How do you build a strategic team?
In the environment in which we work— with time pressures, multiple and often competing organizational demands, and diversity of perspectives—it is essential to foster effective teamwork and collaboration within teams of all types—intact, cross-functional, management, and operational teams—or across geographies in support of team goals and strategic initiatives.
We call this strategic teaming. The Strategic Teaming process focuses on tapping into the unique perspectives that individuals and teams offer in order to identify and address strategic challenges and opportunities facing the organization and driving long-term value for the business. As a result, strategic teams and individuals enhance performance and increase strategic collaboration and alignment across many different aspects of the business:
- Business Units
- Corporate Functions (Sales, IT, Marketing, Operations)
- Departments
- Project Teams
- Supply- or Value-Chain Partners
- Customers and Key Business Allies
About Strategic Teaming
Strategic Teaming serves as an opportunity to bring together the diverse perspectives of individuals or teams (either intact or cross-functional) to foster greater collaboration on initiatives and achieve alignment on strategies and plans that the team or teams will need to execute together.
Objectives and Outcomes
Because every organization’s needs are unique, CMOE works closely with the organization and/or teams to identify key objectives and outcomes as a result of the strategic-teaming process. Some common objectives and outcomes include the following:
- Open up dialogue around critical strategic opportunities in the business and discuss how to seize and execute on those strategic opportunities.
- Gain alignment on a shared strategy process so it can be communicated across the organization and cascaded throughout each function that needs to support it.
- Help cross-functional teams or functional areas of the business jointly identify strategic priorities that will capture competitive advantage for the organization.
- Make and drive important strategic decisions, define commitments, and develop action plans.
- Create a disciplined structure for action around the strategies that each business function or team develops in relation to their shared goals.
- Assist strategic teams with implementation of skills, behaviors, tools, and practices that will ensure that the strategy’s execution is consistent.
- Seek alignment and define methods for sharing information appropriately, eliminating competing goals, and building successful strategic teams.
- Identify waste, inefficiencies, and tactical distractions so each function can operate on an effective strategic track.
- Establish strategic measures of effectiveness to ensure successful execution and accountability for the strategies that are created and implemented.
Our Approach
The Strategic Teaming experience is a facilitated workshop process led by CMOE using strategic team tools and concepts that help employees take a collaborative and strategic approach to addressing key business needs and issues. This process is built around a series of sequential phases:
- Phase I focuses on the need and business case for strategic teaming. For example, why strategic teaming is important and the purpose of a strategic team. It provides participants with a baseline understanding of strategic teaming including the strategic effort, key strategy concepts, core principles, and related skills.
- Phase II is designed to help the strategy team collaborate on creating, building, or modifying strategies and plans to create greater alignment on strategic efforts and their execution.
- Phase III is for creating execution, sustainability, and accountability mechanisms that will drive strategic results and increase team-member engagement, effective teamwork, and ownership of the strategy.
This three-phased approach enables teams to shift from simply being operationally effective to being strategically focused, successful teams.
by 40 Years of Research
Leadership & Development Partner
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Found the Right Program, but Unsure
How to Roll It Out to Your Team?
Unlock Higher Performance Through People Development
With the right development focus, your organization can strengthen leadership, engage employees, and achieve results you can see and measure—and when people grow, performance follows.
Whether you’re exploring ideas, solving a challenge, or planning the next steps in your journey, CMOE’s experts are available to assist.
- Schedule a consultation: Let’s discuss your goals, objectives, or challenges. What does success look like for you?
- Explore what fits best: From workshops and tailored programs to immersive retreats and enterprise-wide organization development, we help align people, systems, and strategy.
- Deliver meaningful impact: Implement strategies that strengthen cohesion, build trust, and accelerate performance, reinforced with tools for lasting impact.
Start a conversation and begin driving meaningful improvement across your organization.
Online Course Library
Do you prefer learning at your own pace? Here are a few curated resources to complement your learning journey and elevate your professional skills.
