Cross-Functional Teams: 6 Ways to Maximize Strengths and Collaboration

For certain organizational projects, it makes sense to build a special team with representatives from different departments. Each participant will bring a unique perspective based on their job function and experience, which can lead to powerful, impactful results that truly meet the needs of all stakeholders.

The person tasked with leading a cross-functional team has the challenging, but important, task of leveraging each team member’s unique strengths while ensuring everyone’s perspective is considered and the work is wisely apportioned and completed in a timely fashion. Here, members of Business Journals Leadership Trust offer their best recommendations for managing a cross-functional team to ensure effective communication and collaboration that leads to outstanding results.

1. Get everyone aligned on the mission.

Clear communication and alignment on the overall mission are crucial for cross-functional teams. Each member should understand how their role contributes to the broader mission, which will allow them to leverage their expertise effectively. Creating a culture of trust and collaboration helps the team work together toward common goals. – Bill Rokos, Parsec Automation

2. Make sure everyone’s voice is heard.

Facilitating these groups so everybody’s voice and perspective are heard is critical. In many groups, the dynamic often involves a few people who dominate the conversation. However, all participants should know that they were put into a cross-functional team so that all functions would be represented. Call out the quieter people by asking, “What are your thoughts? How would this idea affect your department?” These are simple ways to leverage the strengths of the whole team. – Gary Braun, Pivotal Advisors, LLC

3. Encourage regular knowledge-sharing.

Create opportunities for team members to share their knowledge and expertise, and where relevant, encourage colleagues to learn about each other’s roles and responsibilities. Regular knowledge-sharing can both foster a culture of continuous learning and build a more versatile team. When team members can support each other and step in when needed, the overall team becomes more resilient. – Junior Harewood, UnitedHealthcare

4. Understand each person’s communication preferences.

The most effective strategy we’ve used to ensure individual strengths are being leveraged among cross-functional teams is to utilize one of the many personality tools (such as CliftonStrengths or Kolbe) to understand communication preferences and share them across the team in an exercise or discussion. We used to do this annually, and we found it invaluable. – Kent Lewis, pdxMindShare

5. Cross-train your team members.

Cross-train the team members. Someone from engineering might not know how to do a balance sheet, but they should at least be aware of its importance. A financial analyst may not have an in-depth understanding of the different engineering processes, but they should at least know, in general terms, what can be accomplished. You can then put people in different positions and have confidence they can manage those roles. – Zain Jaffer, Zain Ventures

6. Highlight the learning opportunity.

To maximize the strengths of a cross-functional team and ensure smooth collaboration, leaders should promote participation on such a team as an opportunity for collaborative learning. Encouraging members to share valuable insights from their respective disciplines can lead to positive outcomes for everyone involved. – Jessica Hawthorne-Castro, Hawthorne Advertising