Building Relationships with Cross-Functional Teams

Over the years, I've discovered the truth: Game-changing products won't succeed unless they have a unified vision across sales, marketing, and product teams. When these key functions pull in different directions, it's a death knell for go-to-market execution. Without alignment on positioning and buyer messaging, we fail to communicate value and create disjointed experiences. So, how do I foster collaboration across these functions? 1) Set shared goals and incentivize unity towards that North Star metric, be it revenue, activations, or retention. 2) Encourage team members to work closely together, building empathy rather than skepticism of other groups' intentions and contributions. 3) Regularly conduct cross-functional roadmapping sessions to cascade priorities across departments and highlight dependencies. 4) Create an environment where teams can constructively debate assumptions and strategies without politics or blame. 5) Provide clarity for sales on target personas and value propositions to equip them for deal conversations. 6) Involve all functions early in establishing positioning and messaging frameworks. Co-create when possible. By rallying together around customers’ needs, we block and tackle as one team towards product-market fit. The magic truly happens when teams unite towards a shared mission to delight users!

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

How to make friends with a Construction Project Manager for anyone else on the project team. There was nothing more frustrating then coming back from a week being on job sites in another state to have an accounting team member standing outside of my door. Personal Example: Imagine this, it's 7:30am on Monday morning. You just get to your office and are unpacking your backpack to plug your computer in. You look up and standing in my doorway, holding a stack of papers your accounting lady is there. She slams the papers down on your desk and says "I need this fixed now" then leaves. No "Good morning", no "How was the jobsite", not even a "How was your weekend". She probably heard about it Thursday and Friday from her boss so I got the same treatment. A lot of project managers have this kind of relationship with their accounting team and other project team staff. I've heard too many people say "Project Managers are so entitled. They are always out of the office, going to lunch, "going to jobsites", or playing golf." Project Managers are say things like "Accounting is so dry and have no personalities. They are always in horrible moods and like to nit pick everything in the budget." It made me think, how can I change our relationship so next time the accounting lady is someone I want to talk to? I went to her office the morning. She was busy working on some issues with a vendor and I just stopped by her doorway with a coffee and asked how her day was. She gave me the typical, "it's okay". Literally you can see accounting people's veins pop out when a number doesn't add up right, even if it's something as simple as a rounding error in a spreadsheet. I followed up with, "No, really how was your weekend?" We had a 5 minute conversation about her weekend and I let her get back to being stressed about numbers. What did it accomplish? The most important way to have a good relationship with someone is to know them personally. Every Tuesday for the next month, I went to her office to just see how her weekend was. Every time she stopped by my office after that, she was increasingly pleasant. We would start off talking about personal life and not straight to business. She started to explain to me what I was doing that was throwing off her flow causing her more work and it was just a simple check box that I didn't realize we had to push. Ever since then, I've worked to get to know everyone I work with on a personal level because no one wants to be at work and no one wants to be stressed out. Try giving someone who you struggle to be around at the office 5 minutes and try to get to know them. Ask questions about them, their lives, their kids, and their interests. Don't interject anything about you and see how over 4 weeks, that work relationship will improve exponentially.

Collaboration doesn’t just happen - it’s built. 🔨🧱🏠 And it’s built by leaders who choose to create the conditions for it. If you’re looking to drive more collaboration across your organization, here are 5 practical moves you can make right now: 💥Create “collision points.” Design intentional moments where teams cross paths: monthly cross-functional standups, project showcases, or lunch-and-learns. These spark ideas and relationships. ⁉️Clarify the why behind the work. People are far more likely to collaborate when they understand how their work fits into the bigger picture. Start meetings with impact. Share the endgame. 🫂 Reward the team, not just the hero. If recognition only goes to the person who crossed the finish line, collaboration dies. Shine a light on the partnerships that made it possible. ⛓️💥Bust the silos and don’t manage around them. Encourage job shadowing, rotate team members, and normalize asking for input outside your lane. Silos shrink when curiosity grows. ❤️🔥Model it. Obsessively. Leaders who seek input, celebrate others, and co-create solutions don’t just talk collaboration, they live it. Your example is your loudest message. Want more collaboration? Build more connection. Now let’s stop waiting for alignment and start creating it. Found this helpful. ♻️Share with others. #QuickBitesofInsight #Culture #Growth #Development #Collaboration #5tips #Work #OrganizationDevelopment

Speak the Same Language: Uniting Localization and Cross-Functional Teams for Global Success 🗺️ 🤝 Hello, Global Innovators and Localization Pros! Ever felt "lost at sea" when coordinating with localization teams? Or perhaps you're in localization, finding yourself constantly "lost in translation" (see what I did there?) with your cross-functional peers? Let’s jot down some ideas to unravel the puzzle of effective collaboration between localization and other departments. 🎯 Issue 1: Misalignment on Project Timelines 📅 - Localization Perspective: Often, localization is considered at the tail-end of a project, making it difficult to meet tight deadlines without compromising quality. - Non-localization Perspective: We sometimes assume localization is a quick task, only to find out it’s the bottleneck in our project timeline. - Solution: Early engagement and frequent communication can ensure that localization is integrated into the overall project timeline, eliminating last-minute scrambles. Issue 2: Inadequate Context for Content 📝 - Localization Perspective: Translating without context can lead to inaccuracies or even cultural insensitivities. - Non-localization Perspective: We don’t always understand why localization teams ask so many questions. - Solution: Providing localization teams with content briefs, storyboards, or user journeys can help align everyone on context, ensuring more accurate translations. Issue 3: Inconsistent Terminology Across Departments 📚 - Localization Perspective: Different teams may use different terms for the same concept, causing confusion in localized versions. - Non-localization Perspective: Why are there multiple translations for the same term in our global content? - Solution: Implement a centralized terminology database accessible by all teams. Regular cross-functional reviews can keep the database updated. Issue 4: ROI Measurement Gaps 📊 - Localization Perspective: It’s challenging to quantify localization ROI without cross-departmental data. - Non-localization Perspective: How do we know if our investment in localization is paying off? - Solution: Establish KPIs that are relevant to both localization and external teams. Use these KPIs to create dashboards that are reviewed jointly. 🎁 BONUS–Example for non-localization teams: If you're from the Marketing department, consider tracking metrics like customer engagement or conversion rates for localized ad campaigns. This data can be invaluable for localization teams in understanding the effectiveness of their work. Early involvement, transparent communication, and shared KPIs can go a long way in ensuring the success of localization efforts across the board. 👉🏻 What's your experience? Do you face any of these problems at work? #Localization #CrossFunctionalCollaboration #Teamwork #Globalization #ProjectManagement #XFN

Have a tough relationship with another org leader? Haven’t been able to turn it around? Let go of your needs. Focus on them. Not forever — just until the relationship shifts. Schedule time with them. The agenda item is relationship building. Your only goal is to be curious. Set your concerns aside. Yes, even if they’ve acted like a jerk. Remember, it’s not forever. Your needs are still important, they’re just secondary right now. Ask lots of questions. Get to know them, yes personally but more importantly — their work self. Get curious: - What do they value? - What org pressure do they face? - What are their biggest obstacles? - What keeps them up at night? - How do they work best? You’ll get to know them and demonstrate that it’s a partnership rather than a one-way street. This approach also begins building a trust bank. At some point, the conversation will turn and they’ll get curious about you. Once that happens the two of you will begin talking about how you want to operate as a partnership. It takes longer, but it’s way more effective than acting like rock 'em sock 'em robots trying to assert your dominance. When you develop a partnership, work becomes easier, organizational dysfunction eases, and your teams collaborate more effectively. ♻️ If you found this post useful, like or share to help others discover it.

Eagerness doesn’t equal competence. But when organizations confuse the two, they set new leaders up to fail - at a high cost. When I made the jump from individual contributor to project leader, I was eager. But six months in, I was drowning. Requests came from every direction. Priorities weren’t clear. I had a budget I didn’t know how to manage. Deadlines came and went. Worse, I was so buried in meetings that I had no time to think or strategize. The eagerness faded fast. My company was supportive, but they didn’t have a roadmap for the transition. Without clear structure and guidance, I was on my way to burning out without ever finding my footing. After seven years of leading projects, coaching teams, and building out a PMO, here’s what I think should be done to set new leaders up for success. (1) Establish Context at the Hand-Off: Projects need a clear business case, a sponsor, a charter, and stakeholder maps. These aren’t administrative hurdles - they’re crucial for establishing a project’s legitimacy and responsibly allocating hundreds of thousands (or more) in resources. Without them, projects become directionless and bloated. As the lead, it’s your responsibility to identify what’s missing and build clarity where it doesn’t exist. Identify key stakeholders, ask targeted questions, and connect the dots between project goals and organizational priorities. (2) Ask Questions and Look for Quick Wins: Don’t wait for things to fail into place - they won’t. Ask questions, dig into the details, and take the time to learn how things connect. Focus on establishing trust with your team and your sponsors. Look for obvious pain-points and explore ways to secure easy wins by addressing them. Understand the value you’re expected to deliver, the resources available, the team you’ll coordinate, and how to prioritize efforts. (3) Build Relationships Across Functions: Your success hinges on the relationships you build. Connect with stakeholders to understand their priorities, pain points, and concerns. Ask questions that specifically focus on identifying cross-functional hand-offs and how different teams interact with your project. Establish recurring check-ins to ensure ongoing alignment and to proactively address any emerging issues. By building strong relationships early on, you lay the groundwork for smoother collaboration and long-term project success. This all assumes that project artifacts exist and are clear. But what happens when documentation is murky or missing altogether? My next post, will dive into how new leaders can collaborate effectively with their managers. Have you ever stepped into a leadership role without a clear roadmap? What would have made the transition smoother for you? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear your experiences. #ProjectLeadership #ChangeManagement #Transitions

Building relationships with company leaders outside your group is career-critical. These are the stakeholders who'll be in your promo conversations. I've observed that Supra members who consistently get promoted master three strategies for connecting with senior leaders: 1/ Approach with genuine curiosity and specificity The most successful PMs don't ask for "career advice" or generic meetings. Instead, they identify what the leader is known for excelling at: ↳ "I admire how you partner with Marketing. Could I get 15 minutes to learn your approach?" ↳ "Your strategic narratives are exceptional. Would you share how you structure them?" Everyone loves talking about what they're great at. The specificity demonstrates respect for their time. 2/ Provide unexpected value Leaders remember those who help them succeed. Supra members look for opportunities to: ↳ Share relevant market insights leaders might not see ↳ Connect dots between leadership priorities and their team's work ↳ Offer to lead cross-functional initiatives they care about When you consistently provide value, quarterly check-ins become natural. 3/ Find visibility through cross-team projects Volunteer for initiatives that cut across the org chart: ↳ Leading a PM community of practice ↳ Driving adoption of new tools or processes ↳ Creating templates that solve common challenges These give them authentic reasons to interact with senior leaders while demonstrating their skills. The goal isn't just face time — it's building genuine relationships where leaders see your value firsthand. What strategies have worked for you in building relationships with senior leaders?

Want to move up to a Senior Project Manager position? Master this skill first. → Become a pro at cross functional team management You're not just a task tracker or timeline guardian. You're the glue that holds diverse teams together. You need to lead across departments. Navigate conflicting priorities. And ensure everyone is marking towards the same goal. But, most junior PMs don't have the experience yet to get the promotion. So how do you build it? ☝ Volunteer to lead a cross-functional project Look for opportunities that involve multiple departments. Marketing, engineering, sales, IT, design, finance, etc. Show your ability to align diverse teams toward a common goal. ✌ Shadow senior PMs who work with cross-functional teams Ask to sit in or assist them on large projects. Watch how they communicate with different stakeholders and navigate challenges. Look to implement those strategies into #1 above. 🤟 Build relationships with team leads in other departments Don't wait until there's a project to collaborate, start now. Schedule coffee chats, talk through pain points, and learn how their team operates. It'll pay off when you're leading a future project that involves them. Better yet, they may mention an opportunity you can jump on to initiate it. Senior PM roles aren't just about managing bigger projects. They're about managing bigger teams with more complexity too. Start flexing your cross-functional muscles today. So that you can target that Senior PM promotion tomorrow. PS: what's one action you suggest to junior PMs to build towards a Senior PM promotion? 🤙