative meetings. A group of people have just spent X number hours on the brainstorm yet everyone leaves with their own interpretation of what was just discussed and subsequent action items. The scribe acts as the source of truth, sending out a summary of the conversation, action items and any remaining questions immediately following the meeting.

Then maniacally adhere to those ground rules and be open to "parking lot" items not core to the subject at hand.

Promote healthy dissent

I read this article about five ways to mine for conflict in team meetings. If everyone agrees in a meeting it doesn't necessarily mean it was a collaborative meeting. In fact it may be the opposite. Plus,  as Patrick Lencioni outlines in  The Advantage, trust is an important component or effective leadership and by extension teams.

The lack of healthy dissent may signal the lack of trust among participants for open, honest conversation and differing perspectives. While trust takes time, the article suggests simple ways to jump start the conversation, such as designate a devil's advocate - as one of the roles in your meeting, or purposely start with an outrageous idea.

Conclusion - Collaboration not debate

It's a fine line between positive collaboration and destructive debate. It's not about having the last word or getting your way. Sometimes it's knowing what you're willing to compromise for the larger good of the project and not just your own benefit.

What recommendations do you have?

Cece Salomon-Lee is director of product marketing for Lanyon Solutions, Inc. and author of PR Meets Marketing, which explores the intersection of public relations, marketing, and social media. This post represents Cece's personal opinions and are not representative of her company's.

Photo Credit: Ken Whytock via flickr