Participating in
Cross-Functional Teams
Mukund S. Chorghade,
Ph.D.
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The chemical enterprise has traditionally been
a vibrant, innovation-driven, and highly successful
industry. In recent years, a confluence of spectacular
advances in chemistry and related fields has led,
in the pharmaceutical sector, to the discovery
and development of numerous novel therapeutic
agents to treat a wide spectrum of diseases. In
order to facilitate this process, there has been
a significant and noticeable effort aimed at improving
the integration of discovery technologies, chemical
outsourcing for route selection and delivery of
active pharmaceutical ingredients, drug product
formulations, clinical trials and refined deployment
of information technologies. Multi-disciplinary
and cross-functional teams focusing on lead generation
and optimization have replaced the traditional,
specialized research groups. To develop a drug
from conception to commercialization, the biotechnology
and biopharmaceutical industry (which has been
highly entrepreneurial) has also reached out and
established global strategic partnerships with
numerous companies. Cross-functional teams have
also become the norm in the agro-chemical commodity
chemical, and other chemistry-related businesses.
Managing research on diverse projects and across
several sites has become a significant endeavor
in itself. Industry faces challenges associated
with sustaining growth and profitability in the
face of ever-increasing research costs. Research
organizations' productivity must be dramatically
increased. For example, the drug market is increasingly
segmented; industry has created individual islands
of technology along the discovery route (combinatorial
and computational chemistry, high throughput screens,
genomics, etc.). Increasing segmentation of patient
populations, treatment options and drugs for therapeutic
intervention requiring greater customization have
resulted in drug discovery and development being
done sans frontiers with collaborations spanning
the globe. These collaborations include scientists
who have a broad array of technical, professional
and cultural boundaries. This scenario is being
repeated in virtually all segments of the chemical
enterprise, creating a "web of collaboration"
spanning the entire gamut of professionals in
academia, government and industry.
The idea of using cross-functional teams is a
recent and highly effective idea to streamline
operations and define effective solutions to problems.
Several years ago the model for R & D was
a laboratory that was isolated psychologically,
and sometimes geographically, from the rest of
the business. The independent laboratories set
their own goals, agendas, and end-points. The
expectation was of large value emanating from
these efforts. "Tossing a product across
the wall" from research and development into
production and marketing was a frequent modus
operandi. The discovery research groups would
target a particular problem with virtually no
input from the development, sales, marketing or
regulatory groups. The "discoveries"
would then be passed to the other groups as a
fait accompli. The groups in the other functions
would complain about the lack of real utility
of these products and denigrate their laboratory
colleagues as ivory towered scientists without
any understanding of the real world. Scientists
were unused to presenting and defending their
ideas to professionals outside their own specialties.
Today, a scientist is more likely to expound on
ideas in a team environment. The concept of an
"interlocking" project team can be used
to manage more complex, strategic projects involving
multiple teams, key suppliers and customers and
external partners.
Successful examples of teams that led to commercial
success are the ones that resulted in the discovery
of Tagamet and Viagra. Kevlar
was developed at Dupont for use in automobile
tires; teamwork led to its utility in bulletproof
vests.
Responsibilities Of A Cross-Functional Team
Before anything else, a cross-functional team
needs time to address issues of structure and
work process. Since teams are composed of diverse
groups of people, interpersonal relationships
can prevent a team from working well together.
It may help for the team to meet away from the
workplace in order to focus on getting to know
each other and begin the process of forming the
group.
These initial meetings are critical to help define
the team's purpose and goals, the project's requirements,
and how all the individual pieces fit together.
The goals must be clear and based on a specifically
defined problem. The team also needs to define
how it will work together, how it will make decisions,
how it will measure its progress, and how it will
communicate with senior management. Assessing
progress involves evaluating how well the team
is accomplishing its work and how the relationship
with management is working. Is the team getting
the support it needs? The team should also receive
feedback periodically from its management sponsors.
As noted earlier, the discovery of Tagamet was
a team effort. GlaxoSmithKline has detailed the
lengthy process from molecule
to marketplace, noting that it uses the scale
of a huge company to reach its goal of applying
science to improve patient health. Equally important
is its flexibility, allowing teams of scientists
the freedom to take an entrepreneurial approach,
and enabling them to move quickly, on the basis
of informed decisions.
The discovery of Viagra was achieved after initial
failures of the material in clinical trials for
treatment of hypertension and angina. Excellent
collaboration between the discovery research group
scientists, clinicians and regulatory personnel
led to the development of a real blockbuster drug.
Characteristics Of An Effective Team Member
Effective teamwork is a great way to expand your
professional network, and can bring you recognition
amongst your peers and superiors. In addition
to strong technical and interpersonal skills,
you need to demonstrate initiative and a willingness
to learn.
A prospective team member must have the skills
to engage a group in problem-solving exercises,
and demonstrate savvy, vision, and broad organizational
perspective. You must effectively represent the
specific function in development and project decisions.
You have to apply the function's strategies, processes,
tools, and standards to the assigned projects.
Do not underestimate the importance of having
faith in an idea and championing the project or
product. Through skillful negotiation you can
lobby colleagues into supporting your ideas. The
discovery
of the Post-it notes at 3M showcases the value
of product championship.
Accepting An Invitation To Join A Team
While it's always flattering to be asked to join
a team, you needn't accept every invitation. Here
are some considerations when making your decision.
Choose a team wisely. Do your homework and ascertain
how critical the team's output is and whether
it adds value. Analyze if a team is necessary
for this project or whether the task can be completed
with the aid of a couple of dedicated performers.
Satisfy yourself that your skill and knowledge
base can contribute to the team's success. Is
your role on the team well defined? Will you have
some influence on the team's agenda? Will you
be able to take risks and create new ideas?
Recognize that teamwork is not entirely glamorous.
It may take patience and a long-term commitment
to accomplish a desired outcome.
Detect and eliminate time wasters. Avoid lengthy
and interminable discussions that overshadow the
critical path. Always redirect the team if you
see it going off course from its originally stated
goals.
Remind yourself that it is immaterial how many
teams you are on. Your performance is vital! Pay
careful attention and contribute to group dynamics
by helping to build commitment, trust and support
within the team. Maintaining a sense of humor
is always helpful, particularly when stress levels
run high.
Characteristics Of A Successful Cross-Functional
Team Leader
Since cross-functional teams are composed of
diverse individuals, effective leadership is valuable.
The first task for a team leader is to help the
team establish its mission and set goals. Leaders
should have the technical background to understand
the subject of the team's work and to recognize
each team member's strength and potential contributions.
Team leaders can encourage individual members'
growth and even defer to subject matter experts
on the team to provide leadership in some areas.
In addition to their expertise, team members
will also have a range of experience in working
as part of a group, including no experience at
all. Thus, team leaders must also be skilled in
facilitating group interactions, especially conflict
resolution and consensus building.
Cross-functional teams may underestimate how
empowered they are to make and implement decisions.
The team leader must clarify and communicate the
team's authority to decide key issues.
Team leaders serve as liaisons between the team
and upper management and other key stakeholders
in the project. They should have the skills to
manage these relationships and obtain a commitment
to support the team. It may be helpful to work
with a mentor who can assist in navigating the
labyrinth of corporate politics. Finally, the
team leader should be flexible enough to adapt
as conditions change and as the needs of the team
evolve.
When Teams Don't Work Well
Some teams don't work out when they're not needed
or the culture doesn't appreciate them. Here are
some reasons why teams don't work well.
Lack of support from top management. This is
perhaps the number one barrier to effective cross-functional
teams. A team can overcome many stumbling blocks
on the road to high performance but when key managers
don't cooperate or undermine team efforts, there
is very little a team can do to recover. Further
if the team fails to produce results, the message
is sent that nothing ever changes.
Unrealistic expectations from management and
business or marketing professionals. This results
from a combination of impatience and a desire
to seek an instant solution to a long-term problem.
After all, Rome was not built in a day, and a
cure for cancer is not likely to be found in a
month
Individual egos and styles that conflict with
the team concept. If a team member values individual
recognition or doesn't want to conform or isn't
trusted by other team members, then the collective
performance of the group is undermined. Without
an equal commitment among all team members, the
team and the project will not succeed.
Irrational fear of failure and the "curse
of smartness". This means that we believe
ourselves to be so smart that we seek solutions
to problems that do not exist. Several intelligent
people agonize long over so many facets of a problem
that they are reluctant to make any critical decisions.
Moreover, people value the fields in which they
are well versed over all others and are averse
to listening to individuals from other work functions.
Teamwork is not rewarded and is not an effective
path to career advancement. Company culture may
view serving on a team as taking away from the
"real work" that needs to be done. Since
department managers are responsible for employee
appraisals, the appraisal tends to focus on work
done within the unit, not on any team project
the employee may be on. And since rewards and
recognition are tied to individual efforts, that
means that employees may run the risk of lower
ratings and bonuses if they spend any significant
time working on a team.
It is highly recommended that you work closely
with your management to avoid these problems.
By judiciously choosing your teams you will find
your visibility, productivity and chances of a
promotion increase dramatically. Today's "knowledge
worker" is one that can "learn, unlearn
and then re-learn". The work environment
demands that you are flexible, adaptable and a
quintessential team player. You must be dedicated
to continuously learn, grow and expand your credentials.
Judicious use of learning, listening and influencing
skills allied with the strategies outlined here
will make you a valuable employee for many a year.
Mukund Chorghade is President of Chorghade Enterprise/CP
Consulting, Inc. in Natick, MA, where he provides
consultations to major pharmaceutical companies
on collaborations with Indian academic and government
laboratories, process re-engineering, and project
management of technology transfer. He has also
served as an American Chemical Society Career
Consultant since 1999.
Related Reading
Lindborg, Henry J. The
Basics of Cross-Functional Teams.
Parker, Glenn M. Cross-Functional
Teams: Working With Allies, Enemies, and Other
Strangers.
Zoglio, Suzanne Willis. Teams
at Work: 7 Keys to Success.
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