Encouraging Cross-Departmental Collaboration

"Your logistics team celebrates 98% service level... while production cries over 60% OEE. Sound familiar? 🤦♀️" Here's the uncomfortable truth: Most companies have KPIs that work against each other. The classic conflict I see everywhere: Logistics wants agility → More change-overs → Higher service level ✅ Production wants efficiency → Fewer change-overs → Higher OEE ✅ 🎯 The solution? Alignment before measurement. Real example from a client: We had to choose: Be the "agile supplier" or the "efficient producer." We couldn't be both with conflicting KPIs. Decision: Customer service was the strategic priority. Result: We accepted 75% OEE (vs. 85% target) to achieve 99% service level. The key changes: 1️⃣ Aligned bonus structure across departments 2️⃣Created shared KPIs (Customer Satisfaction Score) 3️⃣Weekly cross-functional reviews instead of siloed reporting Another example - Quality vs. Speed: Don't measure "units per hour" AND "zero defects" unless you want your operators to go crazy. Pick your strategic priority and cascade it consistently. 👉 The lesson: Your KPIs should tell one coherent story about what success looks like. If different departments can succeed while the company fails, your measurement system is broken. What's the biggest KPI conflict you've seen between departments? How did you solve it? With love and passion Marie-Philippe 📸 sintra.ai generated with prompt « Corporate Meeting Room KPI Conflict - When Departments Fight Over Misaligned Metrics » #OperationalExcellence #KPI #CrossFunctional #Manufacturing #Alignment #Leadership #Medtech #ServiceLevel #OEE #Strategy

Your engineers should annoy your PMs (I say this now as a product leader). As a senior product manager, I launched a new onboarding flow that boosted trial conversions by 25%. I was riding high on success…and then an engineer on my team suggested removing an extra step. Sure, it would further reduce cognitive load and drive even more conversions, but I was so in love with the design of the onboarding flow that I got annoyed. I pushed back—despite clear data! In the end, that engineer (rightfully) sidestepped me, ran the experiment, and proved me wrong. My self-indulgence almost cost our team another win. Now, as a product leader, I can see that customer- and data-centric engineers who help define product are a product manager’s gold mine. They enable PMs to scale out of the day-to-day and drive more impact across the organization. Leading tech companies and high-growth startups already encourage engineers to act like PMs. With AI making customer, competitor, and market insights more accessible, product-centric engineering will soon be standard everywhere. Product leaders, here’s how to embrace and empower these cross-functional teams: 1️⃣ Foster a culture where engineers, designers, and customer success teams don’t just share ideas, but actively shape product definitions. This allows PMs to act like air traffic controllers rather than pilots, guiding multiple “flights” simultaneously so more initiatives can land successfully. 2️⃣ Provide the right tools broadly—including direct access to customer feedback and data—so every role can make informed recommendations. 3️⃣ Encourage PMs to delegate and scale beyond their core responsibilities, taking on broader, more cross-functional work while peers step up with product insights. Your PMs and your organization as a whole will benefit. How have you encouraged your PMs to scale themselves? #productmanagement #productleadership

When KPIs are measured in silos. Every department hits its targets—while the mine misses its goals. Our last discussion on silos in mining education sparked an overwhelming response. Many of you pointed out these silos don’t stop at education—they shape how mining companies operate. Here’s what you shared: ✅ Geologists model resources but often miss downstream mining and processing needs. ✅ Mine engineers focus on moving tonnes but don’t always consider processing constraints. ✅ Metallurgists optimize recovery but lack insight into ore variability, setting them up to fail. But siloed KPIs hurt operations. Mining succeeds by maximizing metal recovery and throughput at the lowest cost. Yet, companies break this into departmental KPIs that reward local efficiency at the expense of overall performance. Here’s how that plays out: 📍Mining teams hit targets by extracting more tonnes—whether the plant can process them or not. ⚡Processing teams cut energy costs, even if it reduces throughput and recovery. 🔧 Maintenance minimizes downtime but defers repairs, leading to bigger failures later. 💸 Procurement buys the cheapest equipment, causing breakdowns and lost productivity. Each team hits its targets—while the mine falls short. Why does this happen? Company culture. Organizations set siloed KPIs because they manage operations in silos—separating budgets, encouraging competition instead of collaboration, and rewarding local wins over profitability. And they ignore one critical principle: 👉 Culture eats strategy for breakfast. Success depends on aligning incentives so every team works toward the same goal. This is where value-chain thinking matters. Mining must align every step of the process, from geology to the final product. ✅ Geologists must provide data that mining and processing teams can act on. ✅ Mine engineers must optimize feed prep for plant performance. ✅ Metallurgists must balance smelter requirements with environmental goals. This isn’t new—it’s Follow the Money 101. Yet teams optimize for their own success, not the mine’s profitability. The result? ❌ Poor communication disguised as “alignment meetings” that fail to drive real change.  ❌ Departmental KPIs that create trade-offs rather than shared wins.  ❌ Budgets that encourage departments to hoard resources instead of collaborating. How do we break free from siloed thinking? 1️⃣ Align KPIs with overall performance. ✅ Measure teams by their contribution to mine-wide success. ✅ Reward mining teams for delivering the right ore, not just more ore. 2️⃣ Break down budget silos. ✅ If cost savings in one area increase costs elsewhere, it’s a hidden expense. ✅ Empower managers to spend where it actually delivers results. 3️⃣ Build cross-functional teams. ✅ Use shared KPIs that require collaboration. ✅ Get geologists, engineers, and metallurgists aligned before problems arise. Until leaders fix this, the mine will keep falling short. What do you think? Let’s discuss.

This shouldn't be a surprise to you... 🌱 Having mentored administrative professionals and being one myself who has seen amazing results firsthand I can now see how businesses can help towards unlocking their EAs' full potential... 📈 It's really simple and so effective for productivity 1. Invite EAs to leadership meetings. They'll gain crucial context to better align daily ops with strategic goals 2. Leverage their project management skills. EAs excel at organising and multitasking - use it! 3. Establish clear exec-EA communication channels. Regular check-ins ensure nothing slips through cracks 4. Invest in specialised training. Not the generic stuff that is on the intranet. From financial & AI literacy to industry knowledge, empower EAs to grow 5. Position EAs as interdepartmental connectors. Their unique vantage point enables smooth cross-team collaboration 6. Involve EAs in client/partner relationships. Their insight into executive preferences and company culture is invaluable for smooth external interactions. Your EA isn't just an admin to get those "bits & bobs" done - AI and automation can and will do that in the future. They're a strategic partner Treat them as such and witness a great change 👉🏼 What would you add? Share your knowledge and experience 👇🏼 NETWORK LEARN GROW 💥

A common partnership snafu is that companies want partnership success, but don’t provide the resources to get there. I heard of a case where a whole marketing team quit, the partnerships team was given no marketing support, and they didn't yet have an integration with product -- and yet, the CEO expected the partnership strategy to deliver instant revenue. Wild. But not uncommon. Partnerships can't thrive in a vacuum. They need cross-functional support—marketing, product integration, sales enablement—all aligned to succeed. Before you set revenue targets for your partnerships, ask yourself: Do we have the resources to support them? If the answer is no, you have to help your leadership teams to reconsider their expectations. To help create the cross-functional support needed for partnerships to thrive, here are four strategies: 1. Involve Cross-Functional Leaders from the Very Beginning Bring key leaders from marketing, sales, and product into the partnership planning phase. Early involvement gives them a sense of ownership and ensures they understand how partnerships align with their own goals. Strategy: Schedule a kick-off meeting with stakeholders from each relevant department. Create a shared roadmap that outlines how partnerships will impact each team and their specific contributions. 2. Tie Partnership Success to Department KPIs To gain buy-in, tie partnership goals directly to the KPIs of each department. Aligning partnership outcomes with what each team is measured on ensures they have skin in the game. Strategy: During planning sessions, ask each department head how partnerships can contribute to their targets. Build specific KPIs for each function into the overall partnership strategy. 3. Create a Resource Exchange Agreement Formalize the support needed from each department with a resource exchange agreement. This sets clear expectations on what each function will contribute—whether it's a dedicated product team member for integrations or marketing resources for co-branded campaigns. It turns vague promises into commitments. Strategy: Draft a simple document that outlines the roles, responsibilities, and deliverables each team will provide, then get sign-off from department heads and the executive team. 4. Demonstrate Early Wins for Buy-In Quick wins go a long way toward securing ongoing resources. Identify a small pilot project with an internal team that shows immediate impact. Whether it's a small co-marketing campaign or a limited integration, these early successes build momentum and demonstrate the value of supporting partnerships. Strategy: Select one or two partners to run a pilot with, focused on delivering measurable outcomes like leads generated or product adoption. Use this success story to demonstrate value to other departments and secure further commitment. Partnership success requires cross-functional alignment. Because partnerships don’t happen in a silo.

Culture is everything 🙏🏾 When leaders accept or overlook poor behaviour, they implicitly endorse those actions, potentially eroding the organisation’s values and morale. To build a thriving culture, leaders must actively shape it by refusing to tolerate behaviour that contradicts their values and expectations.
 The best leaders: 
 1. Define and Communicate Core Values: * Articulate Expectations: Clearly define and communicate the organisation’s core values and behavioural expectations. Make these values central to every aspect of the organisation’s operations and culture. * Embed Values in Policies: Integrate these values into your policies, procedures, and performance metrics to ensure they are reflected in daily operations. 
 2. Model the Behaviour You Expect: * Lead by Example: Demonstrate the behaviour you want to see in others. Your actions should reflect the organisation’s values, from how you interact with employees to how you handle challenges. 3. Address Poor Behaviour Promptly: * Act Quickly: Confront and address inappropriate behaviour as soon as it occurs. Delays in addressing issues can lead to a culture of tolerance for misconduct. * Apply Consistent Consequences: Ensure that consequences for poor behaviour are fair, consistent, and aligned with organisational values. This reinforces that there are clear boundaries and expectations.
 4. Foster a Culture of Accountability: * Encourage Self-Regulation: Promote an environment where everyone is encouraged to hold themselves and others accountable for their actions. * Provide Support: Offer resources and support for employees to understand and align with organisational values, helping them navigate challenges and uphold standards.
 5. Seek and Act on Feedback: * Encourage Open Communication: Create channels for employees to provide feedback on behaviour and organisational culture without fear of reprisal. * Respond Constructively: Act on feedback to address and rectify issues. This shows that you value employee input and are committed to maintaining a positive culture.
 6. Celebrate Positive Behaviour: * Recognise and Reward: Acknowledge and reward employees who exemplify the organisation’s values. Celebrating positive behaviour reinforces the desired culture and motivates others to follow suit. * Share Success Stories: Highlight examples of how upholding values has led to positive outcomes, reinforcing the connection between behaviour and organisational success.
 7. Invest in Leadership Development: * Provide Training: Offer training and development opportunities for leaders at all levels to enhance their skills in managing behaviour and fostering a positive culture. 8. Promote Inclusivity and Respect: * Build a Diverse Environment: Create a culture that respects and values diversity. Inclusivity strengthens the organisational fabric and fosters a more collaborative and supportive work environment.

#ThrivingToGetWorkDone Post 6 of 9: Fostering Collaboration and Teamwork: Breaking Down Silos Fostering collaboration and teamwork is essential in a complex environment like a hospital, where departments must work together seamlessly to provide the best patient care. Here are two short use cases on how to activate this skill in routine work within the hospital industry: Use Case 1: Collaborating Across Departments for a Multidisciplinary Care Plan You’re involved in creating a multidisciplinary care plan for patients with chronic illnesses. This requires input from various departments, including Cardiology, Nutrition, and Physical Therapy. To foster collaboration, you suggest, “Let’s schedule regular multidisciplinary team meetings where each department can share their insights and updates on patient progress. We’ll use these sessions to ensure that our care plans are fully integrated and that we’re all working towards the same patient outcomes.” By bringing everyone together, you break down silos and ensure that each department’s expertise is utilized, leading to better patient care. Use Case 2: Enhancing Collaboration in a Quality Improvement Project In another scenario, you’re working on a quality improvement project aimed at reducing hospital readmission rates. You notice that different departments, such as Discharge Planning, Pharmacy, and Home Health, are working in isolation. You propose a more collaborative approach: “Let’s form a cross-departmental task force to tackle this issue. We’ll meet bi-weekly to share data, discuss challenges, and develop integrated strategies to reduce readmissions. By working together, we can identify gaps in our processes and ensure a smoother transition for patients after discharge.” This approach not only fosters teamwork but also leads to more comprehensive solutions. #My2Cents: Collaboration is the cornerstone of success in any complex organization. By fostering teamwork and breaking down silos, we can leverage the full spectrum of our collective expertise, leading to better outcomes for our patients and our hospital. These posts aim to invoke a better overall environment by sharing practical ways to enhance workplace collaboration and productivity. What strategies have you used to foster collaboration in your workplace? Share your experiences in the comments! #Leadership #Teamwork #WorkplaceCulture #Collaboration #HealthcareLeadership #ThrivingAtWork #HospitalAdministration #PatientCare

Contrary to popular belief, having a GTM team offsite will not fix your go-to-market problem. Neither will a pipeline meeting on Wednesdays. Neither will a CMO-CRO bi-weekly coffee meeting. Neither will firing your CMO and trying to hire a unicorn marketing leader. It’s a Band-Aid. It might make it easier for people to work together. It might patch up the problem for a while that will come back to you in 3 months when you’re missing your pipeline for Q4. It’s a Band-Aid. The real solution? Redesign your GTM (aka the Factory that produces your revenue) - Starting with Financial Planning, Modeling, and Budgeting, and then working across the rest of GTM team to Sales, Marketing, Sales Dev, Ops, Post-Sale, etc. 1. Build a Unified View of GTM with Financial Data & GTM Data that measures both performance (effectiveness) and unit economics (efficiency) 2. Align the entire GTM leadership team on a core KPI stack that has *nothing* to do with attribution by department or channel 3. Categorize and evaluate GTM investment portfolio allocation by customer lifecycle stage, NOT DEPARTMENT. 4. Methodically break down compound metrics to isolate the biggest issues / risks / opportunities by customer lifecycle stage 5. Build and align on cross-functional initiatives to solve the biggest issues in your Revenue Factory 6. Monitor and evaluate impact against the core KPI stack that has nothing to do with attribution by department or channel. #finance #gtm #b2b #sales #marketing p.s. Just to drive home the message - you should be able to *clearly* understand how your GTM is performing and isolate the biggest issues/opportunities without ever discussing or using attribution by channel or department 🙂

"Rapport is the bridge that connects hearts and minds, built with the bricks of understanding, the cement of empathy, and the arch of genuine connection." In my first week of 2024, I connected with people, from Human Resources to seasoned clients and new companies. Whether through phone calls, virtual meetings, coffee chats, or consultant sessions, my main goal was to build rapport by asking a simple question: "How are you doing?" This allowed me to convey a message: "I'm here to help and understand your training needs." Here are some practical tips I followed to build rapport: 1. Listen Actively: Pay close attention to what the other person is saying. Show that you're genuinely interested and respond thoughtfully to show you value their perspective. 2. Show Empathy: Put yourself in the other person's shoes. Understand their feelings and perspectives, and let them know you acknowledge their emotions. This helps create trust and understanding. 3. Open Body Language: Keep your body language open and inviting. Avoid crossing your arms, make eye contact, and nod to show you're engaged. 4. Find Common Ground: Look for shared interests or experiences to establish a connection. This commonality provides a foundation for continued conversation. 5. Be Yourself: Authenticity is key. Let your true personality shine through, as genuine interactions build trust. Building rapport takes time and consistency. By incorporating these simple practices, you can create stronger connections with the people you interact with. What are your practices for Building Rapport do share in the comments below. #100dayslinkedin #communicationcoaching #corporatetraining #softskillstraining #buildingrapport #speakwithamee

I often think about how unnecessary communication hassles and competing interests can mess up teamwork between departments. Clearly, DESIGN THINKING could have been a significant help. Most times it’s due to misaligned objectives or expectations. And while Design Thinking isn't the only framework for this, it's the one I've had hands-on experience for facilitating cross-departmental collaboration. Unlike other problem-solving approaches, Design Thinking doesn't discriminate if you're from legal, sales, or other department. In a corporate world often focused on competition, Design Thinking workshops ensure everyone has a voice, fostering participation in both sharing and listening. You might be thinking, "How can the UX team introduce Design Thinking to departments that have historically been less open to such collaborative methods?" The key is customization and relevance. Here are some examples of how I pitched the idea to other departments: 1. Legal: Enhance contract quality, document management and legal compliance. 2. Risk management: Predict and mitigate risks with collective insights. Finance: Boost record accuracy and efficiency for better financial analysis. 3. Operations: Streamline processes, reduce bottlenecks, and optimize resources with process improvement workshops. 4. Human resources: Design employee-centric policies, benefits, and onboarding processes for a happier and more productive workforce. 5. Sales and marketing: Create buyer personas and develop marketing campaigns in workshops that enhance customer engagement. 6. IT: Uncover user pains and understand technical possibilities and limitations on how to address them. 7. Supply chain: Optimize logistics, reduce lead times, and ensure timely deliveries. What has been your experience when trying to collaborate across departments?