Working from home is not just about setting up a computer in the dining room.
Disregard for culture might provide short-term wins, but the model is not sustainable.
The advent of the pandemic and resulting work-from-home (WFH) environment made more visible the negative impacts of cross-functional dysfunction. If you had silos before March 2020, then they likely developed greater walls as a result of various stay-at-home orders.
Here are several of my pieces that address cross-functional dysfunction, and how to mitigate its impact:
- Mitigating Cross Functional Dysfunction
- When cross-functional dysfunction strikes customer service
- Solving Cross Functional Dysfunction
- Boeing, the 737 Max, and Cross-Functional Dysfunction
- How to eliminate cross-functional dysfunction during large scale process change
The underlying theme among all of these examples is developing a healthy organizational culture where leaders inspire trust and encourage healthy conflict. They do this by living and demonstrating vulnerability. It’s okay to admit to not having all the answers – this is why you have a leadership team. A great way to inspire them is to trust them to deliver more. The result? You all win.
What have you done to grow your culture or reduce the impact of cross-functional dysfunction? I’d love to hear your ideas. Please go out to LinkedIn to add your comments.
Dedicated to fueling your growth,
Steve
