Everyone’s busy in your business. But not aligned.
You’ve seen this before:
You launch a strategy, but a few weeks in, Business Development are doing one thing, Ops another. IT is 23 projects deep elsewhere.
Everyone’s working hard. But not in the same direction. And that’s what kills execution.
So how do you actually mobilise your people when it matters? Last week, we looked at navigating our existing workplace culture to get strategies delivered. This can be tricky to achieve across different silos, where we want to get cross-functional project momentum. That’s what we’re going to dive into today.
Cross-Functional Teams are an Execution Muscle
I once worked with a company (several thousand staff) that pulled off what most would call impossible: They launched an entirely new operating model, in just 12 weeks.
That’s 12 weeks to design, align, build and implement, with just 6 people from across finance, HR, IT and customer service. And it delivered a 20% cost reduction
They could do this as they had built a capability, an execution muscle that most companies don’t have: The ability to rapidly assemble a cross-functional team, and give them real authority to act.
Each person was seconded out of their own business unit and joined the new project team. Their focus was at the centre of the diagram below: a united project team, aligned on business strategy with a unified change approach, all navigating the culture, as depicted in the flywheel diagram below.
The Turbochargers ApproachTM
Cross-Functional Teams Build Momentum
Across many silos in a business, people often have different interests and motivations. Yet the creation of one focused cross-functional team from these disparate people can create amazing energy and momentum.
It makes me think of bees, each leaving their own “hive” and flying in sync together. I always think of bees when I think of well-aligned organisations. You may have heard me talk about this before. Bees operating alone are tiny and relatively defenceless, but together, they punch well above their weight.
For more on the power of cross-functional teams, see here.
3 Tips for Building Cross-Functional Execution Muscle
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Build shared purpose
Encourage each manager responsible for a different function to identify more with the overall firm-wide purpose (or strategic goals), rather their own unit. While you can do this through process and incentives, you also need to do this in the way you communicate, and the questions you ask. -
Recruit those who are adaptable and resilient
Reward team members who handle ambiguity well. Cross-functional work is messy and unpredictable; you need people who can cope with fluid project reporting lines.
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Make cross-functional strategy teams a way of doing business
Set the expectation that you will set up cross-functional projects from time to time. Emphasise that people will be asked to participate in strategic projects.
I’ve found that it’s very rewarding giving people the opportunity to shine in these projects. Your people will amaze you in the things they accomplish. I’ve seen junior staff members thrive in these new teams, accelerating their career significantly. A win-win for everyone.
Most strategy failures aren’t about the wrong plan. They’re about the right people not being mobilised correctly. We need flexibility more than ever. We are living amidst unprecedented change. We said that when the pandemic happened. And we’re saying that again now with the disruption only just beginning due to AI. I’m expecting a massive organisational upheaval to come soon.
When market conditions shift, you want your bees out in the field flying in sync, not hidden inside their own hives.
“Strategy is only as fast as your slowest silo.”
Lisa Carlin
PS More Ways to Accelerate your Strategy
Looking to move your strategy forward? Lisa Carlin works with selected clients directly to go from strategy to plan to result. Email Lisa.
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About Lisa Carlin
Lisa Carlin is a Strategy Execution Specialist. She works with business leaders to go from strategy to plan to result, in tough environments. Her clients love having her expertise and guidance to navigate workplace culture and use AI to achieve success.
Lisa is author of the globally acclaimed newsletter, Turbocharge Weekly, read by 8,000 business leaders.
Lisa’s career includes roles at McKinsey and Accenture, then running her own business since 1999. Over this time she has delivered over 50 implementations with a 96% success rate.