Blogs
November 14, 2024
5 min
MINS READ

What is Cross-Functional Leadership?

Dr. Ash Brockwell
Ella Miodownik
Man standing and talking to a crowd
There exists a mental health crisis across Higher Education

Cross-functional leadership is the management of a collection of people who come from different departments, with a variety of objectives, professions, or skills. It stands in contrast to siloed leadership, which focuses on one department or 'function' rather than the connections between functions and the view of the wider organisation.

No one teaches you how to be cross-functional leader - often, you just find yourself there. Suddenly, people on your team have different expertise, have different professional vocabularies and different priorities. They might not understand each others' perspectives but they need to come together to make critical decisions. From your vantage point, you see the bigger picture, and try to make decisions that integrate all their diverse insights into something that’s best for everyone.

It's not easy. You want to help them mesh and gel, but they speak different languages. You want to communicate the nuances of the bigger picture, but people don't understand it unless you oversimplify. You want to have a big impact on the wider organisation but there are so many moving parts to bring together. Particularly in the UK, where the education system is so siloed and narrow expertise is championed, the generalist skills you need just aren't taught. Until now.

What skills does a cross-functional leader need?

🔴 Complexity - Grow your understanding of different kinds of complexity and emergent properties, rather than oversimplifying.

🟠 Visualisation - Practise visual techniques for mapping systems and conveying ideas in ways that can be easily understood without the need for jargon or technical language.

🟡 Communication - Hone your awareness of how to communicate intentionally depending on your audience, and to manage people with different communication styles or types of expertise.

🟢 Systems Thinking - Learn how to think in terms of systemic relationships and interactions rather than just individual parts and to enact change within a complex system.

🟣 Collaboration - Recognise opportunities for enhancing collaboration within a team by tapping into collective intelligence and running more effective meetings.

🟤 Problem-solving - Enable your team to tackle problems by defining and analysing them clearly.

🔵 Integration - Master interdisciplinary techniques in a professional context to synthesise multiple findings and various perspectives into a coherent whole.

How and where can I learn these skills?

At LIS, our Cross-Functional Leadership Course equips you with these crucial skills to help you thrive in today’s interconnected world. Over three months, you’ll gain expertise in complexity management, systems thinking, and interdisciplinary problem-solving—essential tools for guiding diverse teams toward impactful solutions.

Learn from thought leaders in behavioural science, philosophy, design, and neuroscience, who will help you navigate the challenges of cross-functional leadership. By the end of the course, you’ll be ready to bridge gaps, foster collaboration, and lead with clarity and purpose across functional boundaries.

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March 20th 2023

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