Managing a Cross-Functional Team

A cross-functional team is a group of people with different functional expertise working toward a common goal—and can include people from finance, marketing, operations, and human resources. Because everyone has their own priorities, cross-functional teams can be challenging to lead. Team demands compete with the day-to-day demands that team members face from their own departments, and the team leader often has to rely more on influence than direct control. In this course, leadership trainer and executive coach Mike Figliuolo outlines the skills needed to successfully manage a cross-functional team, explains how to communicate effectively with team members, and shares how to resolve conflict when it arises.

Learning objectives
Define a cross-functional team.
Identify different types of cross-functional teams.
Explain how cross-functional teams are composed.
Describe the advantages and challenges of having a cross-functional team.
Set direction for a team.
Facilitate effective communication amongst team members.
Address conflicting ideas, work styles, and personalities.