Lead Cross-Functional Projects Without Burning Out Teams

Cross-functional project teams (aka working groups or task forces) are a powerful way to accelerate strategy execution.  The main question that The Turbochargers members ask me, is how to encourage people’s involvement on top of business as usual.

How to Lead Cross-Functional Projects Without Overloading Your Team

When Sarah (name changed for privacy) launched a cross-functional project, she quickly realized she had a problem. Despite the importance of the initiative, getting people from different departments involved was like pulling teeth. Everyone was already swamped with their day-to-day tasks, and the project felt like just one more thing on their overflowing plates.

Meetings were postponed, deadlines slipped, and frustration mounted. The issue was partly lack of commitment; and partly that BAU always took priority. Without changing something, the project was doomed to stall indefinitely.

Getting things back on track

To fast-track the project, Sarah and I discussed changing her approach.  She worked on re-framing the priority of this initiative and getting buy-in from leadership to free up the necessary resources.  She also made it easier for people to participate.  Slowly, the team started to gel, and they made progress.

Created by Lisa Carlin X DALLE

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3 Tips to Avoid Burning Out Your Team with Cross-Functional Projects:

1. Align the Project with the Strategic Priorities: Show how the project directly contributes to the organization’s major strategies and goals. People are more likely to prioritize it if they see its value, and if it attracts higher visibility. Managers should be supporting their team to regularly re-prioritize against strategic priorities to avoid work overload. This may mean stopping some BAU work. Provide training or coaching for them on this if required.
2. Take a look at the full article here or subscribe to Turbocharge Weekly directly to your inbox to ensure you receive 3 tips every week.
3. Take a look at the full article here or subscribe to Turbocharge Weekly directly to your inbox to ensure you receive 3 tips every week.

There are many other techniques that we discuss in The Turbochargers Hub live sessions each month. Getting people involved in cross-functional projects when they’re juggling their daily tasks is a challenge, but you can certainly make it easier when you approach the execution in a structured, organised manner.

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Quote of the week

"Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs."

Henry Ford

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Keep turbocharging 😊🌱📈

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PS Turbocharge your strategic influence 😊🌱📈

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About Lisa Carlin

Lisa Carlin is a Strategy Execution Specialist.  She works with business leaders to plan and execute their strategies in tough environments.  Her clients love having her expertise and guidance to navigate their workplace culture and use AI to achieve success.

Lisa created The Turbochargers Hub, so leaders can master the art of strategic influence and generate momentum for organizational change.

Lisa is author of the globally acclaimed newsletter, Turbocharge Weekly, read by 8,000 business leaders.

Lisa’s career includes roles at McKinsey and Accenture, then running her own business since 1999.  Over this time she has delivered over 50 implementations with a 96% success rate.