![]() ![]() There’s a lot you can do to develop healthy and happy cross-functional teams.īest Practices for Developing Efficient Cross-Functional Teams We know you want your cross-functional teams to soar! And it’s important to remember that they don’t struggle because employees set out to be terrible teammates, but because people with different skill sets and points of view need different strategies and supports to succeed together. Inattention to results – If team members haven’t been guided toward valuing the bigger picture, they may become overly focused on completing tasks within their scope of influence at the expense of the final product. This creates an environment of low standards. Lack of commitment – Members of cross-functional teams may unconsciously prioritize their usual department tasks over project tasks, which can contribute to feeling a lack of ownership or responsibility toward the team.Īvoidance of accountability – Team members that don’t openly communicate and collaborate are more likely to be competitive, look out for their own performance, and pass the blame off to someone else. Team members need a safe environment to debate ideas, have some degree of decision-making autonomy, and claim ownership over the final product. They may not fully understand the functions of their teammates, and they likely have few or no prior successes together that can create a foundation of trust and camaraderie.įear of conflict – Innovation can’t exist when there’s no foundation of familiarity between teammates and a poorly-designed or nonexistent decision-making process. Here’s what these characteristics mean for cross-functional teams:Ībsence of trust – Employees who belong to different departments may have had little-if any-prior contact before the project began. ![]() They often form in response to a project requiring the expertise of different departments.įor example, the development and launch of a new software will definitely involve developers but might also involve design, research, sales, marketing, and legal teams, among others. What is a Cross-Functional Team?Ī cross-functional team is a group of people with different skill sets brought together by a shared goal. We propose specific management techniques to implement immediately, so you can get back to making awesome things with happy employees. What’s the secret to being the one in four that gets it right? In this article, we’ll review what cross-functional teams are, common causes of dysfunction, and best practices for team development. A study from Harvard Business Review shows that most cross-functional teams are dysfunctional-75% of them, to be exact. Managed incorrectly, though, these teams become a muddle of poor communication, pushed-back deadlines, and deliverables that don’t delight customers. At their best, cross-functional teams bring together top talent with different skill sets to develop, build, and market products that can launch a company far past the competition. Leading companies know that strong cross-functional teams are central to building innovative solutions at a fast pace.
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