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In the age of “VUCA” and “Agile” cross-functional teams (CFTs) seem to be one of the cornerstones and main factors for success. According to the Scrum Guide, a Scrum Team per definition needs to be “cross-functional”. The meaning and purpose of cross-functional teamsAccording to Wikipedia, “a cross-functional team, also known as a multidisciplinary team or interdisciplinary team, is a group of people with different functional expertise working toward a common goal”. In contrast to functional teams, which are traditionally organized in kind of “departments” and focus on specialization and efficiency, cross-functional teams try to optimize on value creation and creativity by removing organizational communication barriers and conflicts of interest. Organized in value stream units (like Scrum Teams), they gather all relevant people contributing to the development or delivery of a specific product, project or service in order to create tangible business value and solve problems of customers. While functional teams are very efficient in a complicated and traditional environment with little change and known processes and good practices, CFTs are advised in an complex, fast changing and unpredictable environment, where you need quick, creative, competent decisions in order to solve complex problems of the market. Traditional vs. cross-functional HR departmentsIn this article I will discuss the success factors, challenges and required leadership in the typical situation of creating and supporting CFTs in an existing organization and functional environment. That’s because creating a single CFT as an organization from scratch is just common sense and called a startup. Success factors of cross-functional teams
Establishing and developing a productive and effective CFT is not an easy task, actually it is a complex problem. Typically you have to establish a new complex social system with a different way of working and acting in contrast to an existing organizational structure and culture. Here are 10 important factors you need to consider when leading effective cross-functional teams:
Challenges of cross-functional teamsCFTs – like Scrum Teams – don’t just appear like a miracle. Depending on the context and organization, creating and maintaining CFTs within an existing, often more functional oriented environment face different challenges. And most of them are linked to the powerful existing organizational culture.
The leadership role for CFTsNecessary skills for cross-functional team leaderships So what kind of leadership activities and mindset is needed for CFTs? Simply answer this question: How can we foster an environment and a system that helps cross-functional teams to thrive and to deliver value? The previously described success factors and challenges show where you have to focus on. Here are 10 tips and skills to practice valuable leadership for CFTs
Hold on, isn’t there something missing? Shouldn’t the manager also have the skills to exactly know the domain and context as well as the skills of the people in order to create the best team? Out of my own experience I doubt this. I even recognized that too much knowledge might even hinder the required mindset change for managers and the team members as well. Photo by Ketut Subiyanto (via Pexels) What are the challenges of crossChallenges of Cross Functional Collaboration and Practical.... The team involved have conflicting goals: ... . You don't understand coworkers roles, responsibilities or jargon: ... . You are not aware of other team's projects: ... . Taking on another project seems too time-consuming:. What is cross“The communication between two operational teams in working towards a common outcome is called cross-functional communication.” Suggested Read: The Effective way to Sales, Customer Success, and Implementation Handoff. For illustration, the marketing team works in synergy with the sales team to pull off leads.
What is aspect of crossBecause cross-functional teams are drawn from different departments within an organization, they often have different, and sometimes conflicting, agendas or legacy processes that could hinder performance. Without clear alignment on shared goals, team members may find it difficult to cooperate and collaborate.
What challenges are faced by different teams in relation to functional and virtual teams?The 9 virtual team challenges and solutions. Differences in communication style. One of the main challenges with virtual teams is communication. ... . Lack of structure. ... . Not the right tools. ... . Distrust. ... . Distracting environments. ... . Slow response times. ... . A lack of office culture.. |