Page 99 - HBR Leader's Handbook: Make an Impact, Inspire Your Organization, and Get to the Next Level

Getting Great People on Board 89

The importance of thinking horizontally

Your team is probably situated within an organization that includes many
other teams from business units, technical groups, and support func-
tions. The other teams can be in different locations or could belong to
outsourced partners, and they all might have their own identities, goals,
priorities, and work patterns. Part of your job as a leader is to help your
team members work horizontally with these other teams, even if they
don’t report to you. To do that, you need to periodically ask yourself the
following questions:
• What other teams do we need to work with in order to have an im-
pact and get things done? (To answer this, you might draw a map
of your organization’s ecosystem and where your team fits in it
and discuss this with your team.)

• What do we need from these other teams and how does that fit
into their priorities? Conversely, what do they need from us? How
aligned are we in how to go about this work together?

• What’s the best way to make sure we all get on the same page?
Should I meet regularly with the leaders of the other teams?
Should we bring the teams together in some sort of working ses-
sion or Work-Out?

how much they are committed to the goals and have the right
information.

• Reinforce to your team members, and have them reinforce to
their teams, that all their individual decisions need to actively and
directly help move the organization toward the strategic goals
you have identified. Your vision and strategy practices come into
play here as well, especially the efforts you make through those