How to align teams across departments toward common goals

Siloes form when departments have only local goals. Set company objectives that require: cross-functional collaboration, shared success metrics, interdependent work. Example: "Increase NRR to 120%" requires product, customer success, sales working together. Company goals create: shared purpose, mutual accountability, reason to coordinate. Local optimization at expense of company goals is misalignment. Shared North Star aligns effort.

Departments optimize for their metrics. If metrics conflict: sales prioritizes deals that stress delivery, product prioritizes features that sales can't sell, support minimizes tickets by deflecting customers. Align metrics to reward: collaboration over competition, company outcomes over department wins, customer success over internal efficiency. What gets measured gets done. Aligned metrics drive aligned behavior.

Break down siloes structurally. For key initiatives, create teams with: members from relevant departments, shared ownership of outcomes, authority to make decisions, dedicated time (not "in spare time"). Cross-functional teams: build relationships, develop shared context, align incentives, reduce handoff friction. Permanent functional siloes limit collaboration. Temporary cross-functional teams enable it.

Department heads need forum to: surface interdependencies, resolve conflicts, coordinate timing, share context. Regular cadence (weekly or bi-weekly) prevents: surprises, misalignment, duplicate work, missed handoffs. Agenda includes: updates on cross-functional initiatives, upcoming launches requiring coordination, blockers needing resolution, resource conflicts to address. Visibility creates alignment. Isolation creates drift.

Empathy comes from experience. Programs like: rotational assignments, cross-functional shadowing, temporary team swaps, build understanding. Engineers who spend time in support understand customer pain. Sales who see product development appreciate complexity. Shared experience creates: mutual respect, realistic expectations, collaborative problem-solving. Permanent assignment to function creates "us vs. them." Rotation creates "we."

Alignment requires information. Share regularly: company strategy and priorities, key metrics and progress, upcoming changes affecting multiple teams, wins and challenges. Use all-hands, newsletters, dashboards. Transparency enables: autonomous alignment, informed decisions, proactive coordination. Information hoarding creates: misalignment, politics, inefficiency. Open information flow is alignment foundation.

What gets celebrated gets repeated. When cross-functional initiative succeeds: recognize all contributing teams publicly, tell collaboration story, highlight how working together drove results. Awards and recognition for: best collaboration, breaking down siloes, helping other teams. Celebrating function wins alone reinforces siloes. Celebrating company wins builds unity. Recognition shapes culture.