We just celebrated another July Fourth Independence Day. All across our country there were cookouts, parades, and fireworks, all to celebrate our freedom as a nation. Independence is an important part of the fabric of our American culture. We pride ourselves on being independent and being able to take care of ourselves. This is a good trait, however, it can cause problems in our workplace and for the teams we lead.
Earlier in my career, I was fiercely independent. I had the skills and the drive to make things happen, so I would put my head down and singlehandedly push to the finish line. Although the results were great, I must admit now that I didn’t do much to curry favor with my peers because I was basically a pacesetting, lone ranger type of a leader. It wasn’t pretty. Today, even though my natural tendency is still to still charge ahead, I’ve become a proponent of collaborative leadership and team effort. I still know how to take the lead and make things happen, but now I make sure that I work as a member of a team with a common mission.
One of the primary academic approaches to establishing a collaborative environment is that of cross-functional teams, which is highlighted in Glenn M. Parker’s 2003 book of the same title. In it, he defines a cross-functional team as “a group of people with a clear purpose representing a variety of functions or disciplines in the organization whose combined efforts are necessary for achieving the team’s purpose.” He stresses that this type of team is one that is deeply committed to something (a shared mission) and that a key requirement is interdependence. He further writes that the most effective cross-functional teams are those that have:
A leader with a creative vision
Freedom from unnecessary restrictions, including the freedom to fail
A wide range of diverse opinion
An openness on the part of team members to new ideas
Being someone who is naturally “fiercely independent,” I’ve had to open my mind to this whole new world and completely overhaul how I think and especially how I function. However, as hard as it has been, I’ve seen a tremendous amount of value in learning how to be cross-functional, collaborative, and interdependent. I also have team members who like to be around me now. It’s a nice change!
Lead well.