Unleash the innovation and creativity of your teams with cross-functional management
What is cross-functional management and what can it bring to the company?
Breaking free from hierarchical links, this form of management is flourishing in organisations that are moving towards greater horizontality or a more collaborative structure.
Exchanges and interactions are encouraged, as opposed to strict objectives and fixed processes, and teams gain in flexibility and productivity.
But how exactly does cross-functional management work, and what objectives does it pursue? If you're in charge of leading a cross-functional project, which key skills should you draw on?
Find out now whether cross-functional management is right for your organisation, and if so, how to implement it!
Definition of cross-functional management
Cross-functional management means leading a group of people with different skills and expertise towards a common goal, whether it's a project, a product or a process.
Let's forget hierarchical levels and take a step back: cross-functional management ignores the links of authority that bind people together.
Cross-functional management is often contrasted with hierarchical management. However, we need to be clear here: it does not mean that all hierarchical relationships are non-existent within the organisation, as is the case with horizontal management.
Quite simply, the cross-functional manager exercises a certain managerial authority, regardless of the status and other hierarchical links between the other members of the team.
He or she therefore does not aim to do away with all hierarchical levels, but rather to bring together employees with different profiles with a view to carrying out cross-functional work and achieving the desired results.
Cross-functional management is all the easier to implement in an organisation that encourages collaborative working.
The objectives of cross-functional management
At the crossroads of several functions and departments, cross-functional management associates and gets different company players to work together to achieve a defined goal, without exercising hierarchical power.
To lead the team towards the common objective, it aims to :
- ensure coordination between people and facilitate exchanges ;
- create cohesion between team members;
- reconcile the different objectives of the stakeholders with those of the cross-functional project;
- value everyone's ideas and contributions, in the same way as participative management;
- using leadership as a means of influence.
Forms of cross-functional management
- Project mode : delivering a product to a customer on time. The managerial challenge is one of structuring;
- Process mode: to implement guidelines regularly or produce deliverables repeatedly. The challenge is to provide a framework and coherence for fragmented activities;
- Working group mode : to deal with a continuous improvement issue, or to meet a specific urgent need (task force). The challenge is to put the team together properly and create a creative environment;
- Network mode: to set up a group to share common professional interests. The challenge is to clearly define the goal to be achieved and the type of results to be obtained.
The role of the cross-functional manager
Knowing the different roles to be played as a cross-functional manager is the first card to play.
To succeed in your role, you must :
- assert yourself as a leader and take responsibility for the task assigned to you;
- clarify the roles of each stakeholder;
- find a way of communicating and messages that make an impact on everyone;
- Identify good practices that everyone can adopt to move in the same direction;
- involve all team members and value their opinions;
- draw on different profiles to enrich the group's knowledge and generate new ideas;
- Empower your staff and ensure their commitment;
- motivate and encourage everyone to give their best.
The advantages of cross-functional management
Cross-functional management has many advantages. It :
- encourages initiative-taking;
- generates greater creativity and innovation;
- encourages interaction between individuals and cooperation;
- increases the autonomy of stakeholders
- speeds up processes and decision-making;
- promotes customer interests, which take precedence over service objectives;
- strengthens employee motivation and commitment, and thus brings greater confidence and well-being to the workplace.
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The limits of cross-functional management
While there are many advantages to cross-functional management, it is not necessarily easy to put in place. Certain difficulties may arise for the cross-functional manager, who :
- may have to grapple with sometimes divergent issues;
- have to adapt to the ways in which team members from different business cultures operate and communicate;
- has to juggle everyone's priorities while ensuring that the cross-functional project runs smoothly;
- must devote a large part of their time to communicating and facilitating exchanges.
How can you implement cross-functional management in your company?
Good cross-functional management practices
Here are a few fundamentals to develop in order to achieve the objectives of your cross-functional projects:
- Work on your assertiveness: it can be complex to manage people with no hierarchical link and therefore to find your managerial legitimacy. Your powers of persuasion and negotiation will be invaluable when you have to deal with the different objectives of each person, departments, management or your colleagues' superiors.
- Understanding your environment: it's vital to get to know your colleagues and the environment in which they work. This overall understanding enables you to decipher the power relationships, needs, interests, sources of motivation and constraints of each individual.
- Conflict management: when managing a multidisciplinary and sometimes multicultural team, you have to expect to deal with different personalities. This diversity is likely to lead to conflictual relationships. Try to identify opportunities in each difficulty and capitalise on diversity to turn it into a strength.
- Promote collaborative values: to work as a team, it is essential to convey values based on communication and collaboration. Ideally, as a manager, you should highlight the strengths of each individual, find good practices that can be harmonised to support a good group dynamic and put in place resources to facilitate exchanges.
Tools for cross-functional working
Collaborative working can be optimised using a variety of tools:
- a collaborative platform
- a corporate social network (CSN),
- an electronic document management system (EDMS),
- a videoconferencing tool
- a password manager, etc.
See more collaboration tools:
The qualities you need to develop as a cross-functional manager
If you are looking for the right person within your organisation, or if you yourself are responsible for managing a cross-functional team, here are the main qualities and skills you need to possess or develop:
- organisation
- listening skills and empathy,
- observation,
- teaching and communicating,
- trust,
- communication and openness,
- diplomacy,
- flexibility and adaptability,
- emotional intelligence.
The evolution of cross-functional management in the age of teleworking
With teleworking becoming more widespread in organisations, new challenges are emerging for managers.
To counter these difficulties, keep a few tips in mind:
- reorganise the team if necessary ;
- find new ways of communicating and circulating information;
- set up regular get-togethers and make sure there's plenty of time for discussion;
- Adopt a positive and motivating approach.
You can forge links, encourage exchanges and continue to support the overall vision of the project by using digital methods and tools.
Do you have a cross-functional management role in your company? What levers and good practices would you like to share with your peers? We'd love to hear from you!
Article translated from French