Cross-Team Connections

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Identify cross-departmental capabilities and operational bottlenecks through direct peer conversation.

Use it when: Use at the start of a multi-department meeting or alignment session to surface working realities across group boundaries.

Skip it when: Skip if all participants belong to the exact same functional team or when immediate individual task focus is needed without cross-team coordination.

Group arrangement: Pairs composed of people from different teams or functional units. An odd participant forms one trio.

Timing: 10 minutes as specified in the source workshop schedule

Materials and tools

• One flipchart or whiteboard
• Two sticky notes per person
• One marker per person
• One visible countdown timer
• Shared digital whiteboard platform (for remote or hybrid delivery)
• Personal laptops with headphones (for hybrid cross-setting pairs)

Before participants arrive

1. Position the flipchart or whiteboard where all participants can reach it.
2. Label two columns on the board: Team Strengths and Team Challenges.
3. Ensure participants sit or stand in a way that allows easy pairing across functional groups.

Say this to open

Find a partner who works in a different department or team from you. If there is an odd number, one group will be three people. You will have four minutes total. Each person will share two things: one task your team does well, and one current challenge your team faces. In a trio, each person will take a turn sharing both items. Keep it focused on daily operational facts. Write each item on a separate sticky note so we can post them together.

How to run it

1. Pair across departments 2 minutes

   Direct participants to partner with someone from outside their immediate department or functional unit. If an odd person remains, assign them to form a trio. Verify everyone has a partner, sticky notes, and a marker. Deliver the opening prompt.

2. Share strengths and challenges 4 minutes

   Start a 4-minute timer. In each pair, Person A takes 2 minutes to explain one operational strength their team has and one current challenge they encounter. Person B listens without debating. At the 2-minute mark, announce the switch so Person B shares for 2 minutes. In a trio, each person takes 1 minute and 20 seconds to explain one operational strength their team has and one current challenge they encounter.

3. Record and post sticky notes 2 minutes

   Ask each participant to write their team's strength on one sticky note and their team's challenge on a second sticky note. Have everyone walk up and post their notes under the corresponding column on the shared board.

4. Brief debrief and review 2 minutes

   Facilitator reads 2 or 3 posted items aloud from each column. Ask the group the debrief questions, inviting 2 brief responses from volunteers.

Debrief questions

• Which challenge posted on the board affects more than one department in this room?
• What is one strength on this board that another team could turn to for advice or support?

Finished output: A flipchart or whiteboard display listing current operational strengths and functional challenges across all represented teams.

Remote

Create a digital whiteboard with two columns labeled Team Strengths and Team Challenges. Send participants into 2-person breakout rooms for 4 minutes. In odd-numbered groups, create one 3-person room. Participants write their responses on digital sticky notes during or immediately after their breakout discussion, then return to the main room and post them to the shared digital whiteboard.

Hybrid

Pair in-person participants with in-person colleagues and remote participants with remote colleagues across functional lines. If an in-person person must pair with a remote person, have them use their personal laptop with headphones. Both in-person and remote participants contribute sticky notes to a single shared digital whiteboard projected in the room.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may choose general process examples rather than sensitive project details.
• Participants may write notes and share them visually or in chat instead of speaking aloud.
• Any participant may pass on posting their note or decline to share without giving a reason.

If the session gets stuck

Participants pair up with close teammates out of habit.

Intervene before conversations start. Direct people to raise a hand if they are standing with someone from their own functional unit, and swap them with another pair.

One person dominates the pairing time with complaints.

Announce the halfway mark clearly at 2 minutes and explicitly instruct the second partner to begin speaking.

Terms used here

• Operational strength: A concrete task, workflow, or capability that a specific team executes reliably and well.
• Cross-team: Involving members from two or more distinct departments or functional groups.