Change Selection
01
Please choose a question

How do we help senior leaders focus on their real work as opposed to responding to high pressure
How do you get anything done when it is not in the interest of some people to be engaged?
How do you manage the disconnect between intentions at the top and what is actually delivered on the ground?
How do you move people’s focus from process to outcomes?
How do you use Sustainability & Transformation Plans and/or Devolution to really change the way we do things?
What moves a senior group from analysis to action on a tricky issue?
CROSS FUNCTIONAL TEAMS
AND X TEAMS
Cross functional teams are made up of members who bring different
experiences, values and skills. This means they each bring a different
perspective, different ideas and different approaches to a problem. They also have a
wide sphere of influence as they each bring different connections.
Membership is fluid and they share decision making. They aren’t directed or told
what to do, instead their path forwards flexes according to the situation.
X Teams
Deborah Ancona
Ancona suggests that alongside the skills and practices of traditional teams, the
most successful teams do something different. She believes that the most
successful teams are the ones that also have eXternal focus. These are X-Teams.
The X Teams Core Features
External Activity: Making sense of and using the external environment.
Expandable Tiers: Different types of team member have different roles.
Flexible Membership: Team membership changes all of the time and members
take on different types of team role.
Extensive Ties: The members of the ream are well connected both in and out of
the organisation.
Mechanisms for execution: The techniques and skills X Teams use in order to
keep the external world within reach.
Basic Functions: Explore, Execute, Exploit. Making ideas reality.
(http://sloanereview.mit.edu/files/2002/04/4333-s2.jpg)
Further Resources
You can watch this short video featuring Deborah Ancona explaining X Teams. Courtesy of Kantola Training Solutions.