• Where are we going?
• Who is going with me?
• How are we going to get there?
• Does it matter?

A dominant theme of the launch is building trust. Trust is about predictability and that requires experiencing ethical stance, styles, capabilities and behavior or action. The jump-start is to build the foundation first by understanding each others different styles using the Meyers Briggs Type Indicator, Kiersey Temperament Sorter or similar instrumentation. The differences then form the basis for establishing operating agreements.

Cross-functional team members summarize what rules will guide issues such as what stays in the room, how conflict will be managed, dealing with content versus personalities, and keeping  communication honest and open.  What processes will be used to assure that participation brings individual capability fully to bear to the task at hand? 

The protocol for the conducting meetings tends to replicate whatever the team does in its first meetings. What the teams do in their first meetings tends to replicate the culture and norms of the company. That is not good news for many teams. Develop meeting guidelines that attend to agendas, outcomes, process, time management, and disposition of agreements and disagreements.

Deciding how to decide is one of the first decisions a cross-functional team should undertake. Broad categories are discussed in a continuum: directive/top-down, consultative, democratic and total agreement. Each type has a place in the team's approach, and the discussion here is about how to manage the different types, and deciding how to describe the primary process.

At this stage of the launch, the team has a set of operating agreements and a better appreciation for each other's styles if not capabilities. The draft charter is brought out and discussed, category by category, and agreements and issues noted. A dialogue between management sponsors and the team is then orchestrated to resolve open issues and improve clarity of team goals..

Building a plan and committing to it is the essential reason for the launch.  Each functional member is charged with generating the key tasks that they just deliver to achieve team goals. This is the functional stream of work. Every stream is discussed and the interconnections mapped. From this basis, the team creatively creatively redesigns the plan to make it 25-50% better. The first pass is the "Is", the second is the "should" and is developed into the final plan.

Action planning is "simply" making a responsibility chart to enact the plan. Roles for doing, communicating, supporting, leading and participating are set for key tasks. A meeting plan for the cross-functional team and a communications plan for the organizational stakeholders is finalized. The overview is presented to management sponsors and agreements and issues charted.