Improving How We Work
Last year, I started working with a company to fix what they have been calling “cross-functional overload.” During our initial research, we found employees, especially those in roles that were either cross-functional in nature, or who worked in roles that involved being very “people-oriented” were struggling with overwhelm, overload and exhaustion given the amount of cross-functional work on their plate. It was difficult to find enough time in the day to manage meetings, getting work done, and individual and team-based projects.
This is not surprising, given the complex nature of how companies operate, different work styles of diverse employees, and the move to more teams-based work that exists within many knowledge work type roles and professions. Some research suggests that an increase in about 50% of cross-functional initiatives has occurred over the past few years.
At the end of the day, an organization is just a collection of people that are working toward shared goals. This is magnified significantly in larger global organizations where most people have to work with other people in order to get their own work done. But even if you don’t work in a large organization, this very much still applies. As a solo entrepreneur, I can very much tell you that even without 70,000 colleagues, I still have to rely on working with others collaboration in order to be effective.
