Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
One On Ones
To overcome the conflict and distrust that often arises on cross-functional initiatives, project leaders should schedule one-on-one conversations with individual team members to understand their goals, concerns and solutions as they relate to the project objectives.
On cross-functional initiatives, project teams are usually made up of people that do not typically work together on a daily basis and may not even know each other. They may feel that they are simply thrown together and expected to get down to business and start producing. This inevitably can lead to team member conflict and miscommunication. I had this challenge on a very high visibility project. A core team worked to define, cost and gain approval for the project idea, and they felt a very strong sense of ownership. Once approved, I was assigned to manage the initiative and the team was expanded to take the project through implementation.
The original core team initially viewed the new requirements team lead as an outsider who could not possibly grasp the detailed knowledge needed in the necessary short timeframe. This created conflict and distrust among the team at large. I had to gain a deeper understanding of the specific concerns of the core team, and fast. Having been in a similar situation before, I quickly began to do the following:
__ Scheduled a one-on-one meeting …
Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.
ADVERTISEMENTS
|
"Never eat more than you can lift." - Miss Piggy |