You\u2019ve been there.<\/p>\n
Your business has multiple teams that have grown and succeeded independently of each other. They\u2019ve developed their own internal standard operating procedures\u2014their own habits and processes to complete their work.<\/p>\n
But you begin to realize that these teams are losing touch with each other. Work is getting repeated in multiple places, and slowly the broader company goals have drifted away from narrower department-specific goals.<\/p>\n
Innovation is being replaced with statements of \u201cbecause this is how we\u2019ve always done it.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the slow silo effect that happens within many businesses as they grow. Teams begin to develop their unique way of doing things that become more and more distinct from the broader company and turn the company into a group of departmental \u201csilos.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, the answer that many turn to\u2014and rightly so\u2014is to build a cross-functional collaborative team. Why? Because projects with strong cross-functional collaboration or executive support have<\/span> a 76% success rate<\/span>, according to Stanford-based transformational leadership expert Behnam Tabrizi.1<\/sup> But success drops to 19% when projects have only moderate cross-functional support.<\/span><\/p>\n Unfortunately, this process isn\u2019t easy. Building a cross-functional collaborative team can seem simple, but there are many small details that can make or break their success.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s why, in this article, we\u2019re going to explore cross-functional collaboration from top to bottom, from defining what it is to how you can implement it effectively. We\u2019ll look at:<\/p>\n \ud83d\udd11 Spoiler alert: a powerful communication tool is one key to better collaboration. Grab the free checklist to help you choose the right one for your business.<\/p>\n \n\n
\n