{"id":1745,"date":"2020-02-19T15:57:55","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T15:57:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/project.co\/?p=1745"},"modified":"2024-06-27T13:12:25","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T13:12:25","slug":"cross-functional-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/project.co\/cross-functional-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Develop Successful Cross Functional Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Last updated on 27th June 2024<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTeamwork makes the dream work<\/em>\u201d\u2026as the saying goes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But did you know that\u2019s not the complete quote?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This phrase was first attributed to John Maxwell, an American clergyman. The quote in full is:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n \u201cTeamwork makes the dream work, but a vision becomes a nightmare when the leader has a big dream and a bad team.<\/em>\u201d<\/strong>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Okay, so it\u2019s not as catchy, but it gives us more to work with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teamwork is never<\/em> as simple as gathering a team of people and ordering them to work together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the teams in your organisation to function well together, you need to plan for success<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, we\u2019re going to teach you all about how to develop successful cross-functional teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a cross functional team?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A cross functional team refers to teams from different backgrounds (or people with different \u2018functional expertise\u2019) all working together on the same project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, a team that includes sales, marketing, finance, and so on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A typical cross-functional team will include employees from all<\/em> sectors of the business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem with cross functional teams is that they are notorious for failing<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n <\/i>Statistic\n<\/div>\n
\n A HBR study found that a huge 75% of cross functional teams are dysfunctional<\/strong>.\n
\n Source: <\/strong>Harvard Business Review<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

However, the same study also proved that this is not<\/em> a fault with the premise of cross functional teams, but rather the execution<\/em> of those teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The teams in the study failed because they were lacking in several areas. It was discovered that they were lacking in a systemic approach, lacking in accountability, and lacking in specificity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ensure that your business doesn\u2019t meet the same fate, here are 5 steps you can follow to develop a successful cross functional team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 Steps to developing a successful cross functional team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Assign a project leader<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Project<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Every ship needs a captain, and every project needs a leader! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cross functional teams are collaborative in nature and everyone should be held accountable for the success of the project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, without a clear project leader things can quickly go off course – milestones can go unassigned and deadlines can be missed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designating one project leader that has oversight of the entire project ensures that everyone will be held accountable for their tasks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This project leader should also act as a contact for any team member who needs advice or feels unsure of what to do next. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Tasks should be clearly defined<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Tasks\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It should go without saying that at the start of every project all tasks and milestones should be clearly defined. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The entire team should be informed of what they need to do, and when. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If certain team members are needed at different stages, then defining all tasks up front should make it easier to create a roadmap that shows each individual when they will be needed in the process – helping them to manage their time<\/a> more effectively. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n <\/i>Our Insight\n<\/div>\n
\n It\u2019s also beneficial to inform everyone of the budget of the project, in addition to the timeframe. This will give team members a better understanding of the resources they can spend on their section of the project.\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

3. Use a project management tool<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Project<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A project management tool will allow you to keep everything in one easily accessible place – facilitating better communication between team members and helping you to stay on track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Project.co<\/a>, we have first-hand experience of this. Our project management tool was initially created to fulfil the need of our animation company, Wyzowl<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating animated explainer videos with tight turnaround times and high client expectations requires several teams – copy, design, and animation – to be in constant contact with each other and the client. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project management tool helps our cross functional teams be more successful by allowing everyone to have an overview of milestones and client conversations, so that nothing is ever missed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Project.co worked so well for Wyzowl over the past 10+ years that we decided to roll it out to the rest of the world, so that everyone can benefit from more successful cross functional teams! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Have a shared goal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Shared<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While different teams will have their own tasks to work on, it\u2019s important that the end result is a shared goal that everyone knows they are working towards together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is necessary because different teams work in different ways and also have different pressures to consider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A shared goal will help align cross functional teams and encourage them to work together more closely, with less conflict. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n <\/i>Expert Tip\n<\/div>\n
\n This shared goal should be vocalised regularly by the project leader so that nobody forgets the bigger picture.\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

5. Be flexible<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Flexible\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If something isn\u2019t working, you should never be afraid to change it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project leader should be constantly re-evaluating every project to ensure that everything is running as smoothly as possible for every team involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if things could be run smoother then this should be discussed at regular meetings with either the full cross functional team, or the seniors of each team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If an issue is raised then try going in a different direction to see how things work out. If it makes everything run more smoothly, great! If it doesn\u2019t, you can always revert back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main thing here is to give your teams the flexibility to make changes that they believe will help them work better together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Developing successful cross functional teams isn\u2019t just a \u2018nice to have\u2019, it\u2019s a must<\/em>. The best way to ensure your projects are triumphant and profitable is to have a team of people that work well together and understand what needs to be done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A great project management tool can also help to facilitate this. Click here to try Project.co<\/a> for free and find out what it can do for your teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Developing successful cross functional teams isn\u2019t just a \u2018nice to have\u2019, it\u2019s a must. Follow these 5 steps to ensure you do it properly!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":288729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-productivity"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/project.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/How-to-develop-successful-cross-functional-teams.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgGBe0-s9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/project.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/project.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/project.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/project.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/project.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}