Leadership is Essential
It's not enough to simply manage a cross-functional team - you must lead it. Strong leadership creates and fosters team unity, and that leadership is key to your success. Because of outside pressures, this type of team must have internal strength and commitment to survive. At the same time, the team leader has to know when and how to allow functional experts to take the lead. After all, when you bring together a group of highly talented people, many individuals within the team may know more about the problem – from their own perspective – than the team leader.
This situation requires a careful leadership balance. Tasks must be tightly coordinated and organized, and yet people must be free to use their talents and expertise as needed. As such, being able to adopt an appropriate leadership style Add to My Personal Learning Plan is key to leading a cross-functional team effectively.