Episode Transcript
Today we’re talking about what I think is an awesome skill to have as an engineer. And that is managing cross-functional teams. It’s a fascinating form of team leadership. And there’s so much you can learn that will help you in your career.
You have opportunities in your career to lead teams. But have you led a cross-functional team?
Just like the name says, a cross-functional team is one whose members come from various groups having different functions. Multiple functions can mean within the same organization or – even more challenging – among multiple organizations or companies.
You may not seek out this kind of opportunity thinking it’s not worth the effort or the politics involved. You may decide you like staying within your own organization where it’s familiar. Or you may not see how an assignment like this is relevant to your career.
But you’d be missing out on some great experience. Managing a cross-functional team is the ultimate experience in team leadership. If you get the chance, you should take it.
How Cross-Functional Team Leadership Benefits You
As the leader of a cross-functional team you’ll be intrigued. It takes a unique approach, as I’ll talk more about in a minute. It stretches you and helps you be more creative in connecting with people and accomplishing team goals.
As the leader of a cross-functional team you’ll mature your leadership style. It’ll give you great exposure for future roles in your engineering career.
When you’re good at this kind of role, you’ll notice that
- Team members are extra appreciative. Because they all know what a challenge it is.
- Your reputation spreads to and through all organizations involved. That’s a good thing.
- It builds your rapport and it builds your organization’s rapport. Also a good thing.
- It pays you back in the future through connections and opportunities. It’s an awesome experience to put on your resume. Nothing matches it.
A Different Kind of Team Leadership
Let’s take a look at some of the challenges of leading cross-functional teams. At first glance they seem the same as the challenges for leading any team. But there are key differences because you’re dealing with multiple organizations and a mix of missions, priorities and philosophies.
It’s a different kind of team leadership because of the following 5 challenges:
- You have to get members to buy into and promote the goals and objectives of the team. Even if these are not the first priority of their individual organizations. Or are not exactly the same as each organization by itself would set up.
In one of my government program management roles I led a large cross-functional team involving several companies. We spent a lot of time up front getting buy-in.
Members had to come to terms with the fact that they would have to compromise on a few things. And they had to trust each other. For my part that meant facilitating a lot of discussion before we even dove into the first task.
- You have to be patient and listen to all viewpoints. You must respect boundaries and any competitive positions between organizations. Realize there’ll be opposing views among members.
- To be trusted, you need to be open and transparent. Members must feel you have their interests at heart. They gotta know you’re including their input and feel comfortable coming to you to discuss issues.
- To make progress, you have to get the team to agree or come to consensus. You also have to be willing to make a decision that’s not going to please everyone. And follow up with the displeased. This requires compromise, negotiation and diplomacy.
I remember having to do this when our team needed a process for evaluating proposals. Since there was competition between members, I had to step in a make a decision.
I knew what the decision had to be, but convincing all members was the hard part. I learned a lot about explaining my case in a tactful way. And about sticking to it.
- You have to be aware of elephants in the room. Sometimes members won’t bring up issues that they just want to go away.
Especially issues that might negatively affect their organization. You have to address these situations so they don’t roadblock team progress.
Mastering the leadership of cross-functional teams takes some practice. You’ll need to hone leadership skills – like we just talked about – compromise, negotiation, diplomacy, decision making and listening.
As you’re building your proficiency, feel free to book a strategy session with me. We can brainstorm some approaches to enrich your capabilities and get you ready for your team leadership role.
Try your hand at managing a cross-functional team. If you haven’t been given the opportunity yet, see if you can seek one out. It’ll supersize your skills, giving a boost to your engineering career. And best of all you’ll enjoy the challenge.
Next time on Her Engineering Career Podcast I’ll be sharing some networking mistakes I’ve made so that you can avoid them in your career. Be sure to tune in for Episode 63.
