How do you measure whether our leadership team is becoming more cross-functional and less siloed over the course of our quarterly sessions?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The clearest sign of an immature leadership team is functional protectionism. In early sessions, the head of sales defends sales, the head of operations blames sales for bad promises, and the finance leader sits silently tracking numbers. Each person views their seat as an independent kingdom. We measure cross-functional maturity by tracking how behavior changes during our quarterly sessions and weekly Level 10 Meeting™ check-ins.

First, we evaluate who identifies and raises issues. On a healthy team, an operations leader feels complete freedom to raise an issue regarding sales qualification criteria, and the sales leader welcomes the input rather than defending territory. When issues are treated as company challenges rather than departmental attacks, silos begin to crack.

Second, we measure who owns the solutions during IDS® (Identify, Discuss, Solve). If every operational problem is assigned only to the operational leader, your team is still siloed. As your team grows healthier, cross-functional teams naturally emerge to tackle complex issues. You will see marketing and operations jointly own Rocks to fix client onboarding.

Third, we watch body language and engagement. Mature teams do not check out when another department head speaks. They lean in, ask tough questions, and make decisions based entirely on what serves the greater good of the enterprise.