Owner-    Architect

Begin by creating a senior management structure for cross-functional team architecture and application.  In the best of worlds, teams are launched from the locus of senior management, aimed squarely at the value delivery stream and its support. A steering group is formed, and sponsors matched with each team formed. Without senior management support, change is a tougher, inside-out proposition.

Business Objectives

Next, figure out what business objectives the cross-functional teams are to support. This means understanding or creating a cohesive corporate strategy and translating the message to the team in the form of a charter. If strategies are unclear, then the first team applications should be aimed at strategic alignment. XFTeams are too powerful to waste on anything not clearly tied to key corporate strategies.

Charter

Select cross-functional team leader and a couple of others to develop a set of initial boundary conditions in the form of a one or two page charter. Define objectives, deliverables, staffing, resources, key milestones and metrics, and what the team is not to do. Clarify home function role versus team role in decision making. Build an initial process framework, describing the beginning, end and the key stakeholders. This draft will be communicated and negotiated with the full team at the launch.

Staffing

The draft process framework and charter created above practically dictate team staffing. To create heavyweight cross-functional teams, members are selected based primarily on their capability to autonomously deliver their function to the team. Core team size should be kept below ~7 people. Broad roles for the leader, extended team, and support people are noted for discussion at team launch.

Launching

Conduct a 2-3 day team launch to learn how to work together and to develop and commit to a plan. About 40% of the time is spent developing operating agreements to leverage style differences, focusing on how to conduct team meetings and make time-based decisions. The remainder is spent applying these agreements toward finalizing the team charter and creatively developing cross-functional work, team development, and communications plans. The launch is everything--where hours today leverage into months of saved time and improved effectiveness. 

Performing

Teams manage their work typically by meeting at least weekly to review work progress, deal with issues, and improve the plan and its execution. An externally facilitated 1-2 day mid-course tune-up is held about half-way through the team’s life to step back and diagnose both group process and content/work issues. Giving each other feedback and improving conflict management happens at this stage.

Transitioning

The final transitioning of the XFTeam’s work requires a new planning phase to transfer action as well as the organizational learning that every team life cycle creates. How will the next phase of activity be implemented, including change management? Another launch? Transfer? Closedown?  Recommendations are also developed for improving future cross-functional teams.