How do you incorporate cross-functional feedback to improve your vision?

Incorporating cross-functional feedback to improve your vision involves gathering insights and perspectives from various departments, teams, and stakeholders within your organization. This collaborative approach ensures a well-rounded and comprehensive view of your vision, leading to more effective decision-making and strategy refinement.

Identifying and engaging your internal customers and key stakeholders would help galvanised your process to a robust feedback source.

Stakeholders can exist beyond customers, employees and suppliers. Regulatory bodies, governments and trade associations my have inputs into the vision. For example, an upcoming environmental constraint may cause a pivot to the vision.

I generally lead from the front and take a prominent role in driving the vision up front. I present a Proof of Principle or detailed overview to the team and have a question and answer session after. I make sure that all members understand that I am very open to questions and that constructive criticism is encouraged. I push the point that everyone will be participating in this vision when it is implemented and that the time to speak up is early on. I find that this openness and focused direction moves things along while encouraging feedback. Once the vision is implemented, I have follow-up Voice of Customer meetings to encourage continual improvement. Openness to constructive criticism is key for this strategy to work.

Incorporating cross-functional feedback to improve your vision involves gathering insights and perspectives from various departments, teams, and stakeholders within your organization. This collaborative approach ensures a well-rounded and comprehensive view of your vision, leading to more effective decision-making and strategy refinement.

As a cross functional leader, feedback should be sacrosanct. Seeking face-to-face feedback from my team and colleagues has helped me to develop some core leadership skills.

I have used multiple methods to gain feedback. Here are a few: 1. Casual conversational feedback 2. Surveys or requests for opinions or suggestions through email 3. Presentations or updates with question and answer sessions after Creating an environment of openness and comfort with discussing issues is necessary for these to work. There also needs to be follow-up for any suggestions. They should be implemented or if not, then an explanation (formal or informal) should be given to the person who made the suggestion. If team members are intimidated or feel like their suggestions will not be implemented, then they will not participate.

A very simple process l had used in my career is the Start, Stop, and Continue model. This has a direct impact in reshaping or analysing feedbacks.

For large amounts of input, sentiment analysis and statistics are fine. If the input is less, I like to see the ideas as they compare against each other in an impact / effort grid. An idea that is expensive and low impact receives less consideration. Of course regulations could trump the initial assessment.

Read the questions and suggestions thoroughly and take care in considering them. The ultimate decision is up to you and you should take charge and make the choice whether to include them or not.

I like the Amazon approach to craft an internal press release to present the elevator pitch. It helps you get clear about the outcomes enabled by vision.

After deciding to apply any feedback, contact the person who gave it and thank them. Also make sure that your interpretation is correct. If the application is outside of your expertise, then you can suggest a collaboration or find a Subject Matter Expert to help you implement.

Incorporating cross-functional feedback is a dynamic and ongoing process. It requires effective communication, collaboration, and a willingness to adapt based on the collective wisdom of your organization's diverse perspectives.

I find it helpful to invest time in understanding the cross- functional perspective before the project begins. If you spend time with a variety of cross-functional stakeholders on a regular basis, understanding their goals, priorities, and challenges, you'll have a better understanding of where to bring them into projects later.

Fostering an open culture is of the utmost importance for encouraging feedback. Equally important is applying the useful ideas. If people see that suggestions are implemented, then they will be more likely to participate in the future.