Cross-Functional Teams Series
Cross-functional teams are rapidly becoming the norm in most mid/large-sized businesses to solve complex problems. They facilitate rapid connections between different departments in a large organization and can help land impactful projects faster.
If you have been in the tech industry for at least 2-3 years and are in a mid/large-sized company, chances are that you will be a part of a cross-functional team at some point very soon if you haven’t been in one already! Learning how to participate and lead in such an environment can really boost your career.
During my MBA I did an independent study with Dr. Homa Bahrami on the topic of cross-functional teams. My study consisted of 3 parts:
Deep literature review of several papers and books
Empirical study consisting of a quantitative survey of 100+ industry professionals, most from the tech sector. I also did in-depth interviews with 30+ industry professionals (again tech dominated).
A personal journal where I reflected upon my own experiences as a participant in and leader of cross-functional teams. I connected these reflections back to the literature review and empirical study in my journal entries.
This study yielded some very interesting insights, many of which I have personally applied to my day job with great success! I also spoke about this study to 500+ attendees over 7+ talks so far to MBA students and industry professionals - most attendees found the content valuable for their jobs as well.
Here is a preview of a framework I introduced in the talks I gave about my independent study. This is a cheat-sheet of a few DOs and DON’Ts for different actors in a cross-functional team.
Starting October 1, 2024 I will be publishing a series of posts about how to effectively participate in and lead cross-functional teams. I will provide taxonomies and frameworks that will help you diagnose and understand cross-functional teams better. I will also cover various situations that may arise in such a setting with my own stories of tackling them.
This series will be for paid subscribers only. I plan to do such an in-depth series roughly once a quarter so you’ll want to consider an annual subscription to Chai-Time!
From now until end-of-year, I’m running a special discount on my annual subscription. Link to sign up below!
Good one Chatali! Keep these posts coming :)