Strengthening Cross-Functional Partnerships

Everyone talks about cross-functional collaboration. But, most senior leaders are incentivized to protect their territory. I've guided and worked on many transformation projects, and the change happens when you flip the script. Here's what actually works to turn territorial leaders into enthusiastic partners: 1. Speak the universal language of business outcomes A CTO I worked with, transformed resistance into momentum by starting here: "Our time-to-market is 3x industry average. What could we unlock by cutting that in half?" Suddenly, the CFO saw cost savings. Marketing saw competitive advantage. Sales saw bigger wins. 2. Translate value in their metrics. Your innovation might mean: - Revenue lift (Sales) - Efficiency gains (Operations) - Brand equity (Marketing) - Risk reduction (Legal) Connect your initiative to what they measure. 3. Build proof with micro-wins. Start small. A quick pilot. A 2-week experiment. Show them real results in their world, not PowerPoint promises. 🫀 Here's what happens: When stakeholders see their success metrics improving, turf wars dissolve into transformation stories. I've watched this work in Fortune 500s and startups alike. The key? Stop selling your project. Start amplifying their impact. 💡 What's your experience? Have you seen other approaches that turn skeptical stakeholders into strategic partners? ♻️ Share this with a leader who may benefit from this ➕ Follow Shirley Braun , Ph.D., PCC , for insights on leadership, scaling, and transformation that sticks.

How Do You Connect People that Don’t Trust One Another❓ It happens – often. Relationships are fractured. Trust is low almost non existent between people. But avoiding each other is not an option. I recently had to do this amongst three cross functional teams as part of a broader organizational development initiative. Here’s how I responsibly and efficiently bridge fractured cross functional relationships. And got commitment from all parties from the beginning. 💡 Action 1 Created a clear plan/approach for making initial contact with each person. This was based on research, interviews and observations to understand the reality of the situation. 💡 Action 2 Connected one on one early in the project to understand more about their workplace reality and past experiences from a holistic perspective. 💡 Action 3 Understood early what each employee valued in their role and what their career plans were. Gaining an insight into each person’s motivating factors was key to shaping the focus and project approach. 💡 Action 4 Identified together where skill gaps existed in each person’s work practice and created a personalized L & D plan to respond to this. Co-designing this with each person was key to their buy in and ownership of the outcome and impact. 💡 Action 5 Acknowledged the challenges of past relationships with each person while clearly outlining the support I, and the broader organization would provide to make this experience positive.   💡Action 6 When the parties did come together I was clear on why it was key to work together differently across functions. How would it benefit them in their roles. And what they could expect from myself. 💡 Action 7 Had agreed outcomes and impact the team would deliver together. Checked in and measured progress weekly as a team with agendas that were shaped by each person.     What changes occurred as a result❓ ✳ Everyone knew what to expect from the interaction and had buy in.   ✳ People were acknowledging the support and wins of the other.   ✳ They were generously sharing intel and insights needed to deliver.   ✳ New knowledge and skill sets were developed from the experience that positively changed how they showed up and performed their role. Remember avoidance is not a long term option. How do you bridge the gaps between teams/people in your organization❔ Let me know your experiences and opinions below. 📚 I create original OD content to engage with, save and refer to later. Please follow or hit the 🔔 on my profile to get a practical and lived experience take on people, learning & growth, employee experience and organizational development. #organizationaldevelopment #leadership #culturechange #learninganddevelopment   *illustration courtesy of Yvette Pan

We assume our managers know everything we’re doing and the value we’re creating. They don’t. Years ago, I faced a challenge with a department that consistently missed deliverables. The frustration was building on both sides—they felt overwhelmed by competing priorities, and we felt let down by promises unfulfilled. That’s when I developed what I call “Three-Point Landings” - a simple but powerful approach to cross-functional collaboration: 1. WHAT are you going to deliver? 2. HOW are you going to deliver it? 3. WHEN will it be delivered? It sounds basic, but I’ve found that most breakdowns in trust happen not because people don’t want to deliver, but because expectations were assumed rather than explicitly stated. With one particularly challenged IT department, we got to the point where we would actually write these three points on paper and have their leader sign it. When deliverables were met, we’d celebrate by posting them above their office door with a “Way to Go” sign. When expectations weren’t met, the rule was simple: come back and renegotiate before the deadline. This approach transformed our working relationship, created accountability, and built trust between departments—which is really important when navigating matrix environments. I’ve since used it with finance teams, marketing partners, and even in conversations with my own leaders. The next time you’re collaborating across departments, try this approach. You might be surprised how something so simple can be so transformative. #Leadership #CrossFunctionalTeams #ExpectationSetting #TransformativeLeadership

In my experience as a Product Leader the most crucial part to delivering meaningful outcomes 🙌 is ALIGNING your roadmap with the other teams 🙌 Without alignment, priorities and timelines can clash, leading to missed opportunities and inefficiencies. When goals and key milestones are aligned, every team understands how their efforts contribute to the bigger picture. This creates clarity, reduces friction, and ensures that everyone is moving toward the same outcomes. Here’s how to make it happen: 1️⃣ Define the “non-negotiables” up front Every roadmap should have a few key outcomes that are non-negotiable. Share these with other teams early to align focus. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: If reducing churn is a priority, customer success can align their training, while marketing focuses on re-engagement campaigns. 2️⃣ Understanding the WHY Roadmaps should always highlight strategic priorities, OKR’s and user pain points you are addressing. This helps other teams connect with the “why” behind priorities. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: Show how a new feature improves a specific customer pain point and how it connects to revenue growth. 3️⃣ Opportunity cost When aligning priorities, consider what’s at stake if a roadmap item isn’t completed. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: delaying a key feature might mean losing competitive advantage or missing out on critical user adoption. Highlight these trade-offs to create urgency and focus. 4️⃣ Run “pre-mortems” together. Before committing to a major initiative, bring cross-functional teams together to anticipate risks and potential roadblocks. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: you might uncover that engineering needs additional resources or marketing has dependencies on sales enablement. 5️⃣ Celebrate cross-team wins. Alignment shouldn’t feel like a chore. Highlight and celebrate when collaboration leads to success, such as a well-executed feature launch or a process improvement that benefits multiple teams. It builds goodwill and reinforces the value of staying aligned. How do you ensure your product roadmap aligns with other teams? Share your thoughts—I’d love to hear them!

I've interviewed 100+ product managers over the past decade. Many candidates talk about "managing up" or "stakeholder alignment." They’ll mention how they work with other product managers. And yes, that’s part of the job. But the best PMs I've hired understood something extra: their pod was their first team. Here's what I look for in hiring: They invest in pod relationships first. Top performers dedicate time to creating shared context with designers and engineers. They know that if everyone understands the strategy and goals, the products are more likely to hit their target metrics. They speak multiple functional languages. The best PMs I've worked with could have conversations that crossed business requirements with technical specs, user research and design principles, and engineering constraints to roadmap decisions. They became fluent in the languages of their first team. They don’t spend too much time with other product managers. The product management weekly sync is most of the time they spend with other PMs. The rest of the time is working cross-functionally. When your pod is your first team, you're not managing a project—you're creating a community of builders. The interview question I always ask: "Tell me about a time when your engineering and design partners disagreed. How did you handle it?" The best answers never involved escalation or authority. They involved understanding, facilitation, and creative problem-solving. What's the strongest cross-functional relationship you've built as a PM? *** ❤️ I coach product leaders on how to build high-performing teams. ✏️ Subscribe to my newsletter at https://lnkd.in/gMhUnXih 🛎️ Follow me here on LinkedIn for more stories about improving product culture.

💡 "𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭." The same applies to #projects. When you bring people together from different functions, countries, with different roles and perceptions, the chances of misunderstandings and miscommunication are super high. Last week, I co-facilitated a 𝟐-𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 with my colleague and coach from Australia Neil Maxfield. The team we worked with was dealing with a highly complex situation: - Different perspectives - Misaligned priorities - Competing assumptions But guess what? We had a full toolkit for tackling complex problems, and one of the tools that stood out was the 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐲. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐲? It’s a tool that helps distinguish between: - Past decisions (constraints and givens) - Future decisions (choices and possibilities). Instead of rushing to solutions, it encourages teams to pause, break apart what they "think they know," and organize their approach to the problem. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭: - Identified issues: Teams explored what wasn’t working in each problem area. - Analyzed impact: Teams prioritized high-value issues and assessed how they affected plant performance. - Clarified decisions: Team distinguished between constraints, available choices, and future decisions. - Defined success: For each problem area, we defined success measures, scope, value drivers, and overall objectives. Then, brainstorming solutions became far more effective: - Solutions were specific and directly linked to problem areas. - The team evaluated each solution against key drivers to ensure alignment with the project’s scope and boundaries. The result? Clarity, shared understanding and alignment—no matter the differences in roles or perspectives. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧? Far too often, we rush into "fixing" things without fully understanding: - What’s broken? - What’s the real impact? - What do we actually want to achieve? Tools like the Decision Hierarchy and a well-structured framing process help bring clarity and alignment before diving into solutions. 👉 What strategies do you use to align cross-functional teams? Let’s share insights in the comments! #opportunityframing #decisionhierarchy

6 ways to turn cross-functional stakeholders into your champions – The in-house legal life requires more than just legal acumen — it demands strong, collaborative relationships with cross-functional teams. Here are six actionable strategies to help you achieve this: 🛠️ Unblock them: Go the extra mile to help solve tricky issues in their deals. Whether it's a complex contract clause or a regulatory hurdle, your proactive assistance can make all the difference. When stakeholders see you as a problem-solver, they're more likely to become your advocates. 🔍 Provide transparency: Give your stakeholders visibility into legal's priorities. Share your roadmap, explain the 'why' behind your actions, and collaborate with them to reprioritize when necessary. Transparency fosters trust and aligns everyone towards common goals. 🕒 Open office hours & provide training: Set up regular office hours where stakeholders can drop in with questions or concerns. Complement this with training sessions tailored to their needs. Empower your teams with the knowledge they need to navigate legal processes confidently. 📰 Start an internal newsletter: Keep everyone in the loop with a monthly newsletter. Highlight key updates, upcoming projects, and success stories. This not only keeps your stakeholders informed but also showcases the value the legal team brings to the table. 🎉 Shoutout champions & encourage feedback: Recognize and celebrate stakeholders who champion the legal team's efforts. Public shoutouts go a long way in building morale and encouraging a culture of collaboration. Additionally, actively seek and act on feedback to continually improve your support. 📊 Conduct NPS surveys: Regularly gauge stakeholder satisfaction through Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys. Use the insights to identify areas of improvement and demonstrate your commitment to excellence. An ongoing dialogue about performance strengthens relationships and drives continuous improvement. What strategies do you use to build strong, effective stakeholder relationships? Share your thoughts and experiences below! 👇 #inhousecounsel #legalleadership #stakeholderengagement #corporatelaw #legalexcellence

75% of cross-functional teams are dysfunctional. That’s not just a statistic, it’s a warning sign. Misalignment, unclear roles, delayed decisions, and missed deadlines are not signs of poor talent. They’re signs of poor clarity. And no amount of hard work can compensate for a lack of it. In high-performing teams, clarity isn’t a luxury, it’s a system. Two proven frameworks I’ve seen transform team effectiveness are: 1. DACI: A Decision-Making Framework DACI creates structure around who decides what, a common source of friction in cross-functional settings. Here’s how the roles break down: 1) Driver – Leads the decision-making process. 2) Approver – The final decision-maker. 3) Contributors – Provide insights and recommendations. 4) Informed – Kept in the loop on the outcome. When to use DACI: - Strategic decisions with multiple stakeholders - Product development or vendor evaluations - Situations where decisions are delayed or disputed 2. RACI: A Responsibility Assignment Framework RACI brings clarity to who is responsible for what, especially during execution. 1) Responsible – Does the work. 2) Accountable – Owns the result. Only one per task. 3) Consulted – Offers advice or feedback. 4) Informed – Needs updates, not involvement. When to use RACI: - Project rollouts - Process handoffs - Cross-functional initiatives with shared ownership Key Difference: - DACI is for decisions. - RACI is for execution. Together, they reduce friction, eliminate ambiguity, and ensure the right people are involved at the right time. What’s Changing in 2025? 1) Teams are blending DACI + RACI in agile environments, one for planning, the other for execution. 2) Tools like Asana and ClickUp are embedding these frameworks into workflows. 3) AI is helping auto-suggest roles based on project patterns. 4) Clarity is being embedded into culture, not just project charters. If your team is stuck, slow, or stressed… chances are, clarity is missing, not commitment. So here’s a question worth reflecting on: - Is your team clear on who decides, who delivers, and who is just being kept in the loop? Because without that clarity, dysfunction is inevitable, no matter how talented your people are. #Leadership #DecisionMaking #Collaboration #TeamPerformance #DACI #RACI #CrossFunctionalTeams #Execution #Leadership #3prm #tprm #thirdpartyrisk #businessrisk

We've been talking about cross-functional development teams for almost 30 years, but what about cross-functional #leadership teams? I'm a big fan of cross-functional leadership teams, rather than a team of leaders each protecting their own silo and career. A first step is having common #goals. A second step is co-location. All members of a cross-functional leadership team share an office. This has many benefits and leads to the right behavioral change: - Improved communication through frequent, spontaneous interactions - Stronger trust and relationships among cross-functional leaders - Shared context and deeper understanding of cross-functional challenges - Faster problem solving and decision making - Visible model of collaborative behavior for the rest of the organization - Informal knowledge sharing and serendipitous innovation - Increased accountability among team members - Improve alignment with agile principles and culture - More empathetic and holistic decision making - Faster response to emerging problems and opportunities What do you think of cross-functional leadership teams?

9 ways to leverage cross functional collaboration for better decisions in software development: Start with a clear vision: Ensure everyone understands the project’s goals. → This keeps all functions aligned. Create interdisciplinary teams: Mix developers, security experts, and business analysts. → Different perspectives lead to better decisions. Regular check-ins: Schedule frequent meetings for updates. → Keeps everyone on the same page. Foster open communication: Encourage team members to share ideas freely. → Builds trust and innovation. Use collaborative tools: Implement platforms like Slack or Trello. → Simplifies communication and task tracking. Define roles clearly: Ensure everyone knows their responsibilities. → Reduces confusion and overlap. Encourage knowledge sharing: Host sessions where team members teach each other. → Enhances skills across the board. Set common goals: Align individual tasks with the team’s objectives. → Promotes unity and focus. Celebrate successes together: Acknowledge and reward collaborative efforts. → Boosts morale and motivation. Cross functional collaboration doesn’t just happen. It requires deliberate effort and strategy. But the payoff? Better decisions, faster execution, and a more cohesive team. How do you foster collaboration in your projects? Let’s discuss!